ocd

Yes certainly the big bayans growl, particularly in the bass. I like to the sound of "Italian" reeds, particularly when in "cassotto." I suppose one's taste depends of what one grew up with. ocd Who has been known to cheat on his concertina with a big Giulietti stradella/bassetti (not a convertor, the thing with 174 buttons on the left hand).

(Sorry to reply late to this. ) It is a quote from Cervantes "La prueba del pudín consiste en comer" or "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." The Russian B system players are not the only ones that do justice to Bach: checkout the Goldberg Variations recorded by Stephan Hussong on the piano accordion-a Hohner Gola. http://www.stefan-hussong.de/ Also, the CD of French Baroque music by Mie Miki, also on the piano accordion. ocd

Bandoneon recordings would be welcome too ocd

Could you point out video or audio takes of Maccann concertina playing that you know of? Thanks, ocd

To muddle the waters some more I am going to mention the quint free bass system (also called the Galla-Rini system). This is a free bass system that twice repeats the two rows of single bass notes. Each repetitions is one octave higher. Using six rows, one gets three octaves. Something like this: Bellows Side C_6 G_6 D_6 A_6 E_6 B_6 F#6 C#6 G#6 D#6 A#6 E#6 B#6 Ab6 Eb6 Bb6 F_6 C_6 G_6 D_6 A_6 E_6 B_6 F#6 C#6 G#6 C_5 G_5 D_5 A_5 E_5 B_5 F#5 C#5 G#5 D#5 A#5 E#5 B#5 Ab5 Eb5 Bb5 F_5 C_5 G_5 D_5 A_5 E_5 B_5 F#6 C#5 G#5 C_4 G_4 D_4 A_4 E_4 B_4 F#4 C#4 G#4 D#4 A#4 E#4 B#4 Ab4 Eb4 Bb4 F_4 C_4 G_4 D_4 A_4 E_4 B_4 F#6 C#4 G#4 Hand Side It is like the Hayden system in that to change octaves one moves across the key field rather than along it. It is unlike the Hayden system in that when playing scales the keys of successive notes are not adjacent. Other features are: chords that are harmonically close (fifth relationship) are physically close; a chord keeps its shape independently of its key. ocd

Oh, the search for the perfect instrument. I have been there. I go back often. For me, the perfect instrument would have the following features: Range: four octaves: two below middle c; two above At least one octave overlap between the hands Easy to sight read on Possible to play two-voice music (i.e., Bach inventions) Small enough that it can be carried on a plane Quiet enough that it can be played in a hotel room at night without bothering the neighbors The closest approximation I have found is pictured in my avatar: a Maccann duet with 72 keys. Its range it is not four octaves (goes "only" down to F). (If I find an 81 key Maccann, I might have to go for it.) It is not as easy to sight read as I would like. Can be taken as carry on. Can be played quietly. I also have a small free-bass chromatic accordion that complies with requirements 1 through 4, but it is too large to be carry on. I have been known to spend a lot of time searching instead of playing what I do have. ocd

A feature of having three rows is that one can transpose a passage that uses only two adjacent rows to any key and keep the same fingering. Say you learn a fingering you like for the C major scale, a fingering that uses only the outer two rows of keys. Now you want to play the C# major scale. With three rows you can use exactly the same fingering. If you had only two rows, you would have to come up with a different fingering. The same phenomenon happens with the Continental chromatic system: if you learn a passage on the three outer rows, you can transpose it anyway you like (if you have five rows) just by starting it in any note you want. More generally, if you learn a passage that uses only three adjacent rows, you can transpose it and keep the same fingering (as long as you don't run out of notes at the bass or treble, of course). ocd

Nom-de-clavier? Peut-être. ocd

Robert Gaskins wrote an article on fitting baffles on Maccann concertinas that might be relevant to your question: http://www.concertina.com/gaskins/baffles/index.htm ocd

The main rule for driving in Boston: if you don't make the other guy slow down, you are OK. ocd

Are those your own arrangements? Thanks, ocd

I found a version in TablEdit format in this page: http://jazz.chansons.free.fr/guitarejazz2.htm You can download a free demo player of TablEdit here: http://www.tabledit.com/ Using the demo player you can print the notes. You have to play with the options to get just standard notation. Otherwise you get notation and guitar tablature in parallel (you might also get the second guitar). ocd

Thanks to all that offered suggestions. Here is what I ended up doing. I first went to the Goodwill Store and bought a used belt, but when I got home I decided that I did not like the leather after all. Then I splurged on a new belt, which happened to be on sale and was, in the end, cheaper than the used one. Using the old straps as templates I made new ones. I was lucky to have an old pair of shears that had no trouble cutting through the leather. Being a tool junkie I took the opportunity to buy a leather punch. I had to open the concertina to be able to install the straps. This is always scary, but it gets easier every time I do it. The leather was a little too thick in parts of the strap. I learned a new word: "skiving". This is leatherspeak for "thinning". One can buy very expensive contraptions for this but I found out that a sharp block plane does just fine in small areas. The new straps are ugly. They look as if they have been chewed-up by a rat with poor dentition, but they make the concertina playable! Thanks, ocd

Not English thumbstraps, instead the straps going over the back of the hands on a MacCann (see my avatar). The ones that came with the concertina are made of one layer of leather. ocd

The straps in one of my concertinas are too short (the ends have broken away). What is a good source for strap leather? Thanks, ocd

True enough, but isn't it better to have the response the way you want it out of the box? I tend to use it with a direct connection to the synth. Chris Yes, experiment with the computer until you are happy and then make the setup part of the midi concertina. ocd

Of course, if you are playing through a computer, you can re-map the midi volume parameters that the concertina sens to anything you like. It is easier to experiment this way. ocd

Er-hu? ocd

It is Spanish. ocd

Sometimes a drunken sailor is just a drunken sailor. ocd

I copied the link and pasted it on the browser. That worked. The text does not include any other information about the picture. ocd

In concertina.com http://www.concertina.com/anglo/index.htm you can find a couple of older tutors for the "anglo german" concertina, e.g., Jones' tutor. Those are in the English style: melody on the right hand and accompaniment on the left. ocd

As you can see from my avatar I own a MacCann. I will not call me a player yet. ocd

Do you have a link for that chart? Thanks, ocd

I don't know about the "Russian" sound: He is playing the Mexican song "Besame Mucho" written in 1940 by Consuelo Velasquez. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besame_Mucho ocd