Playing Across the Keyboard

The Approach

As discussed in the previous post, playing across the keyboard encourages thinking about

• Intervals  -- half step, whole step, minor third, and also major third, fourth and fifth
• Chords -- anchor notes, chord positions, and arpeggios

The Music

I found this song to draw you across the rows as you use alternative buttons. Then about half way through the song, using convenient buttons you are drawn back toward the starting rows.

The song is the slow Russian romance song "I Met You" or in Russian "Я ВСТРЕТИЛ ВАС" (Ja Vstretil Vas).

The following link includes Russian words, a lead sheet, and a three-page piano score.
http://a-pesni.org/romans/javstretil.htm

The following video includes a transliteration of the Russian text on the screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5SxLw2ea8A

The following video shows the song being played on a C-griff keyboard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXasED5Snxk

The following video shows chordal accompaniment and improvisation being played on a B-griff keyboard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxSAw9gRyZY

The Practice

The song's resources provides you plenty to work on.

1. Start with the lead sheet and play the melody.
   
2. Then using the lead sheet, play the melody as chords.
   
3. Then play the melody using arpeggiated chords.
   
4. Then play the piano part using both hands.
   
5. Finally, sing the Russian text with the aid of the video that displays the transliteration of the Russian text.

The Result

Your playing capabilities will increase.

You will have a nice song to perform.

The Five by Five Button Rectangle

An Approach to Practice

Five rows across, five buttons down for an octave, and five fingers.

As you progress from using three fingers on the outside three rows of button, you add the additional two fingers.  Then you begin using buttons to the left of the outside three rows. Eventually you get to play across all of the rows without an emphasis on the outside rows.

You achieve this by trying different fingering positions and discovering some combinations that make a section of music easier to play. The six-row CBA, dugmetara or Serbian accordion, duplicates the outside three rows as the inside three rows. So your practice can expand left from the outside rows as well as expand right from the inside rows.

The Music

The Folk Dance Musings is a wonderful and extensive collection of dance instruction that also include dance videos and often links to sheet music.

The following link is their page for the Moldavian dance Ostropat.

http://folkdancemusings.blogspot.com/2015/09/ostropat-moldova.html

The music: Ostropat, a Moldavian folk dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmxCui7lSOE

The sheet music: Ostropat, a Moldavian folk dance
http://ifdo.ca/~seymour/midipage/ostropat.pdf

The dance: Ostropat, a Moldavian folk dance by Dunav

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEHhvHEZ6iE

The Practice

Within the first eight measures you come across accidentals on five of the seven notes in the scale: E, F, A, B, and C. The piece is in D-minor with four repeated sections, of which the second is in F-Major.

As you work through the piece, several keyboard rules come to mind as you try to stay on track with the notes.

• Minor thirds are along a vertical row.
• Half-steps are one button away to one side, but two buttons away on the other side.
• Whole-steps are two buttons away on one side, but one button away on the other side.
• Some notes serve as anchor notes as you play other notes around this anchor note. I found that the note "A" often served as a useful anchor button.
• Often the notes of a chord shape serve as a collection of anchor buttons. Using the chord symbol to play the chord shape for each measure helps to settle the finger positions for a measure and set up the finger position for the next measure.

The Result

Gradually you become more confident playing across the rows as well as down the rows.

Button Clumps and Button Sequences

An Approach to Practice

Playing music is like a lot of other things, it is really important to be in the right place at the right time. For playing music that means pressing the right finger at the right time in the right place.

So notes become either a clump of buttons (a handful of buttons) or a sequence of buttons (fingers walking and jumping). Sometimes a piece of music seems difficult at first, but after playing through it a few times, you discover that the notes fall into a series of hand positions and finger sequences.

I found that "Horo Staccato" is such a piece.

The Music

The story behind the piece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hora_staccato

The music (it seems intimidating)

https://musescore.com/user/24971961/scores/6613983

The Performance

(it seems even more intimidating)

On violin (Jascha Heifetz) – the gold standard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mag2mc5Vva0

On violin and B-griff CBA – fast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK6ihzv2SkI

On B-griff CBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epAn2sr0Kqk

On C-griff CBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qocCd726WQc

On piano accordion – relative hand torture compared to CBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-fNSWV_wfw

The Practice

Another life lesson that applies to music performance is preparation is everything.

For music performance that means having the fingers in place just before they need to play the notes.

So performance is a continuous cycle of position fingers, play, transition to next finger placement, position fingers, and on and on. So playing is more than just playing, it is position and transition.

So to achieve accurate playing, perform accurate practice. Correct practice means correct performance. Preparation is everything. So let us break down Horo Staccato into finger clumps and finger sequences.

Handful of Buttons

Benefits

Chromatic button accordions have their three basic rows to the right. An essential goal is to play well using those three rows. When you are ready for an additional challenge, you want to play across the keyboard from left to right using the additional rows. These rows duplicate the basic rows. You may have one, two, or three additional rows.

The first use of these additional rows is to play individual notes instead of using the basic rows for that note to achieve a more natural open hand position, depending on the music. For example, instead of reaching back to row one you reach to the left to row four or row five.


A second use of these additional rows is to play across the keyboard in a piano-like motion using all of the fingers as needed. In this approach reposition your hand with your fingers on notes used in the musical phrase. For example, an ascending scale would be played left to right then move down to the next cross row to finish the scale left to right.

