Jump to content

English Verses Maccann Duet?


Recommended Posts

I spent years with Anglo and reached a pretty good proficiency level, studied it like a maniac with my Irish heroes and played it with bliss in Irish sessions for some time. . . only to start finding it a little limited, and become interested in EC. I've also given Crane a whirl, did not consider Maccann because I didn't want to be bothered with an irregular layout when there are two more consistent, more easily-memorized layout options available (Hayden and Crane).

 

I liked duet so far as it goes, but . . . somewhat like Geoff, I have found chromatic accordion gives vastly, hugely more scope for the kind of use I contemplated for duet, and am playing CBA for that kind of (two-handed) music. I don't particularly care for the sound of chordal/multi-voiced music on concertina, and am finding concertina most desirable and most useful, for music that is largely melody, like on fiddle, with only light touches of bass or fiddle-type double stops or drones. I'm not saying you can't play chordal music on EC. I'm saying, if you wish to play melody with bass accompaniment or counterpoint, duet or one of the unisonoric accordion systems has more scope. On the other hand, for playing music that is largely melodic, there's no concertina system like the fluidity of the EC.

Edited by ceemonster
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent years with Anglo and reached a pretty good proficiency level, studied it like a maniac with my Irish heroes and played it with bliss in Irish sessions for some time. . . only to start finding it a little limited, and become interested in EC. I've also given Crane a whirl, did not consider Maccann because I didn't want to be bothered with an irregular layout when there are two more consistent, more easily-memorized layout options available (Hayden and Crane).

 

I liked duet so far as it goes, but . . . somewhat like Geoff, I have found chromatic accordion gives vastly, hugely more scope for the kind of use I contemplated for duet, and am playing CBA for that kind of (two-handed) music. I don't particularly care for the sound of chordal/multi-voiced music on concertina, and am finding concertina most desirable and most useful, for music that is largely melody, like on fiddle, with only light touches of bass or fiddle-type double stops or drones. I'm not saying you can't play chordal music on EC. I'm saying, if you wish to play melody with bass accompaniment or counterpoint, duet or one of the unisonoric accordion systems has more scope. On the other hand, for playing music that is largely melodic, there's no concertina system like the fluidity of the EC.

Watch out Cee,

 

we'll get struck-off if we're not careful !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be quite interested in finding one of those MacCann players who is willing to teach. My wife recently bought a fine reconditioned MacCann from a good shop in England, but I seem to be the one fiddlin' with it.

I'm in Denver, Colorado, but with the modern tools for online video connection, I would not expect geography to be much of a problem.

 

So how do I find one of these MacCann players who might teach?

 

 

 

I'd have a go at contacting Matt and Ollie through their websites, describe what you've got and what you'd like to learn, and see what they say about the possibility of video-over-internet teaching. They're both better known for their melodeon workshops, but that's just because there's so much more demand for it than for duet concertina teaching.

 

Here's Matt playing Maccann, performing with Dovetail Trio.

And here's Ollie playing Maccann, just a rough home video for Facebook (appears to have global permission; not the best video, but most of his Maccann videos appear to be friends-only).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I'd be quite interested in finding one of those MacCann players who is willing to teach. My wife recently bought a fine reconditioned MacCann from a good shop in England, but I seem to be the one fiddlin' with it.

I'm in Denver, Colorado, but with the modern tools for online video connection, I would not expect geography to be much of a problem.

 

So how do I find one of these MacCann players who might teach?

 

 

 

I'd have a go at contacting Matt and Ollie through their websites, describe what you've got and what you'd like to learn, and see what they say about the possibility of video-over-internet teaching. They're both better known for their melodeon workshops, but that's just because there's so much more demand for it than for duet concertina teaching.

 

Here's Matt playing Maccann, performing with Dovetail Trio.

And here's Ollie playing Maccann, just a rough home video for Facebook (appears to have global permission; not the best video, but most of his Maccann videos appear to be friends-only).

 

Thanks very much for your kind assistance, wayman!

 

I will go down this path you suggest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...