C#/D boxes

[jazz-phil]

I'm normally a one row player, and have been playing some Johhnny Connolly stuff recently.

I've just acquired a B/C box, because it was too good a price to turn down, and quickly realised that if I treat it as a C#/D (not going to any sessions at the moment) I won't fry my brain trying to learn a whole new system.

So I can rattle off a few tunes basically by treating it as a D one row, and I can see that I can also get at G tunes by row crossing for the C, but there must be more benefit to the 2 rows.

I know there's the 2 repeated notes on the 2 rows, but can someone give me some guidelines on C#/D playing and suggest how I might approach expanding my playing beyond the one row to maximise the benefits of the 2 rows.

[StevieJ]

So I can rattle off a few tunes basically by treating it as a D one row, and I can see that I can also get at G tunes by row crossing for the C, but there must be more benefit to the 2 rows.

I know there's the 2 repeated notes on the 2 rows, but can someone give me some guidelines on C#/D playing and suggest how I might approach expanding my playing beyond the one row to maximise the benefits of the 2 rows.

Phil - the C# row lets you do more than play in G: you can play in A too! Seriously anything with from 1 to 3 sharps is very well suited to the C#/D box. Keys with either more or fewer sharps can be done too but (in general) get progressively more awkward.

"Two repeated notes" don't sound like much but in fact they add a degree of flexibility in phrasing that seems out of all proportion to their meagre number - esp. the F# which is a godsend.

Explore their use to the full, working out fingerings that make this easy. And always consider not using them - sometimes the smoothness they allow helps the tune, sometimes not.

I'm convinced that intelligent use of fingering is the key to the two-row box and from what I can see, one-row players tend to get around the keyboard a bit differently.

BTW I think you should fry your brain when you feel you can handle it - working things out in B/C fingering will teach you new things applicable to C#/D playing.

Good luck
Steve

Edit - of course the classic response to your question would be that two-row half-step boxes played on the inside allow you to do "classic" 5-note rolls à la Paddy O'Brien, Joe Burke, etc. I'm not a big fan of these but you should probably learn them. I tend to use them only when the note on the outer row is in key - e.g. using G rolls when you're playing in G (where your outer-row note will be F#), G & D rolls playing in D, and so on.

But I do like to use the outer row for a brief grace note below an accented note on the inner row - e.g. playing a very brief G# to lead you into an accented A. This mimics a slide, does not sound cheesy to my ear when used with some restraint - in fact it sounds great.