Hello from a new older learner

[Janice]

Have been keeping a video diary of my progress and have had time today (due to snow) to record this one at week 12 of my progress. I feel like I havent progressed but when I went back to look at week 3 I can see now how things are going

Heres a link to the funny video heavily edited {}


Please be kind but constructive help appreciated :tup:

 

[Geronimo]

Have been keeping a video diary of my progress and have had time today (due to snow) to record this one at week 12 of my progress. I feel like I havent progressed but when I went back to look at week 3 I can see now how things are going

Heres a link to the funny video heavily edited {}


Please be kind but constructive help appreciated :tup:

Well, its a bit hard to judge from that small excerpt but the first piece in that video is one where you have longer notes in your right hand against short notes in the left hand. It seems like you push the bellows extra for each bass note which also affects the longer notes in the treble. For this kind of phrasing in the treble, try using palm and back of (left) hand for feeling up the lung of the accordion in your arms and giving it a continuous pressure even though it moves irregularly due to the bursts of air spent on the bass notes. You might want to practise those long right-hand phrases at first without the bass in order to develop a feeling for how you want the melody to sing out before trying to transfer this to playing both sides and trying to keep up the same kind of phrasing in the treble.

Making slower melodies sing out nicely over a typically shorter-phrased accompaniment pattern may seem hard but it delivers likeable results sooner than hacking up everything into accordion-typical ornamentations.

By the way: I think thats not a 48-bass instrument but a 72-bass one. Definitely will take you farther than the former.

 

[Janice]

Thank you for the advice Geronimo

Easy to say but harder to put into practice but I will try what you say. :tup:

And ooops, I obviously can't count :lol:

 

[Geronimo]

Thank you for the advice Geronimo

Easy to say but harder to put into practice

Oh, most certainly so. But thats one thing that starts paying off comparatively soon and keeps doing so. Phrasing is so important with continuous-tone instruments, and developing the technique and skills for not letting the bass hand mess with the melody in spite of the common bellows makes the whole lead voice plus accompaniment hoax a thing one can actually pull off.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Janice,

Familiarity is the key. That is true of instruments, as it is with individual tunes. When you are not familiar with an instrument, it often seems like a struggle to get the thing to do what you want it to do. That is why it is so important to learn three or four tunes very well.

At our Folk Club, I play less familiar tunes at the beginning of the evening, knowing that I will be too tired later on to follow musical notation with the necessary precision. At this point, I rely on my old favourites to finish the evening. Depending on how many members and guests show up, I play between five and ten tunes in a typical evening. If the weather is bad, and we have a low turnout, this can increase substantially. As previously stated, I find it best to leave my most familiar tunes for when I really need them.

Now I have discovered that you have a 72 Bass, I am not worried that you may hit the buffers. The 72 Bass will play just about any folk or popular tune you may wish to learn.

Posting your video was very brave, but you have nothing to worry about. Everyone starts at the beginning, and no-one expects anything like perfection at this stage of your journey. Just keep practicing and you will be fine.

I play at least a couple of bum notes every week at the Folk Club, but I am always able to laugh it off. A keen sense of humour and an understanding of the human condition is, in my view, essential for anyone who plays in public.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Janice]

I play at least a couple of bum notes every week at the Folk Club, but I am always able to laugh it off. A keen sense of humour and an understanding of the human condition is, in my view, essential for anyone who plays in public.


Stephen.

Thanks again for your encouragement Stephen, youre more understanding as you learnt later in life too.

I shall never be able to play to a high quality but my aim is the enjoying what I am doing myself and possibly a few others.

Even after 50 years of playing guitar I am still able to make mistakes and yes thats human nature.

One thing I love about Folk Clubs is that anyone of any ability is able to get up and sing, play or recite without criticism and are appreciated just for the fact that theyve made an effort.

Janice

 

[Geronimo]

Thank you for the advice Geronimo

Easy to say but harder to put into practice but I will try what you say. :tup:

And ooops, I obviously cant count :lol:

How about this video of the Air from the Bach orchestra suite #3? Its not by far the first in the series and its just when I tried in a whim to add the missing viola voice in using multitracking that I realized that I had so far been leaving out half a measure before the repeat of the second part. That made fitting the last voice in somewhat hectic.

 

[Janice]

Thank you for the advice Geronimo

Easy to say but harder to put into practice but I will try what you say. :tup:

And ooops, I obviously cant count :lol:

How about this video of the Air from the Bach orchestra suite #3? Its not by far the first in the series and its just when I tried in a whim to add the missing viola voice in using multitracking that I realized that I had so far been leaving out half a measure before the repeat of the second part. That made fitting the last voice in somewhat hectic.

What a beautiful piece Geronimo. Thank you for sharing that

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Janice,

Yes, Folk Clubs can be very special places. People arrive as strangers, but leave as friends.

We have the full gambit of musical ability at our club, together with one or two unusual instruments. One guy occasionally plays the Dulcimer, whilst another entertains us with a 13 string Lute. Very, very occasionally, the Dulcimer player brings a tiny 8 Bass accordion. His accordion looks like a battered old biscuit tin, which I'm almost certain has never been tuned, but he rattles out some jolly little tunes on it.

It is, as you rightly said, about sharing your music with others. Nobody at our club cares if you make a mistake (which is just as well) all they want is for you to contribute to the evening.

I very much look forward to reading accounts of your progress.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.