[Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors]

Nicely done! Good heart and humor. I just watched this episode two weeks ago. Hilarious. And so refreshing to have the actor himself do the music!

[Feedback on Regondi score editing project]

Thank you all for the encouragement! Good call on the fingering Danny, as an organist I should have thought about that. (I'm often playing hymns in church with a nonlegato touch because I can't be bothered to finger it properly.) As a (practically) non-concertinist it didn't occur to me. Really this project will have to wait for its final polish once I've got my hands on a full-sized, hopefully decent instrument. But I'll carry on anyway, especially while I have a bit of time at my disposal.

[Feedback on Regondi score editing project]

Juris, what a cool history behind your instrument. You remind me that I need to include the dedications on these scores. In case you're curious, here's a performance of this waltz on accordion. 

 

[Feedback on Regondi score editing project]

Here's the edition I used to engrave it.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20120302045755/http://www.ivanopaterno.it/web_01/conservatorio/concertina/regondi/tre_valzer/tre_valzer.pdf

 

The 7th bar works due to the way the various pitches are resolving either up or down, and so we get the D natural (resolving down) against the D sharp (resolving up). You can find similar situations in other classical music -- not terribly common, but certainly not rare either. The harmony in much of Regondi's music is rather chromatic, like Victorian music in general, and sometimes quite surprising.

 

You're right about the triplet notation there. Kinda confusing placement. I could put a bracket on the triplet, but these editions never used brackets, and visually I don't like it. I'd probably just do what this original edition does and leave the number off from the top voice.

[Feedback on Regondi score editing project]

Hi Juris, thanks for giving it a bit of a play-through. Like I cryptically mentioned, I only have a tiny EC (a slow breathy Jack at that) so I can't try these pieces out properly.

 

Yeah that chord is certainly crunchy! But it's the correct harmony there and at tempo slides right by. It reminds me of learning to play Bach's Passacaglia years ago. Slow practice made every chord seem dissonant and terrible, but once I got it up to speed it sounded wonderful.

 

Simon, thank you for the encouragement and your thoughts about it.

[Feedback on Regondi score editing project]

Regondi's Three Waltzes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eY0AUSb3PR1Xpn33hAwG-nmtFF89igR-/view?usp=sharing

 

I've started creating modern editions of Regondi (he turns 200 this year!). I know the target audience for this music is quite tiny but figured I'd throw it in here and ask for some feedback.

 

These are intended as performance materials, not any type of scholarly edition, for which I have neither patience nor use at this point. Still, I have two main questions:

 

1) These old scores are prone to various errors (wrong accidentals, inconsistencies, etc.). I'm correcting obvious errors. I'd like to just leave them uncommented on -- folks can consult original editions if they want I guess. But what do you think? Should I make note of these corrections on the score, or in back matter, or not worry about them?

 

2) Fingerings. My take on it right now is to just leave them out. My instrument is too small, fingerings are also error prone, folks might have different fingering ideas, etc.

 

3) Any other input?

 

In any case, there's the score if anyone is interested in it. It may still need some fine-toothed combing but I think it's pretty good...

[The accordion wars of Lesotho]

Incredible, and incredibly sad. Thanks for sharing.

[Removing and reinstalling accordion reeds]

I'd be curious to know how this goes for you, if you do remove your reeds. I'd like to get my Jack to speak more responsively on the low end but, like you say, there's no easy access to the back of the reed.

[nkosiyazi nzimande (Zulu(?) anglo player)]

Maybe you've seen these videos but I'm quite smitten with his use of concertina in his music-making. I kinda can't stop watching this guy...

 

 

[Daphne (just intonation concertina and bowed psaltery)]

I've finally made semi-decent progress on this just intonation concertina ... I think ... maybe ...

 

In any case, I'm totally in love with these two instruments, especially the concertina.

 

ANYWAY, here's a little setting of Daphne.

 

 

[Lavender's Blue, just intonation]

Take 2 on this wonky tuned concertina! My fingertips are hurty-hurty from too much practice today.

 

 

[Intro to my just intonation concertina]

Thanks each of you. Dissonance, that's quite the story.

[Intro to my just intonation concertina]

Just got my Geordie Tenor and I'm loving it. The brilliant folks at Button Box tuned it for me in a kinda wild, kinda beautiful way. The first video, in which I describe some of my tuning choices, will have some "preaching to the choir" stuff (you all know how concertinas work already). The second video is my very short first outing with the instrument as composer/performer. I so look forward to learning to play this thing more proper like.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfY44bsMn88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p6qRRXG2M0

 

[Accordion v concertina reeds keeping in tune]

Thanks Chris, sounds reasonable.

[Accordion v concertina reeds keeping in tune]

Thanks Alex.

 

I'm referring to hybrid concertinas that use accordion reeds, vs those with concertina reeds, rather than accordions vs concertinas in general.

 

100 years is a pretty long haul!

[Accordion v concertina reeds keeping in tune]

Which types of reeds keep in tune longer: concertina or accordion? Or is it a wash? I've read through a few threads on accordion vs. concertina reeds but it's information overload for such a specific question.

[Different notes on push/pull on EC]

LJ, wow -- the numbers of button layouts in the concertina seems bewildering enough as it is. I suppose it's a small enough instrument to invite experimentation. EC made sense to me after a few months ... I imagine any other system would take a similar investment.

 

Geoff, beautiful and inspiring playing (despite any so-called mistakes  ). Thank you for the demo!

[Different notes on push/pull on EC]

Ah that is an interesting point. I can relate because my Jack is missing enough notes to make even some of those keys "out of pattern" (if I understand you correctly). The logic of EC layout is part of its charm. I also can't get my head around what it would do to having to be mindful of push vs pull (never having played Anglo).

[Different notes on push/pull on EC]

Does anyone know of an English concertina tuned such that any of the notes are different on push vs pull? For example, I'm wondering about a meantone-tuned instrument with a D# and a Db on one key, extending the range of keys. I have my doubts about the practicality but wonder if it has ever been tried and/or could be practical.

[Thumb strap screws on CC Jack]

I've spent the last month on my new Jack, which I have very much enjoyed. I think I've found an instrument that feels like "home" in a unique way.

 

I'm wondering about the thumb strap screws, as pictured. Two of the screws on one side appear to be completely loose -- whether stripped or broken at the head I don't know. It looks like a similar situation is developing on the other side of the instrument.

 

My worry is that the thumb strap will break off the side of the instrument when the third screw gives up. Is there some larger piece of hardware that I can't see that is holding the strap on? What do those little screws do exactly? How worried should I be about this? I'm hoping to trade this instrument up for a Morse in the next few months.

 

Thanks!

 

Neil