I've been going it alone on concertina for a few months. I'm at the point now where I'm looking for a good explanation of ornamentation. I play flute/whistle, so it's not stylistic help that I'm looking for. But what do I do physically, to get the same types of sounds out of a concertina? (Really, I'd just like to learn taps and cuts to begin with.) I've searched the web and haven't been able to find any explanations that are simpler than advanced cranning techniques. Any help for the next few weeks before I'll be able to get some help in person?
Go raibh maith agat!
Anglo Ornamentation
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Danner
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Anglo Ornamentation
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banjoman
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Re: Anglo Ornamentation
Hi Danner,
If you take all the notes on left hand side of the concertina to begin with- they can all be cut or tapped with a note on the far side or in some cases on the left side itself.With the concertina, the ornamenting of notes on the left is mostly done on the right side and are mostly done on the same bellows.The note of D on the middle row left would be affected by the B on the middle row right.E can be done with the G on left middle or C nat on middle row right as can G.
F# could be cut with A on left or again B on right. And so on. On the right it is usually the note above it on the keyboard as opposed to on the scale and again on same bellows.Ornamentation on concertina is usually more percussive than musical as in hearing of the note and can be a bit restrictive if you are used to a different sound as in flute or fiddle.It does offer a different type of sound ! If you need more info pm me
If you take all the notes on left hand side of the concertina to begin with- they can all be cut or tapped with a note on the far side or in some cases on the left side itself.With the concertina, the ornamenting of notes on the left is mostly done on the right side and are mostly done on the same bellows.The note of D on the middle row left would be affected by the B on the middle row right.E can be done with the G on left middle or C nat on middle row right as can G.
F# could be cut with A on left or again B on right. And so on. On the right it is usually the note above it on the keyboard as opposed to on the scale and again on same bellows.Ornamentation on concertina is usually more percussive than musical as in hearing of the note and can be a bit restrictive if you are used to a different sound as in flute or fiddle.It does offer a different type of sound ! If you need more info pm me
concertinaman
Re: Anglo Ornamentation
I'm also a flute player who recently (well, a few years ago now) took up the concertina. The ornamentation is really quite different -- there are rough equivalents to long/short rolls, cranns, etc, but they don't have the same feel to them at all. I find I ornament in different places on the concertina than I would on the flute. The long, flowing type of rolls you hear a lot on the flute don't transfer very well. Concertina ornaments tend to be more punchy and squished together, which takes some getting used to.
As for the technique: cuts/taps are pretty straightforward. Like banjoman said, you generally want to ornament the LH notes with the right hand.
Rolls are where it gets tricky. For a long roll on the flute you'd essentially play the base tone for it's full duration, with a cut and tap to break it up. On the concertina you play the base tone, release that button, play two grace notes, then hit the base note again. For example to roll an A (played on the C row with LH1), you might do the following:
A (LH1)
D grace note (RH2)
B grace note (RH3)
A (LH1)
Unlike the flute, both grace notes are above the A, and there's no A in between the grace notes.
For rolling the LH notes, you'd typically play both grace notes on the RH (1st and 2nd finger). But if I'm playing a note with LH2, I'll sometimes do the grace notes with RH1 and LH1. I haven't really got the hang of ornamenting LH notes yet.
As for the technique: cuts/taps are pretty straightforward. Like banjoman said, you generally want to ornament the LH notes with the right hand.
Rolls are where it gets tricky. For a long roll on the flute you'd essentially play the base tone for it's full duration, with a cut and tap to break it up. On the concertina you play the base tone, release that button, play two grace notes, then hit the base note again. For example to roll an A (played on the C row with LH1), you might do the following:
A (LH1)
D grace note (RH2)
B grace note (RH3)
A (LH1)
Unlike the flute, both grace notes are above the A, and there's no A in between the grace notes.
For rolling the LH notes, you'd typically play both grace notes on the RH (1st and 2nd finger). But if I'm playing a note with LH2, I'll sometimes do the grace notes with RH1 and LH1. I haven't really got the hang of ornamenting LH notes yet.