Some Stradella bass tips...🙂
- Thread starter Dingo40
- Start date
Mike t.
Active member
Thanks, good stuff! I’ve been running into playing Django Gypsy Jazz. (I have a long way to go!)
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
I hate to be "that guy", but here I go. 
Right off the bat, he makes the mistake of thinking that, if a chord needs an extra note to make it whatever jazzy chord you're looking for, you can just add it as a bass note.
This is not quite true. C/A is not a C6 chord, it's an Am7 chord.
Yes, the two chords have the same four notes. But there's an important difference in which of those notes functions as the distinctly lowest root/bass note. It's not just a matter of equivalent inversions, like it would be if you played A-C-E-G vs. C-E-G-A in the right hand only. That low-pitched bass note is setting the stage for how the entire chord sounds, and how it functions in the overall harmony of the piece.
If the accordion is a "band in a box", then those single, left-hand notes are the bass player. If that bass player sees C6 and plays an A instead of a C, they're either making a mistake or taking it upon themselves to reharmonize the tune.
The Am/C he talks about as a second option is the more-correct way to play C6 using just the left hand.
I stopped watching after that, so maybe he gets into this matter later?
Right off the bat, he makes the mistake of thinking that, if a chord needs an extra note to make it whatever jazzy chord you're looking for, you can just add it as a bass note.
This is not quite true. C/A is not a C6 chord, it's an Am7 chord.
Yes, the two chords have the same four notes. But there's an important difference in which of those notes functions as the distinctly lowest root/bass note. It's not just a matter of equivalent inversions, like it would be if you played A-C-E-G vs. C-E-G-A in the right hand only. That low-pitched bass note is setting the stage for how the entire chord sounds, and how it functions in the overall harmony of the piece.
If the accordion is a "band in a box", then those single, left-hand notes are the bass player. If that bass player sees C6 and plays an A instead of a C, they're either making a mistake or taking it upon themselves to reharmonize the tune.
The Am/C he talks about as a second option is the more-correct way to play C6 using just the left hand.
I stopped watching after that, so maybe he gets into this matter later?
Last edited:
No he goes on to use similar approaches for:
- Cmaj7 - play C bass, C major and E minor
- Cmaj9 - play a C bass, C major and G major
- Cm9 - play C bass, C minor and G minor
Mike t.
Active member
I use the fingering for say, Cm7 where you play just two buttons, the C bass or C counter bass above A flat, and the E flat major chord. It gives me the sound plus not too hard to hit on the fly. I play the song Swing 42, a Django Reinhardt tune. There’s a bunch of those m7 chords, I know the chord notes for the C-7, (how the song shows a Cm7) is maybe not in the right order or missing some notes on my accordion's bass, but for me it “grooves”?
My son will play fiddle with me at times then… musical bliss! My ol’ Petosa accordion sounds better for playing those Django swing tunes than the new Saltarelle accordion I just got. But for fiddle tunes, the Saltarelle is stellar! What a lot of fun! We’ve been busy planning music camp jams and dates for summer. We will only be about 4 hours away, I would think my wife would look a little more sad instead of happy… She wants to stay home! Go figure!
craigd
Active member
I hate to be "that guy", but here I go.
Right off the bat, he makes the mistake of thinking that, if a chord needs an extra note to make it whatever jazzy chord you're looking for, you can just add it as a bass note.
This is not quite true. C/A is not a C6 chord, it's an Am7 chord.
Yes, the two chords have the same four notes. But there's an important difference in which of those notes functions as the distinctly lowest root/bass note. It's not just a matter of equivalent inversions, like it would be if you played A-C-E-G vs. C-E-G-A in the right hand only. That low-pitched bass note is setting the stage for how the entire chord sounds, and how it functions in the overall harmony of the piece.
If the accordion is a "band in a box", then those single, left-hand notes are the bass player. If that bass player sees C6 and plays an A instead of a C, they're either making a mistake or taking it upon themselves to reharmonize the tune.
The Am/C he talks about as a second option is the more-correct way to play C6 using just the left hand.
I stopped watching after that, so maybe he gets into this matter later?
Yes, perhaps he should have added the caveats you mentioned, but a young guy playing accordion competently and beyond its stereotypical role, and sharing his knowledge, I think it's definitely a good thing. I say more power to him.
