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Looking for B-system hand position advice

PeterAsh

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Jun 9, 2023
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Hi, I am new here and thanks for the opportunity to read much interesting info.
I’ve seen all the reasons from contributors to prefer C over B-griff, but I have a 5 row B system and will be sticking with it for better or worse.
I am a musician and after a few months am progressing without a teacher reasonable quickly. Or so I like to think!

So this is for players of B-griff instruments, and it is about hand position: There seems to be fairly consistent advice in Russian tutors and on YouTube, to play RH scales with the RH hand pointing down towards the left foot. (So C major scale fingered 2,4,3,4 etc, with no thumb) But when you watch advanced B-system players, especially 5-row rather than 3, the RH is invariably square-on to the fingerboard in a position similar to PA and with the thumb available for any of the rows of buttons. Scales fingered with the thumb in this square-on position are quite feasible, so can anyone advise on the general hand position for scales, arpeggios etc, especially while establishing memory of where all the notes are?

Many thanks.
 
I recommend a textbook for learning fingering: Semenov V. Modern school of Button accordion playing.

Example major scales fingering page:
major-scale.jpg
 
The 3-position approach roots almost a 100 years back when folks played 3-row B-griffs with 4 fingers & held their thumb behind the keyboard.
You'd use "down" facing position for scale runs & parallel position for arpeggios + "upward" facing position in some specific cases.

For modern 5-finger 5-row it's a relaxed parallel position for all of it.
 
I recommend a textbook for learning fingering: Semenov V. Modern school of Button accordion playing.

Example major scales fingering page:
major-scale.jpg
Many thanks. Will certainly follow up. Interesting times ahead!
 
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