Draw or Press?

When I re-notated the "Commonly Used Chords" for the left hand [CACC - Jerry Krzmarzick], I finally realized what was going on with the decisions for "Draw" and "Press" directions.

Quite simply, in one direction, a chord will be impossible to play all the notes at once (although you could arpeggiate it, perhaps), while in the other direction, it is ridiculously easy.

This means that Chemnitzer concertina music is written for the left hand.

I mean that it doesn't matter what the notes of the right hand are.  The direction you play, "Press" or "Draw" is dictated by what chords are being played by the left hand.

In standard concertina music, the key of G is very common.  However, playing G chords with the left hand in the draw direction is pretty tricky - so you will *always* see concertina music written for press when the left hand is playing G chords.

Conveniently, the same thing is true of the left hand chords for D major (and Dominant 7th).  They are way easier in the "Draw" direction than the "Press" direction.

Now that I realize this, I know that when I am marking some music to play for concertina, I have to look at the left hand and that will determine whether I am pushing or pulling at any given note.

I might try to do something differently than the standard directions if the normal thing is interfering with the right hand melody too much, or if the right hand in a given direction is way too hard (compared to the other direction).

But mostly, the right hand is pretty much the same in either direction (compared to chords in the left hand).  Sure some sequences are easier in one direction than the other, but its not insurmountable.  Plus, we can always transpose or switch to a different keyed Concertina (if available).