JimLucas

I doubt that the book was from 1905, either. I think that's when it was *first* published, and that nothing has been changed in subsequent editions, including the date. In fact, I believe it's still in print, carrying the same 1905 "publication" date.

Danny Chapman has made external baffles for his Aeola, with velcro mounts so that they dn be attached or removed at will. Since he plays English, he always uses them on both sides or neither, but I don't see why you couldn't do that on your Hayden and use only the left one... or both if you wanted a generally muted sound on a 2-part piece.

"Piano pitch"? That's the first I've encountered that term. "Perfect pitch", on the other hand, means different things to different people, but always seems to include a component of being able to identify or produce a given pitch without an external reference. Thus in one interpretation, the ability to hum a C on cue is a (limited) form of perfect pitch. As I recall, an English experiment with school children some decades ago established that this "talent" could be taught to most people, though there might be a few individuals (David?) who failed to learn. A follow-up some years later indicated that the abilitiy was often retained even when not consciously used. The ability to identify the pitch of any note, played on any instrument, just by hearing it is a much more extensive version of the same thing, as is the ability to sing arbitrary pitches on demand. A refined version of this might be the ability to tell whether an A is 440 or 442. I believe it's been fairly well established that "perfect pitch" is basically having a memory of what one or more pitches sound like, similar to our memory for colors. With pitches, however, there's another form of memory which for most people is stronger... relative pitch. This is not surprising, since understanding speech depends on perceiving relative frequencies of the different formatn frequencies of vowels. When someone says "George", you understand the word regardless of the pitch of the person's voice. That absolute and relative pitch perception are two independent skills is supported by a friend of mine, who has perfect pitch, but no relative pitch. If he learns a song in one key and wants to sing it in another, he *has* to mentally transpose each note as he comes to it, and then sing the note in the new key. He has become quite adept at this, while the very idea simply boggles my mind.

For those ICA members -- like me -- who may have missed/misinterpreted the information in Concertina World (the ICA newsletter): The AGM will be held Saturday, 11th Octobet at Ceddesfield Community Centre, Sedgefield, Co Durham. Further details are to be found in the latest issue of Concertina World, whcih I'm told is now in the post.

Of course, one can take the circle of fifths in either direction, with each succeeding key being either a fifth higher (C-G-D, etc.) or lower (C-F-Bb, etc.) than the preceding one.

Where are you located? The best and oft-repeated recommendation is to provide a situation in which the prospective *player* can try the different kinds and find which seems more natural to them. Some folks take naturally to the English (I was one of those), while others find the adjacent-notes-on-opposite-sides to be insane. The reverse can also be true with the in-and-out of the anglo. Simon Thoumire is *great*, but he plays the English differently from anyone else. He *holds* it differently. Other factors being equal, I would recommend the English over the anglo for the variety of music that you describe, and also considering that you have a *band*, with rhythm guitar, so you won't be expecting the 9-year-old to play melody and rhythm at the same time. With all notes in both directions, the English is more versatile harmonically. (You can do freat things with an anglo, but it can take some work to find harmonies that work musically *and* don't need notes that exist only in opposite directions.) But while you're at it, check out the duets. The Hayden system is supported by a lot of enthusiasm, but a decent instrument is virtually impossible to get.. at any price. But the Crane (known also as Triumph) and Maccann systems are also quite versatile, and good vintage instruments still tend to be cheaper than even the English. The disadvantage with them is that there are no cheap *new* Cranes or Maccanns being made.

Frank has pretty well covered the factors, but I'll add one more: number of sides. The more sides the bellows has, the more flexible it will be, and a combination of many sides and many folds can make a bellows which is difficult to control, having a tendency to wobble, sag, and twist. I've known of an anglo with as many as 14 folds, but it was *not* an Edeophone.

The amount of heat actually generated is, however, very small. If you can detect with your own hand a rise in the temperature of any part of the bellows, regardless of the amount of pumping you do, I would be very surprised. And if the temperature doesn't rise, the heat won't cause any damage. On the other hand, flexing a too-stiff bellows could conceivably cause mechanical breakdown of the stiff material.

