Jump to content

Roger Hare

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,294

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Roger Hare

    Its There A Difference?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    If you work with written music -- whether staff notation or ABC, -- there are plenty of computer-based tools these days for transposing it into more "comfortable" keys. There are also several which can independently vary both the pitch and speed to make it possible to play along with an audio file (which you can have recorded from a CD, among other possibilities) even if the original key isn't compatible with your instrument or the original speed isn't compatible with your skill level.

     

    I'm currently using MuseScore. I haven' got to grips with Audacity yet

     

    I'm converting ABC files (and sometimes MIDI files) to MP3 files using MuseScore and the concertina font mentioned here

    recently. I'm also in some cases transposing the key and importing the resultant score into my concertina notes. I carry the

    notes and MP3 files around with me on my tablet.

     

    I'm still working out the 'best' way to do all this, and getting to grips with MuseScore has been a bit of a struggle, but so far,

    it's working well, and is proving a useful tool as I learn to play the the concertina. I can certainly play along (a little) with

    some of these files.

     

    Roger

    Question About Modal Scales

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted

     

    ...

    C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C (Ionian mode)

    D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D (Dorian mode)

    The first scale is C (Ionian).

    My question is:

    Is the second example C (Dorian) because it uses the notes of the natural scale? or,

    Is the second example D (Dorian) because it starts and finishes on D? with a follow-up question,

    It's D Dorian, because it finishes on a D (where it starts is less important) and uses no sharps or flats. For a tune, the thing that matters is the home note of the tune - which usually the last note (else the tune sounds 'unfinished').

     

    It is strange that we can have several tunes which all use the same notes, but the key and mode change according to which is the home note - however, that is the way our brains work.

     

    I did a short handout when giving a talk on this subject to the Chiltinas a couple of years ago - see http://www.pghardy.net/concertina/tunebooks/pgh_theory.pdf.

     

    Thanks for that!

     

    I'm now starting to get my act together as far as these modes are concerned, even playing through the

    different forms to get a 'feel' for them. The PDF file of your handout is very helpfu!. I'm now carrying

    a copy around with me on my tablet along with all my other concertina-related stuff.

     

    Thanks again.

     

    Roger.

    Question About Modal Scales

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted

    I've tried to find the answer to this question on the internet. I don't know that
    I've had that much success, so here goes:

    I don't know how much musical theory I should bother with as a concertina
    (and soon to be melodeon) player, but:

    Consider the scale of natural notes - the scale of C:

    C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C

    Thehe intervals between notes are tone, tone, semi-tone, tone, tone, tone,
    semitone. These are the intervals between the notes in all other conventional
    scales, so in the scale of G, we have:

    G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

    with the F being sharpened to preserve the pattern of intervals between notes.
    To a degree, this sounds 'the same' when played, as the scale of C - because
    the intervals between the notes are the same: tone, tone, semi-tone, tone, tone,
    tone, semi-tone.

    Now, return to the scale of natural notes (key of C) and play them in this order:

    D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D

    The intervals are now tone, semi-tone, tone, tone, tone, semi-tone, tone, and to
    ears accustomed to the scale played in the usual order it sounds a little odd.

    This is a modal scale - Dorian mode, in fact.

    The natural scale C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C played in the usual order is known as Ionian mode.

    So, we have two scales using the natural notes:

    C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C (Ionian mode)
    D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D (Dorian mode)

    The first scale is C (Ionian).

    My question is:

    Is the second example C (Dorian) because it uses the notes of the natural scale? or,
    Is the second example D (Dorian) because it starts and finishes on D? with a follow-up question,
    Does it matter?

    Sorry if this is 'obvious' or is a non-question, but it's bugging me...

    FWIW, I've 'known' about modal scales ever since I read A.L.Lloyds 'Folk Song In England' when
    it was first published, but it never mattered till now...

    Thank you.

    Roger.

    [cross-posted to melodeon.net and concertina.net]

    Tune Of The Month, June 2015: Vedder Michel

    in Tune of the Month

    Posted

    Roger, why don't you record at least some bars, post on soundcloud and have it discussed here?!

     

    Thank you for your confidence, but I think I'll wait for a while before I attempt to post anything in a

    public forum for much the same reasons as cited by a recent poster on melodeon.net.

     

    1) Despite progressing, I'm still not good enough

    2) Bad as I am, I disintegrate still further if I try to make a recording

    3) My recording equipment is rudimentary, and in any case I haven't yet worked out how to use it

    properly. My attempts so far are, frankly, pathetic ('Happy Birthday' for a 100 year old aunt, nice

    try but no coconut, I'm afraid).

     

    However, I worked this one out (finally) in C on the 'tina. Nice tune. I haven't quite fitted the words

    to the tune yet, but I'll get there...

