Hayden, Mirrored Right Hand

[James Plamondon]

Gentlepersons,

 

The left hand button/note layout of the Hayden System is a thing of beauty.

http://www.maccann-duet.com/hayden/Hayden-...yden-System.pdf

 

But I wonder -- why isn't the right hand note layout a mirror image of the left (with additional keys as space allows)?

 

After all, my right hand is the mirror image of my left. Shouldn't the notes on the buttons be mirrored, too? Then I could hit the same notes with the same fingers on both sides.

 

True, the left hand is playing chords while the right is playing melody (generally speaking), but the melody and chords are intimately related (also generally speaking), so that's a reason to mirror them.

 

I'm sure that there's a good reason for lack of mirroring. What is it?

 

Thanks! :-)

 

James Plamondon

 

P.S.: I am sufficiently impressed by the beauty of the Hayden layout, that I'd like to see the original patent. Yet an online search of the US and UK patent databases failed to turn up any patents for Brian Hayden (or Brian G Hayden). (I admit that I have never before searched for patent information, so I may have done it wrong.) Can anyone here tell me where to find a copy of the patent, or more info that would help me locate it online?

[JimLucas]

I'm sure that there's a good reason for lack of mirroring. What is it?

 

You should note that none of the other duet systems has the mirroring you want, either. But many people have also asked this question about them, too. Consider that the pattern you're asking about (mirroring between the hands) may not be the only reasonable pattern on which to base the button arrangement.

 

My guess is that it's because the two ends of the instrument are/were conceived as being laid out side by side, in which case their symmetry is not a mirroring, but a superposition. I.e., the ends match, not the fingers.

 

Note that if the two ends of an anglo are laid out side by side, the notes run approximately from lowest to highest going from left to right. On a piano keyboard this arrangement is even more explicit. A G-A-B run done by the left hand uses a different finger sequence than one done by the right hand.

 

And how important should it be that the fingers match exactly? When playing, you would only get exact matching between the hands when playing in parallel octaves. When playing thirds, sixths, or non-parallel arrangements a mirror match isn't likely to be any more helpful than the existing arrangements.

[Robert Gaskins]

I am sufficiently impressed by the beauty of the Hayden layout, that I'd like to see the original patent.  Yet an online search of the US and UK patent databases failed to turn up any patents for Brian Hayden (or Brian G Hayden).  (I admit that I have never before searched for patent information, so I may have done it wrong.)  Can anyone here tell me where to find a copy of the patent, or more info that would help me locate it online?

James,

 

This is your lucky day! The full text of the Hayden patent (17 pages, 14 illustrations) is just today posted at

 

The Maccann Duet Concertina

 

where it joins the Wheatstone patents and patents for all the other duet systems.

 

The document is GB Patent No. 2131592, inventor Brian Gordon Hayden. The patent application was filed 02 Dec 1982, examination requested 16 Nov 1984, patent granted with effect from 20 Aug 1986, last renewed 29 Nov 1989, and the patent ceased on 02 Dec 1990.

 

Bob Gaskins

[Jax]

But I wonder -- why isn't the right hand note layout a mirror image of the left (with additional keys as space allows)?

 

It's arbitrary but effectively it's like piano. You can play octaves or unison in one octave on the Hayden between the two sides just like you do on piano (minus thumbs) in that the left pinkie == the right index, etc. Actually I vary that a bit, Hayden fingering is very interesting. But that's the general principle.

[John Wild]

With the present layout, those who are more at home playing the melody with the higher range on the left and the lower chords on the right, can simply reverse the instrument. I other words, turn the instrument round left to right, and play with identical fingering.

 

- John Wild

(Treasurer- International Concertina Association)

[David Barnert]

This works up to a point. The horizontal rows are slanted the wrong way and it becomes quite cumbersome rather quickly. I do it sometimes by accident--put it on backwards and start playing before realizing what I've done.

 

[editied for typo]

Edited September 14, 2003 by David Barnert

[Jax]

Let's put it this way: If you practice a few hours a day every day for a couple of years, you'll get used to the layout.

 

Signed, A. Compulsive Practicer