As Allan briefly noted, the concertina was pitched (pun acknowledged) toward women, but men were hardly excluded, with Regondi and Blagrove as notable examples. I also doubt that it was developed specifically for the purpose of providing a wind instrument for women, but that this opportunity was recognized afterward. I no direct evidence, though, and I look forward to what Allan's research uncovers. As for gender roles in music, until recently (about 30 years ago?) there was fairly strict segregation in Bulgaria and Macedonia, where men would play instruments for dancing, but women would dance to their own singing. For a woman to play any instrument was considered scandalous.

The "e-mail side" is just a different way of getting at/viewing the newsgroup. But most email "clients" that I've tried -- the programs you use to read and send emails -- are *also* newsreaders (and news senders). Search for "newsgroups" or just "news" in the Help on your email program, and see what it tells you.

I think fewer folds were common on early (pre-1890?) concertinas. Maybe lower-end instruments in later periods, but I'm not sure. I have 26-button Lachenal anglo with 5-fold bellows, and a Lachenal English with 4 folds. Most of my others -- English and duet, but also a couple of Jeffries anglos -- have 6-fold bellows, though my 45-button Jeffries has 7. I'm not sure that any of the Jeffries bellows are original, though. Comparing Jeffries and Dipper with Bastari, though, is misleading. The bellows design and construction are quite different, so that one should *expect* different numbers of bellows folds. But please, don't further propagate the old wives tale about "student" models. To the best of my knowledge, no model was ever marketed as such, and many of the instruments with buttons marked in color and/or stamped with note names are in fact high-quality instruments. My 4-fold Lachenal English with the colored and stamped buttons has beautiful rosewood ends and is definitely not a "cheapie".

Well, the 20-button "German" concertina I have beside me is, I think, from the 1950's and has metal action, not wood. But with the name "Corelli", I guess it's not really *German*.

Some of the older ones had solid cloth, or even wooden baffles, but they were generally held slightly off the wood of the end by small spacers of cork, or some such. A number of the Aeolas, etc., had/have gauze, rather than solid cloth, though many did not. Some which did may have had the gauze removed. E.g., one of mine doesn't have any now, but in the Wheatstone ledgers it's marked with the notation "gauze". The term "fretwork" is generally used for the openwork on the English-made concertinas.

Are they really "old" and "new", or perhaps just different makers? Maybe even different models from the same maker could have different action construction?

I don't see any picture. Are you putting the picture's path (where it's found on your own computer) into the field next to the "Browse" button, under the "File Attachments" header?

They allow that?!!

The case for my contrabass English is 9-3/4" x 10-1/2" x 12-1/2". While that last is a little low for a seat, I find it tolerable.

Don't know yet. Don't know if I'll be able to make the SESI. Seems unlikely, actually. I wash my hands of the whole idea.

Maybe not as many points as a Prime Minister, but I say it definitely counts.

While I think I would agree, there are some accordion players in RMMS who seem to think that playing LoS disqualifies someone as a "person".

Hmm. Don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but maybe we should teach the PA crowd that old forebitter, "Farewell and Adieu to You, Spanish Ladies".

Which part did you exchange?

Göran, we disagree. I will *not* turn this into another public *argument*. I do, however, suggest that people consider our different advice -- and the evidence or statements we provide in support of them, -- and make up their own minds. I do also recommend experimentation on their part, which -- in addition to consulting with other concertina players -- is how I came to my conclusions.

Looking at the button layout, and considering the number of buttons, it's more likely a copy or variant of a Chemnitzer than a bandoneon. That wouldn't make it any less unusual.

I've been know to take my contrabass English concertina on the train just to insure myself a seat. Upended in the aisle, its solid mahogany case works admirably. Two other possible reasons: 1) None of the accordion junkies has yet been motivated to start such a forum, or they don't know that the necessary software is readily available. 2) With a much larger population of players, a forum like this could easily become unmanageable for the users. Imagine what concertina.net would be like with 10 times as many topics and/or posts.