The Music

A useful collection of music is posted at:

http://www.bushtraditions.org/tutors/inrow.htm

The Practice

Select a tune.

Develop an alternate fingering and mark the music with fingering reminders. Practice that fingering until you can play it comfortably. Then work on another musical section or tune. Eventually you may identify and use several different alternative fingering patterns for the same music. 

As written earlier in the blog article "Reading and Playing Music Notation,"

as you scan ahead on the music, you see notes that are higher or lower than your current position. So you have to transition the position of the right hand and fingers.

Transition the hand using a reference button. For example, replace a current finger on a button with a different finger. Shift the remaining fingers to the new notes. Play the notes, then shift the hand again using a reference button.

Consider adjusting the wrist and hand angle up or down the keyboard to better fit the selection of buttons. Consider alternate fingerings and buttons in other rows. Consider using some awkward positions to get to a good position for a particular section of music.

Mark fingerings in the music and play them consistently. If you discover a better fingering, update your finger markings.

The goal is to play in a relaxed and confident manner without thinking of fingering. 

Videos of Two Playing Styles

Comparing the playing of the Monti Czardas,

Frederic Langlais uses a linear three-row style,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmnTH_dY9tQ

whereas, Oleg Sharov uses a full-keyboard style on a B system, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX9onEyUiGY

and Vilma uses a full-keyboard style on a C system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVitiRTgIAM

Finger Friendly

Benefits

Consistent fingering and arm form are necessary for playing well. Fingering will vary based on notes of the music, but some guidelines are useful to determine the best fingering for you.

The following link is a good place to start. Determining which fingers to use is a purposeful, problem-solving activity requiring musical analysis and trial and error. 

https://www.key-notes.com/blog/piano-fingering

Guidelines for the Right Hand

Arm form begins at the shoulder and ends at the ends of the fingers directly over the buttons. The fingering motion is directly down and up. This position requires that the elbow be forward with the wrist, hand, and fingers in a relaxed, natural arc.

Play each different button with a different digit (thumb and four fingers). Maintain a steady hand position with fingers positioned over the notes. In this way a specific note is a specific finger. The lower notes are under the lower fingers, and the higher notes are under the higher fingers.

As you scan ahead on the music, you see notes that are higher or lower than your current position. So you have to transition the position of the right hand and fingers.

Transition the hand using a reference button. For example, replace a current finger on a button with a different finger. Shift the remaining fingers to the new notes. Play the notes, then shift the hand again using a reference button.

Consider adjusting the wrist and hand angle up or down the keyboard to better fit the selection of buttons. Consider alternate fingerings and buttons in other rows. Consider using some awkward positions to get to a good position for a particular section of music.

Mark fingerings in the music and play them consistently. If you discover a better fingering, update your finger markings.

The goal is to play in a relaxed and confident manner without thinking of fingering. 

The Practice

The accordionist G. Gerritsen has posted at the link below some sheet music and audio files on his web site that you could use to determine your fingering patterns. Develop your own patterns. What works for one person does not necessarily work for someone else.

http://knopaccordeon.ggms.nl/bladmuzieke.html

Absolute Notes

Benefits

Playing "absolute notes" is to use only the outside three rows for the right hand and to play only one button for a specific note. Generally use three fingers, one for each row of buttons.

In other words, play the chromatic button accordion as you do the piano accordion, that is, each note is a specific key.

The advantage is to associate a specific button with a specific note. This patterns the muscles and the brain to one position per note. 

 

The Practice

The first note to memorize is middle C. Get where you can automatically put your finger on the "C" button.

Now play all of your music exclusively using this approach until you mentally and physically know the position of every note and note pattern.

When you fumble for a note, stop and play that note correctly several times.

Continue to do this for every note you miss.

Continue to do this until you no longer miss notes. This may take several weeks depending on how much you practice.

The goal is to eliminate the tendency to finger an incorrect button.

 

Music Book Resources

Benefits

These  two music books for accordion provide a wide range of styles and also a means to progress from simple to complex tunes.

Eastern European Folk Tunes for Accordion

The accordionist Merima Kljuco has arranged and sequenced 33 to introduce you to the characteristic scales, rhythms, and music styles of southeastern Europe.

The book includes a CD of her playing all of the tunes with characteristic ornamentation added.

Amazon sells the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Eastern-European-Folk-Tunes-Accordion/dp/1847611397

The book contains an introduction to the music styles as well as comments about each tune.

The text is in English, French, and German.

Pinewoods International Collection

The accordionist Tom Pixton has collected and arranged over 400 dance tunes and songs complete with lyrics and English translations from southeastern Europe and areas nearby and afar.

The 354-page wire-bound 8-1/2 by 11 inch volume is available from the following web page.

http://pinewoodscollection.pixton.org/

The web page also provides videos, audio, tune index, and scanned pages.

This book would be a welcome addition to any music collection.


To further your learning, performances of many of the songs and dances are available online.

Gerard Gerritsen of The Netherlands

The accordionist G. Gerritsen has a web site for the beginning player of the B-grif chromatic accordion.

http://knopaccordeon.ggms.nl/indexe.html

The site includes videos, sheet music, audio files, links, and directions for ordering print materials.


Gerard Gerritsen is a piano accordion player who learned to play the chromatic accordion. He published his web site to help others beginning to play the B-grif chromatic accordion.