Road to Django: Playing with Guitarists
I talked about:
My Barry Harris block chord work out in my practice cycle
How to make the block chords for: major 6, minor 6, minor 7, dominant chords, diminished chords
Nos and Yesses for playing with Guitarists, as an accordion player
the absolute importance of shedding your COMPING! It's what you're going to do the most
creating a variety of energies and vibes in your comping
comping rhyhtms
A great strategy for learning your chords shapes for tunes
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Hi Dallas, I loved your discussion on depressing the piano keys and buttons part way. You inspired me to add the following to my warm up routine. Cheers, Hugh
WARM UP ROUTINE: PLAYING ON THE CUSHION OF AIR
Pick a scale or phrase. Slowly play the scale or phrase with hands separate then hands together while focusing on playing on the cushion of air:
Breath to relax the body
Positive inner dialogue to relax the body
Imagine you are inside the accordion
Imagine there’s a cushion of air moving through the accordion
Imagine your left arm and back muscles are strong yet relaxed keeping a constant pressure on the cushion of air moving through the accordion
Imagine your fingers are relaxed and your fingertips are playing on the cushion of air
Focus on connecting to the cushion of air by gently pressing the piano key or button only part way
Focus on how the resistance of the piano key or button connects to the cushion of air
Focus on disconnecting from the cushion of air by slowly controlling the release of the piano key or button
Don’t focus on the mechanics of moving your fingers
Don't focus on the mechanics of opening and closing the reed valves
Playing on the cushion of air improves tone quality, reduces overtones, gives a better sounding beginning and ending of the note, uses a lot less air, gives us a lot more control over the air and makes the accordion more responsive and agile like a sports car