     

    R

    Embedding Audio Files In Documents

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    After fiddling around with TiddlyWiki for a bit I figured out how to reference an external MP3 file instead of storing

    it inside the HTML file. I think this should work with any size of MP3. etc...

     

    Phew! I tried it and it works, at least with a small(ish) file. Thanks for your suggestions. I don't know

    though, when I'll have time to do it all.

     

    Roger

    Tune Of The Month, June 2015: Vedder Michel

    in Tune of the Month

    Posted

    A clear winner this time, from northern Germany comes this ridiculously catchy little number -

    (first tune in set). etc...

    Help me out here please folks.

     

    I'm a concertina novice (9 months), but I've been lurking on melodeon.net for a few days (I'm a melodeon

    virgin, but intending to buy a melodeon real soon now...).

     

    I came across this TOTM post on melodeon.net this morning and thought 'what the hell, let's give it a go'.

    So I managed to work out the first few bars on the C row of my C/G Lachenal. What a great tune!

     

    However on the concertina, in order to free up the left hand buttons to allow me to try some

    rudimentary chords, I transposed it up 5 semi-tones to play the melody on the right hand only (starting

    on C rather than G). Amazingly (to me), it still sounded something like the original. Later, I discovered

    that this was also TOTM on concertina.net, and that someone had posted a video on melodeon.net

    playing the thing in three keys on the same melodeon, so clearly some 'fiddling about' is allowable.

     

    I'm not sure that my crude 'on the fly' transposition retains the original intervals between notes, but,

    as I say, the thing still sounds something like the original (allowing for my as yet dodgy playing).

     

    My questions are these: Just how much 'folk-processing' can I get away with when learning new

    tunes on the concertina (and soon, on the melodeon)? Can I transpose 'on the fly' like this and get

    away with it? Will my name be mud amongst real concertina and melodeon players when they

    discover my awful secret?

     

    Thanks.

     

    Roger

     

    [cross-posted to both melodeon.net and concertina.net]

     

    Embedding Audio Files In Documents

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    ... perhaps you might consider putting your notes into a TiddlyWiki...It supports embedded MP3s as long as they are fairly small.

     

    Interesting idea. Thank you. I may try this - however, once encoded using the MuseScore concertina sound

    font, the .mp3 files tend to be relatively large - about 1Mb per minute as far as I can see - larger than the

    equivalent .mid files. These files may be too large for the application to function efficiently?

     

    R

    Record Price For A Concertina?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    To clarify the matter, it was me, with my little bow and arrow, who set this particular hare running. Here is my original post:

     

    I'm stuck up a river in France with a very dodgy internet connection, so I'll

    keep it simple - someone just asked me, "what was the highest price ever

    paid for a concertina?".

     

    I didn't know the answer, but speculated that the price range might be in the region of £20k-£25k. A guess based on

    no 'evidence' at all, other than the fact that working, antique concertinas are (IMO) often very fine examples of mid-late

    Victorian 'engineering' as well as being rather nice musical instruments, and as such, might command prices in this

    region (I was wrong!). The same applies to more modern instruments, of course.

     

    In doing this, I seem to have started a bit of a 'rammie'. Honest 'guv, I didn't mean to do it...

     

    Roger

    Embedding Audio Files In Documents

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    It looks like exporting to PDF or XHTML doesn't work, you can only play the media from within OpenOffice Writer.

     

    Yup! I just confirmed that it works from within (the latest version of) OO, but (I think) only when preparing a

    'Presentation' document (makes some sort of sense I suppose). It doesn't work in the exported file.

     

    R

    Embedding Audio Files In Documents

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Have you verified that your system meets the feature support requirements? updates & software release levels?

     

    Yup! I'm pretty sure everything is more or less up to date - I tend to check for updates, etc. about

    once a month. I might try using the very latest version of OO from PortableApps though - worth a try...

     

    Thanks.

     

    Roger

    Embedding Audio Files In Documents

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    It looks like exporting to PDF or XHTML doesn't work, you can only play the media from within OpenOffice Writer.

     

    That's it then - I am exporting to a PDF file to carry around with me, and had been trying to play the

    .mp3 from within the PDF file.

     

    Oh, well, nice idea if it had worked.

     

    Thanks.

     

    Roger.

    Embedding Audio Files In Documents

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    I'm preparing a set of notes for use with my 'tina, with scores and tablature to carry around

    with me when I travel.

     

    I'm also 'collecting' .mid files, converting them to .mp3 format using the MuseScore program

    and the concertina sound font described here recently (they sound pretty good).

     

    I'd love to embed these sound files into the notes, but when I try and follow the (fairly simple!)

    instructions in the Open Office documentation, all I get is a large icon, placed in the text at a

    position other than the one I intended, and no embedded sound file.

