mike averill

COncert pitch or old?

This is a subject I've been thinking a lot about recently. I've started making a foot bass that I intend to populate with reeds from the bottom octave of a victorian reed organ (aquired on ebay as Im too attached to my own reed organ). The reeds are pitched with A = 452, choir pitch I think. At the moment Im planning on tuning them to the next semitone up ( based on A = 440) because there is much more metal on the tips than at the base and so less chance of wrecking the reed.

I recently aquired a very nice example of a Crabb crane duet - 70 keyed ( it was sold as 69, but there are 70 playing notes including the left thumb). Measures 8.5" across flats so not too big, and has delightful engraved and fretted ends.

I am right handed (in that I write with my right hand), however my left hand has dominated since day one on the concertina. When I started playing melodeon it took my about 5 minutes to realise that it was best played upside down with the keyboard on the left and thats how its been ever since. One the whole the anglo has a fairly good mix of notes on both ends, so you can pull tunes one way or the other as is more comfortable.

I've use FInale Printmusic 2001, guess its time I upgraded. Highly recomended - it didnt break the bank and produces much more readable scores than the abc programs I've tried. The results are really proffessional.

You might want to check your CD player , and the CD sleeve. Its states he's playing a G/C Jeffries, and on my CD player its spot on concert pitch.

There are still sub £4000 Jeffries concertinas to be found. http://www.hobgoblin.co.uk/local/shbigpic.php?Code=47B1225 This one has been there for several months

More buttons definately helps. I have a 38 key C/G and find it comfortable to play from Eb through to E for melodies. Harmony playing on a CG does tend to be a real mix of tune and chord an both hands so if you want to seperate the two and do accordian style bass chord bass chord accomaniements go for a low pitched instrument like an GD or AbEb.

Pleasant listening but he should learn to play without tapping his foot.

I will keep you posted. Thanks for all the useful info. Mike A

ANy details, how many buttons, age, etc...

Making ends fasinates me at the moment; Im disolving my Jeffries ends at an such an alarming rate that the back corner is razor sharp. Ive been thinking of getting a pair scanned and laser cut but the edges have concerned me. How many tons of press force is required for crimping the edges?

I presume from the number of days you have at Broadstairs that you teaching workshops. What key instrument will you be basing workshops around?

There was almost two bidders but I was onesecond too late with the return key. Shame, it looked nice.

Make that 11 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1 high price for an old pitch instrument with stripped threads and leaky bellows.

I think in reality you need to learn to play both in and out of the row. SOme tunes suit one style better and other the other. Learning G off the C row is similar to playing D of the G row so its all good practice.

Practice from sheet music - at least until you've got the feel of the instrument, its one less think to worry about. Mick Bramich's book "The irish concertina" would give you a good starting point

So what if he is behind me? my C Jeffries Anglo has twenty times the Honky volume. Take that dammed melodeon...... and I'll play in Bb, F, and A just to spite you

The typical 2-row melodeon has only 2 buttons for the accidental notes rather than the 10 buttons a 30-button anglo has. With only 4 accidental notes the melodeon is fully chromatic for only part of a single octave - far too little to play most tunes in keys other than it's home keys. -- Rich -- Only 2 accidental buttons never stops me playing in C or A on the D/G meldoian or in D and F on my 22 G/C lachenal anglo. You either miss the note or drop down the octave for a a note or two. As to "...far too little.." I went to a cajun melodian work shop with Marc Savoy a few years ago where he happily played in every key imaginable on a one row C box by just ignoring the buttons he didnt have sounded great. His wife demonstrated the fact that the guitarist only needs to play one chord too; I kid not. Rythmn makes it all work.

Have you posted the right pictures? Seems to be a 35 key to me.

Perhaps a bandoneon would be a good middle ground - They are made with both B and C system fingerings at reasonable prices. Try this http://cgi.ebay.com/B-System-Bandonion-Ban...1QQcmdZViewItem

THe method was something like - tune the key note with a fork - then up a 5th down a fourth up a fifth down a fourth..... til you you cover all 12 notes, and to get the temperment and avoid the error they allowed a couple of beats a second one way or the other on each. I have a book some where that describes the technique applied to victorian reed organs ( which are just like large concertina reeds). I would imagine that the concertina makers would have done as accordian makers still do and have a master set of reeds for tuning, so only ever had to tune one set to the tempered scale , then all others were just matched to those on the jig. Mike A

Interesting idea but unlikley to play in tune. On the suck the reed has air going from atmospheric pressure to below atmospheric, on the blow it goes from above atmospheric to atmospheric. Experience from modifyiing melodian reed layouts has taught me that free reeds need tuning differently to give the same pitch in these two conditions.

Hi, I play concertina for, and dance with, Dark Horse Rapper. I think the speed question is more an issue for the dancers than the anglo concertina. Playing at 160 is much easier than stepping neatly as a set at that speed. Generally 140ish results in a much better performance. Tunewise the standard sets I play for the dance are: Irish whisky Holey ha'penny Bung your eye Cliffs of Moher The sailors wife Boys of tandragee Tenpenny bit Apples in Winter I generally avoid chords with a couple exceptions. These being ends of phrases in Irish Whiskey, and some strident irish pipe style chords on the beat in the sailors wife. Mike Averill