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Laitch

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Posts posted by Laitch

    Battle Of The Somme

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    Thanks, Peter, for the reminder, and thanks, Leo and Lester, for the tunes and information.

    . . . Not being a fan of history of militaries or wars, most of my knowledge of WWI comes from what I learned in school, . . ..

     

    I don't remember being taught anything about battles that happened before Americans became involved, and precious little even about American battles. The one and only name I remember is "The Marne".

     

    Is my experience unusual? I suspect not. . . .

    Your experience is your experience, Jim, and your lack of knowledge is the result of your avoiding teaching yourself about some of the unpleasant major events and methods that shape the course of nations. In that, you probably have more company than just some Americans.

    Is A Chemitzer An Anglo ?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    There is no law -- from either government or God -- that requires that human-defined categories share any pattern or relationship at all, much less any particular person's idea of what's a "reasonable" pattern or relationship.

    Congratulations, Alan, on your not violating any laws of God or government, at least when viewed from Denmark! I'll bet that's a relief. :)

    Aluminum Reed Frames Vs Brass Reed Frame

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    (The earliest Ford Falcons were advertised as having "Unibody" construction. I.e., the entire body was cast in one piece. Ever wonder why that advertising campaign disappeared? The joints between the different segments of an ordinary car's body damp out vibrations and prevent resonances from building up. I rode across the US in one of the "Unibody" Falcons, and it was quite easy to keep it below the 70 mph speed limit then current on Interstate highways, because at exactly 70 mph the car developed a resonance that felt like it was shaking itself to pieces!)

    Jim

    The "unibody" advertising campaign might have disappeared but the concept, undoubtedly improved in application, remains in practice. Most of today's cars are built with unibody constuction. The exceptions are heavy duty trucks and some "luxury" cars.

     

    Your experience probably was from Ford's notorious front suspension geometry and components applied to the lightweight Falcon, or wheel alignment/balance problems too.

    'arranging' Tunes For Concertina

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    From your opening post and then the link you posted, Alan, I figure that the setting you posted is the one that your group is learning. Right now, it doesn't matter whether the rest of the world accepts that setting, only that the people you're playing with do. If it differs from another setting you already know, you're now on your way to learning two settings.

     

    It's a pretty straight forward tune for the concertina, that setting of "Maggie in the Woods." You'll be able to access all the notes in that setting relatively smoothly on a 30 button C/G or 20 button, once you loosen up a little. If I were learning by ear from that midi, I'd try to find the original ABC file then delete the chords so I could focus on the notes.

     

    When you've hit the wall in a tune, don't be a slave to concertina methods, helpful as they can be. Look around. Make your fingers submit to your ideas even though you haven't published a concertina tutor book, yet. Are you trying to play most of the tune in the G row or are you stepping outside the "home" row? If you're playing a two-row C/G, search among the two rows for a simpler method to do any of the "little note" phrases. If yours is a three row C/G, then using a note from the accidental row also may give you an easier time.

     

    For example, some of the ways the B/A/G/A phrases can be played are:

    1) using the B on the C row then getting the rest of them from the G row;

    2) all on the C row;

    3) all on the G row, and/or;

    4) on a 30 button, using the C, accidental and G rows!

    That list doesn't even touch what bellows direction to use because you'll get that when you start opening yourself to mining for more options. If I had a two row, I'd be playing plenty of this tune on the C row even though the tune's in the key of G, and I'd probably end it on the G in the left hand C row.

     

    On a three row, 30 button Jeffries layout C/G, I'm sometimes playing the first G note in the tune on the accidental row, left hand! The last G note in the tune, I'm playing a pushed G on the left hand C row with a D from the G row, but could pull G on the accidental row and the D from the C row. I might even use the left hand pushed G/D chord on the G row, but usually I play across the rows because it's the way I enjoy playing most, right now.

     

    One of the coolest things about playing an anglo is when a new way to play a note or phrase of notes pops up at you.

     

    To allow the notes to flow, allow yourself to leave the systems you know so you can find tactics that work. When you do that and then are able to make the tune flow, the other players, dancers and listeners will appreciate it. How you do it should only matter to the people who want to learn how you do it.

    Scales And Keys

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted

    Nice work, Henk. I like the simple format, the synchronized button and staff note animation, and the fact that it loads quickly via a dial-up connection.

     

    It'd be useful to be able to adjust the pitch to exactly match instruments. Of course, shutting down speaker volume always eliminates dissonance. :)

     

    Nice work, Henk.

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