     

    Anyone have any idea how to do this, or what I might be doing wrong?

     

    I'm going to try this using Word later today, but I'm a bit puzzled as to why this apparently

    simple procedure don't work. As far as I can see, it should be possible to do this It's not a

    case of RTFM, I should say, but maybe I'm failing to properly understand what I'm reading.

     

    Thanks.

     

    Roger

    Record Price For A Concertina?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

     

     

    The original question is rather strange and a little sad. I gather it was originally asked asked by a non concertinist who was speaking to the original poster?

     

    Eh? I don't think it's partcularly strange or sad. I was asked a question (one of several relating to the 'infernal

    machine'). I didn't know the answer - had a wild (and wildly inaccurate!) guess, but covered my a**e by asking

    the question here. As I think I already said, it's a great relief to me that top-whack prices are low enough for me

    to be able to aspire to owning a top-of-range instrument 'real soon now'.

     

    FWIW, I don't think the questioner could be less like the individual described in the post quoted above. I've rarely

    met a 'nicer' person - he was just curious, and fascinated by the fact that the rather nice antique 20-button Lachenal

    I had with me was so (relatively) cheap. I wonder if the next time he turns up on the boat, he will have a concertina

    with him. I hope so...

     

    The discussion is also interesting because it seems to indicate that concertina players are basically (financially)

    sane - unlike those who dabble in (say) the world of fine arts and paintings where outrageously high prices seem

    to be the norm.

     

    Oddly, the rather nice Castagnari and Hohner melodeons being toted around by other members of 'Team Pilgrim'

    provoked no questions at all...

     

    Roger

    Record Price For A Concertina?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    20K to 25K UK Sterling?????!!!??? Sheesh.... I mean, there was a bubble, but . . . :ph34r:

     

    A guesstimate based on my newcomers ignorance of the market - I've been playing less than a year, and am

    still feeling my way around in Concertinaworld. As I said, it's encouraging (for me) that top prices are (relatively)

    so low...

     

    Roger

    The Piper's Companion

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    In short: notated and playable in G.

     

     

    Exactly what I hoped to hear - I hadn't realised that this was what (Northumbrian?) pipes did. Thank you.

     

    Roger

     

     

    Record Price For A Concertina?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    Thank you for those replies.

     

    Interesting - I had guessed that the top prices would be in the region of £20k-£25k. The fact that

    they are closer to £6k-£7k gives me hope that one day I will be able to own a top of the range

    instrument.

     

    The top prices for early models when new were interesting in their own right. Thank you.

     

    I had taken my C/G Lachenal on its first sailing holiday, and I posed the question exactly as asked

    by a non-player, and did not deconstruct it.

     

    OT, but the remarks about 2nd-hand book prices are interesting. The economic models operating

    here are probably different (?), but it is instructive perhaps to note that I have seen relatively new

    sailing books commanding prices 6 times the original cover price, when they are only 10 years old.

    I have also seen a 'classic' sailing book with 2nd-hand prices ranging from £120 to $2000! I paid

    about £65 for my copy. I have also seen a truly execrable 32 page book on Shogi (Japanese Chess)

    going for the ridiculous price of £170. This sometimes works both ways - I have picked up a scarce

    English language Shogi book for E1.00 when I would have expected to pay £25-£30.

     

    Roger

    The Piper's Companion

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted · Edited by lachenal74693

    As a musical illiterate, may I ask whether these tunes are presented in the key of G or the key of F?

    I know nowt about piping, so the comment "written G major and sounding F major" has left me a bit

    mystified.

     

    As it happens, I've already got a couple of the simpler of these tunes under my belt, and am encouraged

    by the fact that I seem to have got 'em almost right, so I'm looking seriously at learning more - thank you

    for posting the details of this collection.

     

    Roger

    Small/miniature Concertinas?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    I only just noticed that this thread has sprung to life again, so:

     

    I had a look at the PICA article on small instruments. Fascinating stuff! I now realise that

    what I am after is a 'semi-miniature' instrument.

     

    I looked at the 18 button Aeola. If I have understood correctly, that is a form of English? I

    am currently an Anglo player (though the way things are going, I could be interested in

    an English before long).

     

    I have just been contacted by someone who may have a semi-miniature for sale. Ooh goodie!

     

    Roger

    Birthday Themed Tunes

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    Ahem! I have an auntie who is 100 next month - not bad! I'm planning to send a recording

    of myself playing 'Happy Birthday To You' on the infernal machine (nobody can say that I'm

    not generous!).

     

    Question: Are there any more birthday themed tunes I could learn in the next three weeks?
    I can't think of any.

     

    Thanks

     

    Roger

×
×
  • Create New...