RAc
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Posts posted by RAc
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25 minutes ago, aeolina said:
My thoughts too! Tried another AI programme but much of the same streamlined rhinestone polka vibe.
Solar panel powered too! 👌
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Look a lot like the first generation of Kaylon battleships...
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1 hour ago, Jacokotze said:
So what do you think it’s worth on a minimum
Again, follow seanc's advice and have a professional look at the instrument and give you a valuation. That professional might also make you an offer for purchasing the instrument for restauration and/or resale. If you choose a credible and respected professional like Barleycorn, that might be your best chance to get a fair price for it.
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www.tupian.de - I have one from them, really nice instruments!
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The first one could be the Irish Washerwoman?
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I vote for concertinish or squeezish.
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8 hours ago, gcoover said:
But speaking of cultural minefields, they originally had 88 tunes until someone pointed out that the number 88 can now also refer to HH (since it is the 8th letter of the alphabet), and there are some that say that means "Heil you-know-who." Yikes!
Somebody had to "point this out" to them? EXCUSE ME? Every child in Germany knows about 88, and the number is outlawed in the number part of registration plates in at least 6 federal states along with SS,SA,KZ and a few others in the letter part! Already CONSIDERING a tune count of 88 in a German folk song collection implies at the very best a perfect ignorance of a rather sensitive part of German history!
It is not getting any better in favor of those who have put together the collection.
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We are very much on the same page here, John!
Even though there are some who would argue that you are more German than most Germans (;-)), I am certain that you and most Irish people would respond similarly when being presented with a collection of "Irish folk songs" that consists solely of "The Wild Rover," "Whiskey in the Jar," "Drunken Sailor" and the other half dozen sanitized destillations of the rich, complex and diverse folk tradition Ireland has to offer. Likewise, Gary would at best be slightly amused about a "Collection of American Folk songs" that would consist exclusively of "The Streets of Laredo," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Wildwood Flower" etc.
In Germany, the situation is even worse (no thanks as usual to the Horror Clown with the stupid moustache, just to make sure I do not get misunderstood) because as opposed to, say, Ireland, where the political struggles and its history are an integral part of the folk tradition, Germany has a sad long reaching tradition of instrumentalizing and sanitizing folklore - which is the very contradiction of its nature.
The songs of the 1840s (one would be hard pressed to argue with songs from that period in terms of licensing or ownership) that you refer to are a prime example of folk songs that to this very day are swept under the carpet just to present German folk as inoffensive, unpolitical and uncontroversial as possible. Mind you, I am not one of those who believe that folk should always be political or moon howling social injustice, yet THAT tradition is as much part of Germany's folk heritage as every one in the collection, yet somehow, to this very day many "collections of German folk tunes" manage to completly ignore it. No surprise many Germans who like folk music for what folk is all about turn to other culture's folklore, like me.
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1 minute ago, gcoover said:
Due to copyright issues and the difficulty and expense of tracking down permissions, this book, like many others, must rely on the older songs in the public domain.
If you'd like to recommend other German tunes and folksongs, I'll bet they could easily be incorporated into a second book!
GarySorry, but that sounds like a rather weak excuse. Copyright restrictions have most certainly expired (to my best knowledge) for everything written/transcribed no later than 1900, and there are many examples of fine German folk songs (unrecognized in that and like selections) published well before that time (and reshifted into focus by bands like "Zupfgeigenhansel" as early as in the 1960s). German folk tradition has been revived in what is more generically labelled as "folk revival" in depth, and if you listen to bands like "Deitsch," they have much more to offer than "Ännchen von Tharau," yet few of their repertoire is younger than 150 years. There is more than enough perfectly unrestricted material out there.
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In all honesty, the tune selection makes my (german) toe nails curl. It's the same dust-covered stereotypical crap they fed me since early childhood almost 60 years ago and made me (and many many others in my generation) turn away from folk and move on to French, American, Irish, English... anything but that.
Mind you, it's good music, must be since it has survived centuries. But, no, thanks. There IS a good, meaningful, honest and folkish in the best sense folk tradition in Germany, but I do not see more than a half dozen examples (if at all) of it in that selection.
