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Báidín Fheilimí Simple Bass Pattern
Earlier we looked at the bass exercise where you played a fundamental bass note once, followed by a chord button played twice. This is the usual bass rhythm accompaniment for waltz-time tunes like Báidín Fheilimí, so it may be a good idea to play that exercise again before starting this one. Each bar has three bass notes of equal length and you always play the indicated fundamental bass note followed by the major chord played twice.
Let’s look at the music:
Notice in the first six bars the only bass indication is one ‘D’ that appears at the start of the tune. That indicates that you should play D followed by Dmaj Dmaj in each of those four bars. You continue to do this until you see another capital letter. Then you change to that note; in this case we change from D basses to A basses in bar seven. Listen to video clip A below and follow the music - there are three basses (a kind of ‘oom-pah-pah’ rhythm) to each bar and notice each time they change. Now try playing just the left hand with me on it’s own. Follow the music so that you know when the changes are, knowing that you keep playing the same basses until the letter changes to a different bass. Remember to keep the bellows moving in the correct direction and keep your basses quite short and even, as I do. Also notice that it is common to end a tune with a held fundamental bass note and chord together, as I do in the video clip.
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Now we’ll try putting both hands together. Before you start this exercise, make sure you have practised the right hand and left-hand accompaniment separately, or you may run into difficulties. Video clip B, above, looks at the first four bars because the second bar is slightly tricky in timing. Remember that in bar one, you play an A on the right hand while you play D fundamental and a Dmaj chord on the left hand. Then you play a D on the right hand with a Dmaj chord on the left hand:
Then in bar two, you play an F# on the right hand, while you play a D fundamental and a Dmaj chord on the left hand. The next note on the right hand is E and that has no left hand accompaniment (this is because of the dotted rhythm in the tune), but the last right hand note in that bar (D) is joined on the left hand with a Dmaj chord.
Once you are happy with the first four bars, work slowly throughout the tune and then play with me on video clip C above. Keep practising towards not using the music and keep the right hand as flowing and smooth as possible. Try not to break the flow of the bellows: if you need to change direction sooner than I have suggested, do so, but try to change without playing anything on the exact moment you change direction and your bellows will be smoother. It’s a good idea to practice in front of a mirror and focus on your bellows: is the movement smooth or jerky? Are you relaxed or tense? This may sound odd to try but if you do, it will show up a lot of things you may need to work on and even distract you into playing better!
Also give yourself time: practice each hand separately with this video clip before putting both hands together each time you try it, so that you are sure of what each hand is doing.
Báidín Fheilimí Advanced Bass Pattern
Now we have a more advanced bass accompaniment to the same tune. The right hand remains the same.
First of all, place your left hand fingers as follows:
Third finger on the Dmaj chord
Second finger on the Amaj chord
Fourth finger on the Gmaj chord
Now follow the music using this bass line only playing the major chords using your third finger. Listen to video clip D. I start by playing each of the three chords so that you are sure where your fingers should be. Then the long D chord is the opening of the tune.
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Let’s try playing Báidín Fheilimí three times through (video clip E), as this will help you to think of the three as a little arrangement, and also because tunes are usually played at least twice. Before we begin, make sure your right-hand fingers are placed above the first five notes and you left-hand fingers (three, two and four) are placed above the Dmaj, Amaj and Gmaj chord buttons.
The first time, play just the right hand on it’s own, making sure your bellows are smooth.
The second time play both hands using the chord-only accompaniment we practised on video clip D. The third time, play both hands using the waltz-time bass accompaniment.
Work on getting to the end of one time through the tune (first, second or third time) before you tackle putting it all together.
This tune has taught you all the basics you need to play the piano accordion; you’ll be surprised how many of the techniques you have learned so far will come up again and again.
Also, when you play, try to start and finish confidently; don’t rush into a tune before you are ready and, you can always end this tune with a held D and Dmaj chord on the left hand, while playing a low D and low A together on the right hand.
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