Floating pinkies? …and other questions for the beginning concertina player

Floating pinkies? …and other questions for beginning concertina player

Having developed bad habits as a beginner on the first instrument I learned and having found it difficult to unlearn them, I want to try and avoid the same thing as l learn to play the concertina.
I’ve been working at it for a few months on my own as there is no teacher available where I live. I’ve subscribed to OAIM but some of the basics of technique seem to be glossed over in the beginning lessons.
The question I have regards the placement of the pinkie. What I seem to see in most players (and which I think I also read somewhere) is that the pinkies rest on the side of the button board as a kind of an anchor. Is this the correct technique and how important is it? Because the most comfortable way for me is to have the pinkies floating which also makes it easier for me to get to the F# on the left hand when I need it. Should I change this?
Also if any of you out there have other advice for the beginning player on habits to avoid, I would appreciate hearing about them. Thanks.

In my case, when I can, I anchor my right pinking against the fretwork to reduce the rotation of the top of the instrument inward on a press. Having the pinkie anchor allows me to keep the right side vertical and provides for efficient airflow when compared with top side rotation, which causes the top of the instrument to tilt inward while the bottom tilts out. Noel Hill helped me identify this problem I’d been having in my playing and suggested this solution at one of his Oregon workshops several years ago. Of course, if I’m using my right ring or little finger during a tune, I may have to give up the anchor, but most of the time, I’m anchored.

Regarding left pinkie anchoring, I absolutely never do that. My left pinkie floats, the left side is stabilized by the pressure of the little-finger side of my palm on the bar and my left thumb. I can’t even imagine how one might anchor using the left pinkie, seems like a bad idea.

Thanks for the input Michael. So my question is do you rest the concertina on tour left knee or your right? If you’re doing the push/pull with your right hand then I can definitely see anchoring with the right pinkie to help in manipulation of the bellows, and since the the left hand is much more stabilized that pinkie is free to float (and because of the F# is in way more use than the right). However I rest the concertina on my right knee and manipulate the bellows with my left hand (I’m left-handed and I think I went that way naturally). But I’m only a few months in and could change to resting it on right knee. I tried it, and though the left hand didn’t feel as comfortable, I could see the advantage of having that right pinkie anchored. Any thoughts on whether or not, at this early point I should shift over to the left knee/ right hand bellows operation?

My left pinkie is too active to rest. It is involved in making melody and chords and is never used as an anchor. I hardly ever use the right pinkie as an anchor either, though I don’t use it very often. My hand straps are very loose, with about 3/4“to 1” distance between the strap and my hand. The freer you are, IMHO, the less physical tension will be generated and the better the music. I usually keep the concertina on my left thigh, but at times I do switch it to rest on the right thigh.
It is good to be relaxed with your instrument.

If you push with your left hand, your left pinky will be way to busy with other stuff. I push with my left as well (habit from the accordeon), and I don’t stabilize with my right pinky except maybe in some exceptions I’m not even aware of. Resting the left pinky on the wood will make it less responsive to jump into action when it is needed. Generally, keep your fingers hovering above their “home” buttons.

Play the way you feel most comfortable with and relaxed. If you think that stabilizing the concertina with your right pinky might be helpful, use it. Most of the time, it doesn’t have anything better to do anyways. 🙂 But it’s definitely not a rule, and make sure you don’t twist your hand into an awkward position by doing so. I think most people using their right pinky for stabilization play the concertina right-handed, so that might be a completely different balance between both hands and the instrument.

I play with the left side anchored on my left thigh. If you want to see the position, check out any of Noel Hill’s videos on YouTube. I also use a piece of leather on my leg to help keep it from slipping. I also play the Uilleann pipes, so discovered this trick using my popping strap leather.

If you really want even more experts to talk your ear off about this, come on over to concertina.net forums and ask!

Ken