Of course I can not comment about the Swiss selection, the quality of the arrangements and other aspects of the book, but I do not feel any urge to look into that.
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1 hour ago, Jolly Hamster said:
Well call me an old cynic, but I reckon reading books on practicing is a very good way of putting off practicing.
It's 3-and-a-half years since I bought my first EC and I've played EVERY day since. Sometimes I'm so tired or depressed or distracted I permit myself to play just one repetition of one tune I know. Sometimes I do stop then, but usually I think, oh that reminds me of this other tune, I'll just play that too....
The best days are when I've heard a tune I really want to learn, then practicing can go on for hours!
Hi JH,
I am not too impressed by what I saw in the sample chapters of Judy's book, but I would strongly advise you to be more open towards input from experienced players regarding structured and efficient practicing strategies.
During the +-30 years I tried myself (rather unsuccessfully) as a guitarist, I followed a similar attitude as you, but it did not only get me nowhere but, worse, chiseled counter productive habits into my playing which took a long time to iron out. The most important thing to understand is that you get the most benefit in music from listening - not only listening in the literal meaning (listening to music), but also listening to how others who went the same road as you got lost and got out.
As for a case in point, "practicing can go on for hours" may be a satisfying and productive thing to do, but a) current research suggests that a brain "digests" anything musical much better with breaks in between repetitions, and b) if you do not pay attention to getting everything - notes, harmonies, rhythm, groove etc - right, chances are that you are milling errenuous playing into your fingers and your brain (btdt).
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10 hours ago, seanc said:
My hypothetical .. would be something like a bolt with a flat nail like flat thin head..
let’s say… ====|
the flat would go against the fretted face. So. The flat replaces where screw heads are now.
but, instead of that head connecting via screw to threads inside of the ends. This bolt goes all the way through the ends. So smooth hole through the ends.
then on the outside of the ends opposite the face and buttons, I am thinking recessed. You would attach the mechanical connection , outside of the ends. Via nut. Or washers and cotter pin or whatever.
so, from the button/ face side, you’d see a blank head. then You’d tighten via something in the area between the inside end and the bellows. There would be no mechanical connection inside the ends. Pressure is put on the ends from the exterior.
so [=======|
bellows———-button endswhere there is nothing inside the ends just a smooth hole. It would give quite a few options for swapping out.. bling out the bolt faces. Etched designs, bedazzle it etc. and relatively quick and easy to swap. The connection (bellows side) would be basically invisible from the exterior/ face view.
If I understand your concept right, there would need to be recesses in the outer frame to allow a tool to be attached. I believe that there would be considerable dangers in that, given that the frames also serve in making the entire assembly air tight.
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This discussion is getting quite bizarr.
As for my playing habits, my concertinas spend 99+ of their life times either in their cases or in my hands. In both scenarios, about the only parts I am NOT in visual contact with are the end plate bolt heads. Why on earth would I even consider pawning off their visuals against usability and surface protection?
I congratulate myself for asking Alex for hex bolts on #3 whenever I have to open the box, even if it is only once every ten months. One of the problems with slotted heads is that in every household I know, there are about two dozen screw drivers with slotted heads of which all but one somewhat fit the size of your end place bolt heads but not quite, and the one that fits perfectly has very likely been used recently by a family member to pry open a jar of pickled cucumbers. It is all in Murphy's laws, 2.42(1). So whenever you need to open your box and your are NOT the impeccable craftsperson who keeps his/her tools well maintained and accessible 24/7, your slotted bolt heads WILL jib, and your end plates WILL scratch. Why anyone would want that knowing he or she will almost never get to enjoy the looks escapes me.
As for the visuals: It's purely personal taste, so no discussng that, but I have always felt that hex bolts on a hex shaped object have a fractal touch to it which I personally find rather pleasing. Also, if I did enjoy looking at slotted heades, something inside me would argue that they would look even better if the slots were perfectly aligned or had some other geometric aesthetic to them such as radial alignment. It wouldn't be a good idea to try that, though. With hex or other centered bolt heads, that problem does not manifest itself.
But whatever, as long as we have the luxury to discuss minuscule details like that, we are still in fairly good shape.
