soloduet

A C.net transatlantic collaboration with Bogheaten on guitar and voice, and just with a little jet lag:

Thank you Gary to let know this tune and those nice japanese musicians. Do you have a link for the Tricolor playlist? Didie

No Don, it's the other one but not so nice I admit. And Ok Steve I will try it in a midday version and hope to listen to yours. For you, Daniel and all who miss the Tricolor version, I've found another video:

Very beautiful, encore!

Very nice tune, Thanks for sharing!

Maybe even more lost in translation because I don't know well this music and I didn't want to just make a copy, but after listening to both versions I tried to adapt it on my Wicky duet in the same key of G. For me it's the same tune with 2 big changes in the Tricolor version: the rhythm and a F natural instead of a F sharp in some parts: https://youtu.be/jn0IHSOWrZI https://youtu.be/NlITwrLjUJI

Fantastic, thanks for sharing!

I have just completed the sheet music for Roslin Castle, as recorded in this video 2 years ago: https://youtu.be/ZVsOwYt2A7U So the current list of available scores is: Haul away The water is wide La Ultima Curda Androgyne tango Variations on a tune from the Hebrides Alfonsina y el Mar Roslin Castle I will keep up writing the scores when I have enough time, so if you want to play some tunes that I have uploaded on Youtube just ask me if it's available at: soloduetconcertina@gmail.com

It looks very interesting but I'd like to play it with both hands like a concertina, with a keyboard on each side of the board and like my picture here. I will ask if it's possible...

It's maybe not real klezmer music, but as I also heard it played by klezmer bands I send this video recorded some years ago: https://youtu.be/aHxPiZYjbVs

The sheet music for "Alfonsina y el Mar" (Ariel Ramirez) is also available and for those who want to try it here is the video corresponding to this score: https://youtu.be/gHhSO2_vlpA But it's always possible also to play it in a simplest way like I used to do 4 years ago: https://youtu.be/fArpHNN6cLQ

Very nice! but the right words in french are chabadabada chabadabada, with the same meaning...

Thank you Mike, I didn't know that large crane duets have 8 fold bellows. My first Stagi Hayden had 10 fold bellows and I wanted to try the same size on my Beaumont in order to be able to play long phrases with full chords and melody. But maybe with better quality instruments 8 fold bellows is enough for that.

Thank you Little John, it's very interesting as you can compare your experience on different instruments. Didie

Thank you Jake, to know the optimum number of folds I'd like to try all the possibilities but maybe 11 folds is a little too much and if I have an opportunity I'd like to ask if it's possible to reduce my current bellows to 9 folds by removing one fold on each side. Maybe I exaggerate a little by saying that I have just 5% more air, maybe it's something like 10%, so maybe it would not be so different with 9 folds and easier to control. I think that you are right regarding the pressure and maybe it's because there is less pressure inside that the sound is getting mellower. Another point: as my purpose was to continue to play on a single thigh I asked also the Button box to take advantage of the middle separate part to build a knee rest (see pic). I think that it's a good idea even if it would need some slight modifications, but as I can't play on a single thigh anymore actually I can't use it at the moment.

And here is a pic of the bellows taken by the Button Box:

In another thread called "Scores for Wicky or Hayden duet concertinas" Jim2010 asked me about the bellows that I use. As I think that maybe some people who are not interested by the scores for duet concertinas could be interested by this question I prefer to open a new thread here. My instrument is a Beaumont 52 buttons made by the Button Box. For the music that I like to play, with long phrases, I often felt short even with the extra 7th fold bellows that I got when I bought the instrument. It's the reason why at the end of last year I ordered a special 10 folds bellows to the Button Box. It is made with two 5 folds bellows joined with a separate part, so actually it's like an eleven folds bellows. It's an experimentation and like all the experimentations sometimes you get some surprises from what you expected. The first surprise is that I expected that switching from 7 folds to 11 folds could allow to get at least 30 per cent more air. I got more air but not that much, maybe only 5 per cent more. The second surprise is that this change as an unexpected effect on the quality of the sound which is now a little more mellow. Also this new bellows is more flexible than the previous one but as it's very large I had to change my playing technique. Recently I used to play with the bellows placed on one thigh but it's impossible with this size. So now I use the same technique than bandoneon players placing the instrument on both thighs and using my legs to accompany the movement of the bellows. This technique is interesting because it allows new musical possibilities. So I don't really understand why the result is different from what I expected regarding the volume of the air and the quality of the sound but maybe some specialists here could have an interesting advice. I also think that it would be very useful if concertinas makers could make more experimentations to improve the Wicky or Hayden systems which are very interesting but can yet be improved, but maybe we are not enough players for that. Here is a video with this new bellows: https://youtu.be/7jUkkrsDWYA Didie

Thank you Jim for your interest! My instrument is a Beaumont 52 buttons made by the Button Box. Regarding the bellows it's a special order that I have recently made to the Button Box and I will open a new thread in "Construction and Repair" to answer your question because maybe some people who are not interested in this thread could be interested to know more about it as well. Didie

Thanks Isel, I hope also to listen to it on your new Holden concertina soon!

I have just added to the list the sheet music for "Variations on a tune from the Hebrides". It consists of 4 variations on a quite simple and still unidentified tune. If you want to try it here is the video and just ask for the score: https://youtu.be/p4rpXQrMgMQ

I've just completed the sheet music for Androgyne Tango, a neotango composed by the canadian orchestra Quartango. I guess that the title comes from the rhythm with is a mix between one bar in 3/4 and one bar in 6/8. I've written all in 3/4 but I think that this music is easier to play by ear rather than to write it or read it. So, here is the video that I've recorded 4 years ago: https://youtu.be/kGXWO_j5iA0 The current list of available scores is: Haul away The water is wide La Ultima Curda Androgyne tango

Hello Roy, I didn't write the score of Tango Caliente yet, because I've found it here on C.net. It's in Tunes and Songs, a thread called "tangling with the tango on the anglo". I've just added the accompaniment with the chords played on a tango rhythm called 3/3/2: dotted quarter note/dotted quarter note/quarter note. I hope that you can find it and enjoy playing it, Didie

Muchas gracias Felix! Your new recordings with Tor on concertina and melodeon are fantastics and I'm glad that you like this tune as well. For non Spanish speaking people here is the best version of this tune in my opinion by Mercedes Sosa with English translation:

Thanks Little John, I also prefer the acoustic version for this kind of music. Since this recording I've ordered a 10 folds bellows to the Button Box and I think that with less pressure inside the Bellows the sound is getting a little mellower. I've just posted 2 versions of Moon River using this new bellows, with and without microphones, on the Teaching and Learning thread...