English Layout Is Great!

[harpomatic]

Jim, I'd agree that guitar, indeed is very similar and should be included. In fact, based on your comment I saw the English as being most closely related in its capabilities to a guitar: it can be superb for both, chords and melodies, but not independently and at the same time. Duets are probably most similar to piano/organ. Anglos are more like a mix of harmonica and piano, more related to melodions: some chords, any melody...( I actually always saw and used it as some kind of glorified hand-pumped chromatic harmonica with extended chordal capabilities). I'd agree that any 4 stringed fretted instrument can probably compete in the chordal department, if you're willing to settle for inversions as your only option in getting ALL the chords. How successfully can they compete? Not as successfully as English.... besides inversions, some notes may not be physically reachable...

 

 

...isn't it a chord monster, rivaled only by a piano? In my experience it totally is, as any theoretically known chord can be easily played.

I don't think anyone who has tried the English has said it's not good for playing chords. What is considered between difficult and impossible is to play a constant chordal background simultaneously with a melody moving at a lively pace.

As for the piano being the only rival for chording, I would add to that at least the lute, guitar, and various other stringed instruments.

 

Edited November 12, 2017 by harpomatic

[Wolf Molkentin]

Mike, no retreat indicated as for me... ?

 

This has been discussed in the past (of course). Just like for playing the piano it's not at all advisable to play "melody plus chords", the strength of the English concertina can be found in sort of interweaving the melody line with harmonic augmentations (and counterpoint).

 

This can in fact be done fluently the less one takes it into oohm-pah territory. In other words: The English will encourage you to paint a homogeneous musical picture - you just have to take care that the harmony won't drown the melody (several approaches have been discussed and developed here).

 

Best wishes - Wolf

[David Barnert]

By the way, I don't claim that it's any of the standard scales of klezmer or any other genre -- maybe David B. would know?...

 

Indeed, it is a variant of the Freygish scale, which would ordinarily (in this key) be

G Ab B C D Eb F G

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrygian_dominant_scale.

And see the final words on that page above the heading: "See also"

...or the seventh degree may be raised as well.

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As an example of what I'm talking about, here is one of my "finds", also klezmer/gypsy sounding one (I love those): Ab A C C# Eb E G G# (A). All except for the last A can be played on the left hand (same the right hand, higher up the rows), by hitting all the successive buttons of "vertical" first two rows, starting on the Ab.

 

It would probably make more sense if you called the first note G# rather than Ab.

[harpomatic]

Wolf, I absolutely see it the way you do. It is exactly how I see English resembling guitar more than any other instrument.. David, same here, you are correct, and I must correct my own "recepie" a bit more: forget about the last A, I don't know what came over me to include it in the first place! Whether we call it Ab or G#, the scale is complete at the last G# on still the left hand, the "last A" on the other side was my moment of confusion, if not insanity...

Edited November 13, 2017 by harpomatic