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I put together a q&d video about my setup 3 years ago:
The stabilization comes from the straps running parallel to the handrails away from the body. The hands secure the straps from slipping away.
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23 minutes ago, Łukasz Martynowicz said:
With my desired repertoire there is simply no such thing as „too many buttons”.
I believe the above subclause is more or less the key - "the right tool for the right job." With my "bread and butter repertoire," there are considerable advantages to reducing the number of buttons, for both logistic (weight and size) and playability (reduction of getting lost potential) reasons, acknowledging that your mechanical immobilization device may or may not relieve my "getting lost problem," but I need the mobility for sound effect generation reasons.
So to summarize, may I quote you from your earlier contrib in this thread:
"It all boils down to desired repertoire really. If you want to play rich accordion-like arrangements or classical music, larger box is better. If you want to play mostly trad music, smaller box will likely be enough and come in a lightweight and small package."
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38 minutes ago, seanc said:
There are all valid considerations .
but IMO. Hands down the biggest advantage to more buttons is if you are reading and playing from a sheet is to be able to play as written. and there is far less chance of getting lost as you are not trying to transpose on the fly.
There are many instances where I find a 5-1-3, moving to a 1-3-5 and then 3-5-1. Or 7-1-3, 7-1-4 to 7-1-5. Places where flipping just does not sound right. And numerous times where doing a walk down is what you really need 5,4,3,2,1 not 5,4,3,9,8.
Also valid. Yet In dance accompaniment, you frequently have to work around written scores anyways; also, sight reading dance accompaniment music is generally considered a bad habit, so I would argue that your point does address different use cases than mine (which does not make it any inferior or less valid).
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Another disadvantage of more buttons is that more buttons make it easier to get lost on the keyboard, eg accidentally play a row above or below your intended row on a Crane. Iow, a smaller keyboard maps out the position of each key more clearly. To me that is a real life saver, in particular when it comes to stress situations such as playing full combat speed on a Scottish ceilidh. I only play my large 55 box when working on solo pieces that require the full range.
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Traditional Scottish dance tunes are frequently set in A or D major and their respective modal variations (as opposed to English tunes which are predominantly in D and G).
As has been mentioned before, current digital technology allows for transposition of any tune to any key practically without effort, but for an instrument like the concertina, a "mechanical" transposition is not always helpful (a transposed tune may "fall out of the range" of the melody side or yield awkward fingering).
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14 minutes ago, hjcjones said:
Then my biggest problem is remembering how a tune starts. I'm not good at linking tune names with melodies, and even when I have the music in front of me I'm not a good enough reader to make sense of it. However once I have a cue, I can then usually remember how to play a tune.
That is where crib sheets come in handy (that is the first two bars of each part of all tunes in the repertoire compressed). Your plight appears to be very common...
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well, what both David and Howard wrote is spot on, but I feel like adding something frequently underrated:
Translating music from visual representation to a given fingerboard is one skill. Translating the same visual to a new fingerboard is another skill (we had discussed this before). Translating music from the ear to your instrument is yet another skill, and so is memorizing tunes*. Each skill needs to be developed and practised individually and independently, and very few skills required by musicians come for free when developing another skill.
Many classically trained musicians are fantastic in translating sheet music in real time but fail poorly at "easy" tasks such as accompanying Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with chord fragments if it is not written out for them.
In other words, do not expect the skill to read and translate written music (which you obviously have developed) to help you recall and translate tunes from memory or ear to the instrument. You need ro develop your own individual tool set for each skill you want to master.
I, like a number of other concertina players I know, memorize tunes via the keyboard, and so one of the tools I came up with to do so is to fumble for the next note on a "virtual keyboard," eg an imagined keyboard on the pillow before I doze off to sleep. If you memorize tunes differently, you will need different tools but in any case, you will always need time.
*there are many other skills needed in music contexts, eg the skill to play with distractions (for example audiences or band members) which are outside the scope of this discussion, but the same rule applies for every of those: You will not develop that skill unless you practice it. For example, if you never play in front of other people but are the best player in the world, all of your playing skills are lost the second you step in front of an audience
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I believe that is fairly normal and to be expected... your hands and fingers will need to memorize the geometry of the keyboard and establish themselves "anchor points" for reference. That takes time.
