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soloduet

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Posts posted by soloduet

  1. Thank you David! Dan had already recorded his own video that he sent to me, I added a concertina part on another video while listening to his file and he managed to synchronize the 2 videos with iMovie. It would be better if we could record it at the same time but maybe also more difficult...

  2. 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

     

     

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

     

    image0.jpeg

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

     

    • Like 1
  9. 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:

     

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