Index Introduction Background Definitions Setting Technique Harmony Bass Drills Scores References
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See also: Drills Only Page
The purpose of these technical drills is to ingrain the most basic physical motions of Bulgarian accordion playing into muscle memory. Efficient movement comes naturally to few - for most it requires deliberate study. Drills reduce musical elements to their most basic form, allowing the student to focus on the movement itself, apart from the involving emotions of musical content. Once the motions are smooth and relatively effortless, the study of actual tunes can focus on the tunes themselves, rather than the technique.
Each drill targets a specific aspect of technique, drawn from the previous Technique & Fingering tutorial. Be sure you understand what the aim of the drill is as you practice. Refining your technique proceeds in cycles of the 4 steps below.
Step 1: Each drill will we be unfamiliar at first, and must be taken very slowly so as to not cramp the hand. Once the drill's basic pattern and purpose is understood, practice it slowly with a mirror. Monitor your motions for awkwardness and inefficiency using both your internal, kinestethtic feedback mechanism and visual inspection. A mirror allows much better visual diagnosis of awkward motion than looking down your keyboard, which can also upset your posture and playing mechanics.
Step 2: Once the motions are relaxed and efficient at slow tempo, gradually up the tempo by stopping the drill and restarting at a slightly faster tempo. Do not gradually accelerate the drill without stopping. Unintended acceleration is the bane of Bulgarian accordion playing and gradual acceleration during drills promotes a lack of tempo discipline.
Step 3: Once the motions are relaxed and efficient at a moderate tempo, and there is no awkwardness obvious to mirror inspection, practice the drill with your eyes closed. Switch your focus from the hand motions themselves to the notes that result. There is an inevitable delay between the motions and the resulting notes, a delay that becomes impossible to manage at fast tempos. Switching from motion-based thinking to note-based thinking requires recalibrating your rhythmic sense, so you'll need to back off the tempo initially.
Step 4: Once your rhythmic sense is recalibrated to the sound of the notes, you can gradually increase the tempo (again, step-wise) from moderate to fast tempo. Monitor any awkwardness that may creep in kinesthetically, but also do a mirror check once in a while. Each drill will have a maximum tempo, beyond which you cannot maintain precision. Consider how the drill motif might be used in an actual Bulgarian tune you want to play, and consider what maximum tempo you will be limited to. This will probably be discouraging, especially for ornamental drills, and you'll want to find a way to increase your maximum tempo. To some extent, this will increase with daily practice, but mostly this is an ergonomic question. Reexamine the ergonomics of your motions from the new, higher standard you've now achieved. Tinker with your motions at a variety of tempos. When you find what you think is the problem, start over at step 1 with your improved understanding.
| Name | Aims | Motif |
|---|---|---|
| LEGATO1 | 2 finger rocking. Details | |
| LEGATO2 | Smooth fingering used in many descending drills. Details | |
| LEGATO3 | 3 fingering rocking at single tripod station. Details | |
| LEGATO4 | Transition between 2 stations via common finger pivot. Details | |
| LEGATO5 | 5-finger legato (after Hanon) Details | |
| LEGATO6 | 5-finger legato (after Hanon) Details | |
| REPEAT1 | Smooth repeats with alternate fingers (descending). Details | |
| REPEAT2 | Smooth repeats with alternate fingers (ascending). Details | |
| REACH1 | Basic reaches above and below. Details | |
| REACH2 | Double drop notes. Details | |
| REACH3 | Reaches using palm. Details | |
| REACH4 | Asymettric palm reaches with finger 2. Details | |
| REACH5 | Asymmetric palm reaches with finger 3. Details | |
| REACH6 | Extended tripods with constant wrist angle, thumb insertion. Details | |
| REACH7 | Extended tripods with varied wrist angles, thumb insertion. Details | |
| GLIDE1 | Upward glide with finger 1. Details | |
| GLIDE2 | Upward and downward glides with finger 2. Details | |
| GLIDE3 | Upward and downward glides with finger 3. Details | |
| GLIDE4 | Combined glides on 2 and 3. Details | |
| SCALE4 | 4 note scalewise motion Details | |
| SCALE5 | 5-note scalewise motion Details | |
| SCALE7 | 1213 fingering practice Details | |
| SCALEH | 8 note hijaz scales Details | |
| Name | Aims | Motif |
|---|---|---|
| PRALL1 | Pralls in prepared station. Details |  |
| PRALL2 | Pralls in slowly changing stations. Details |  |
| PRALL3 | Pralls in quickly changing stations. Details |  |
| PRALL4 | Changing wrist angles and thumb insertion. Details |  |
| PRALL5 | Consecutive pralls. Details |  |
| PRALL6 | Finger 3 angle changes as 232 pralls approached from above. Details |  |
| PRALL7 | Extended tripod prall (5th). Use left thumb rock preparation. Details |  |
| PRALL8 | Most extended tripod prall (6th). Details |  |
| Name | Aims | Motif |
|---|---|---|
| BALLAD1 | Stable back and forth crossing. Details |  |
| BALLAD2 | Longer phrase version of above. Details |  |
| BALLAD3 | Long note flows into ornament. Details |  |
| BALLAD4 | Rolls with pause. Details |  |
| BALLAD5 | Shope ballad style repeated notes. Details |  |
| BALLAD6 | Shope style ballad extend phrase. Details |  |
Copyright 2013 Erik Butterworth. All rights reserved.