I found that of my three Cranes (45,48 and 55 buttons), I feel most comfortable on the smallest one for that very reason; the highest notes used for all practical purposes are also on the top most buttons, so there isn't a chance of accidentally playing on a too high row; on the lower rows I believe my fingers have eventually orientated themselves. I found it amazing that adding a B below the lowest C on the RH confused my right hand considerably.
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16 hours ago, Owen Anderson said:
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that the book specifically addresses notation systems. I came to it with essentially zero musical knowledge (but a lot of math background), and it helped me understand things like why keys even exist, which then helped justify to me why you’d want a notation system that was key-oriented.No reason to be sorry - on the opposite, thanks, this is still a good read! Also, in your last sentence, you raise a point that only Steve has taken up so far but that for me is a strong argument in favor of CMN (as well as any other notation systems that are key oriented): It helps my brain and fingers "lock into" the tonal sphere of the underlying scale. Iow, as soon as I see two sharps in the beginning of a piece written in CMN, I (more or less subconsciously) pre-sort the chord material I will most probably use into D-A-G-Bm-Em-F#m and the note material into the diatonic D major scale (or one its modal variants).
Of course, this advantage disappears as the music heards towards atonality or heavily modulated, but at least for me, it applies to 99+x% of what I play.
That gives me a head start right there, being a harmony oriented person (ie a guitar player turned concertina). I do not see how a notation system that does not hint you towards the underlying tonal sphere can provide so much support for sight reading. Unless, of course, one plays a fully transposing instrument in which the difference between key signatures is just a lateral shift of equal chord positions such as a Hayden - but I would expect such a "consistent" pairing (eg Parnassus and Hayden) to pose other problems such as the danger to end up in the wrong key in the middle of a session... 😉But again, that does not imply that alternative notation systems would be inferior, they certainly have their justifications and advantages, and I am happy for everybody whose road to music becomes easier with one of them.
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3 hours ago, Laitch said:
Will Harmon is a writer, editor, fiddler, fiddle tutor, pie maker, mountain biker and who-knows-what-all out of Montana, USA who fiddles a lot in the Irish style. He's composed several interesting tunes along the way. Here's someone starting a set with that tune and almost riding it off the rails. 😊
"someone?" 😁
The tune reminds me of Naragonia's Hellebore, which you, Jim, may also want to tackle...
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16 hours ago, Owen Anderson said:
Volume 1. Volume 2 is really only if you want to learn DSP algorithms.I bought Vol. 1 based on your recommendation, and for completeness' sake I'd like to add that the issue that has become the focus of this thread's attention - notation systems - is not addressed in Loy's book at all; the book introduces the "standard traditional" 5 line staff system (CMN) in chapter 2 and bases of all of its subsequent elaborations on CMN without any further discussion on CMN itself, nor its history, pros, cons or alternatives.
There is nothing wrong with that by itself; notation is simply not in its focus. I just thought I'd like to make it clear that the debates in this thread do not find any echo or clarification in the book.
Other than that, the book is ok, but anybody who has come as far as the Pythagorean comma already can safely skip the first three out of 9 chapters. The remaining chapters become fairly technical and abstract elaborations on sound physics and the math behind it.
I would classify the book as a "competitor" to "How music really works," whereas the latter would be more attractive to the practising musician whereas Loy does a pretty good job with respect to comprehensiveness.
Thanks again!
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Crane Duet and finger lengths
in Teaching and Learning
Posted · Edited by RAc
Hi springer52,
sorry for not responding earlier.
From your elaborations it is not quite clear whether your problem is mostly related to the upper rows of your Crane or applies to all rows.
On my two smaller Cranes (45 and 48 buttons, respectively), I can by now cover almost all of the outer buttons comfortably, but on my 55, the upper rows still require some stretching, in particular when it comes to the outer columns. I believe this is to be expected (I would label my hands average size).
Maybe you could produce a wee video of your right hand in action for us to check if there are obvious things to improve? If you would like to keep that private, please feel free to send me a link to it via PM.