alex_holden Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 Just spotted this for sale from Oxfam: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/music-films-video-games/music/rare-antique-12-lachenal-mccann-concertina-hd_101055737 Maybe built for a one-handed player? Strange that it only has a single bellows fold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAc Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 Hi Alex - the keyboard layout to me looks more like a Crane than a McCann (which I'm sure you'll know... ;-)) I'll agree that a single fold bellow is a very curious detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted November 24, 2017 Author Share Posted November 24, 2017 Good point, I was misled by their description! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takayuki YAGI Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 That reminds me of this thread 28-Key Lachenal - All Buttons On One End. But single fold bellow looks quite odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Ghent Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Speaking as someone who once managed to destroy one side of a concertina (try it, it is not as easy as you think) perhaps this is a reaction to a similar event. A person without the means, money or skills to fix it did what they could and one fold was all that could be retrieved..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolm clapp Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 I believe that this "modification" may have had a circus/music hall origin. By dangling a concertina in a vertical position from the hand/wrist and producing sufficient bellows movement by shaking the instrument very quickly up and down to produce sufficient airflow for some vibrato effect playing. The shortened bellows would be ideal for this, as would the duet keyboard. I'm sure I've seen photos of clowns using this technique. As an experiment yesterday, I fitted 2 large rubber bands to my Wheatstone 48 Crane to restrict bellows movement (no way was I going to cut the bellows up, though some might unkindly suggest that I should...) and managed to play a couple of simple slow tunes quite effectively. I also tried it without restricting the bellows movement, but didn't have sufficient control and consistently ran out of air. (I don't think I'd want to make a career out of it, but a good party trick.... ) Could there be another one of these, consisting perhaps of the other (left hand) end and modified identically? So one in each hand? Alternatively, the other hand may have played a simple piano accompaniment, or perhaps held some other instrument that could be played one handed (a bugle? 3 holed pipe? snare drum?) (Of course, I could be completely wrong, but few other suggestions have been forthcoming....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 an irresistible idea, Malcolm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolm clapp Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Can't see how it would work on an English though, Wolf Unless maybe the Lachenal in one hand and the Wheatstone in the other..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 (edited) I guess you're right about that Malcolm - albeit different concepts spring to my mind, which I'm however inclined to hold back, as that would take the whole thing too far I guess (edited to just add a missing "o") Edited November 27, 2017 by Wolf Molkentin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Here is an example of this type of playing. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SBmtGoUVSvU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Here is an example of this type of playing. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SBmtGoUVSvU I wonder if Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne could make that work with a couple of anglos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Here is an example of this type of playing. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SBmtGoUVSvU I wonder if Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne could make that work with a couple of anglos. I had similar thoughts, Jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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