The new C#/D Dancemaster arrived a week ago. It’s lovely and I’m happy to have my own accordion at last. I did decide on a C#/D in spite of learning on the B/C after chatting with Michael several times and giving it some thought. So now the positions of the notes have changed and it feels a bit (though not entirely) like starting over.
I’ve been using the Hanrahan book for learning the B/C and since the new box arrived have been relearning some of the tunes to suit the C#/D. But I’d like to work on some new tunes and wondered if any of you would recommend some good learning tunes for new C#/D players?
Any suggestions will be hugely appreciated because I’m out in the nonurban part of the Midwest where C#/D players are as scarce as, well, ANY box players …
Hi Jenny. Someone asked the same question on another forum a while ago - this is a copy and paste of what I said there…
Tunes in “E-minor” (E dorian - with 2 #s ) are among the easiest. Tackling tunes in this key will encourage you (or maybe lull you into a false sense of security, haha).
Waltzes and marches are a good idea to build up your confidence, but if you want to tackle dance tunes, jigs such as the Creel of turf and Rollicking boys of Tandaragee (aka Pat Burke’s, Hills of Glenorchie) are a good place to start, and then reels like Man of the house and Dunmore lasses.
Then try a few D maj. tunes. And don’t forget to make use of the F#s and C#s (esp. the F#s) that you have in the outer row.
G maj is easy enough but G tunes often have awkward jumps in them and you want to develop some good fingering habits before tackling them.
Thanks for the tips, Steve. Your statement about using the F#s and C#s in the outer row for D maj was one of those little Ah Ha moments for me. I knew those notes were also on the outer row but now I realize why they might be useful!
Polkas - They’re fun. I’ll give some a try. Lately I’ve been listening to Drioball Na Fainleoige by Johnny Connolly. The Annabla Polkas 1 & 2 are rollicking tunes, audio caffeine, when I’m driving home from work at night. I’ve been looking for sheet music or ABCs for them, without success so far. May have to play the track over & over to work the tunes out for myself.
Congrats on your new Dancemaster! I have owned two dancemasters with machine grade reeds. A B/C and C#D. Both were excellent instruments! I started with a B/C because it seemed like the thing to do!
All those teaching materials for the B/C I figured that must be the best choice! Then after a year and a half I think I hit a wall on the B/C and decided to trade up for a C#D (im joking, it’s really a tossup which is better!). Michael gladley traded me a C#D that was ready to go in his shop!
Don’t forget you can still play B/C fingering on your C#D only in a higher key! It’s fun and frustrating to work out tunes in both fingerings. Some work better on one or the other!.
Swallowtail and morrisons work well in C#D fingering. Of course Cooley’s is the classic C#D tune played by the famous Joe Cooley but also cool in B/C. slowplayers.org has alot of music and midi clips.
good to hear you got a Dancemaster. I hope you will enjoy it.
After trying a Saltarelle for a while, I can say that I prefer my Dancemaster as it is smaller, lighter and easier to play. Of course the Saltarelle has a better sound, but that is because my Dancemaster has the cheapest kind of reeds. Nevertheless the sound is good enough for me.
Your reasons for liking your Dancemaster are nearly the same as mine - it IS very light and easy to handle. The bellows were a bit hard to pull at first but they seem to be “relaxing” now. I’m very happy with it.
I have never played another button accordion, so I really don’t know how it compares with other boxes, but I upgraded to the DA Binci reeds, and it sounds good to me. I have been playing mine for about two months, and I am loving it! I took it to our local session and played a couple of John Whelan tunes, now everybody wants a Dancemaster! Good Luck with yours.
