gcoover

Since Pikeyh has undoubtedly now piqued some curiosity, here are some sample pages from the 81-page booklet that came with the Lachenal Edeophone Jeffries Duet #4764. On the keyboard page, someone has written in the transpositions to Ab (the home key of the Edeophone). The book shows the 12 different scales for both left and right, and then goes through pages and pages of chord combinations, the example here being Cm/Fm/G7 for both left and right. The interesting thing is the little black dots on the chord pages look to be from some type of stamp dipped in ink, which implies some sort of (very) limited mass production? And no, no names or dates or any other identifying marks. Gary

Sweet!

One quick note on playing this tune, which applies to many tunes in F on the C/G - you'll need to grab as much air as possible at the same time as playing the few push notes, in this case while playing the C chord. If your instrument has problems with the long passages on the pull, you can try substituting a push Am. (I see some of the Am chord symbols are a bit out of whack, but you should be able to sort it out fairly easily on your own.) Gary

Brand new from the always entertaining and amazing Simon Thoumire (he's the one with the concertina):

Just now noticed a name written on the underside of the strap - W. Letchford.

I usually do one line at a time, unless there is a really troublesome measure and then it gets extra treatment. And after that the entire A or B or whatever section over and over for 5 real minutes (use a timer!). But it's not just rote repetition - it's focused repetition, really thinking about what goes where and when. And then it's a whole different experience doing the same thing without the crutch of tab or music. Recording helps - but not in the way you think! The immense concentration and repeated takes may or may not result in a satisfactory performance, but I've noticed I'm suddenly playing much better a few days afterwards. My guess is the subconscious wants to make sure you're serious about it first before burning it into memory. As for dealing with distractions, that's a focus issue as well, and not always easy. I know I too often play with my eyes closed or stare into the bellows. But it's best to get so caught up in the music that nothing else matters. Gary

This thread has drifted into discussions of music theory, but in an attempt to bring it back to the original OP I totally agree with Anglo-Irishman about patterns and sequences of movements. In talking with many of the professional Anglo players, for the most part they are not coming from a place of knowing much about theory, and instead talk more about learning basic patterns. I'm sure there is a place for music theory, and there are those to whom this is very important, but for the Anglo a lot of the issues are sorted already. My knowledge of music theory would probably fit comfortably on the head of a pin, but through a lot of trial and error and experimentation I'm able to come up with harmonic arrangements that I'm reasonably happy with. There are some chords I play that I have absolutely no idea what they are, and guess what - I don't care! As long as I like the resultant sound that's good enough for me. I don't think it's just memorized movements by themselves, but movements that are sonically reinforced by what we hear with our ears. The two together, with repetition, create the "muscle memory". There is a section of "Namida no Regret" in D#, almost all on the pull, but after looping it for a full 5 minutes (no cheating) a few times, it's now imprinted and actually easy to play, much to my surprise. The whole subconscious muscle-memory thing is pretty amazing in how it works, I don't fully understand it, but glad to often get to the point where my fingers just know where to go without having to think about it. On the contrary, if I do start thinking about it I usually screw it up! Gary

...and here's a comparison with one of Jake's Wolverton Anglos. Gary

Update - the mini (micro?) arrived today. 8-button EC, 1.5" x 2" on the ends and about 4.5" long when resting - fits nicely in an old iPhone box with room to spare. Mixture of steel and brass reeds, the reedpans are held in with two tiny screws. No markings inside other than "L" and "R". How does it sound? Dunno, it's pretty leaky. I can hear an "e" an octave above middle "C" that appears to be in modern pitch, just not sure where it's coming from. Attached are couple of photos of the innards from the original listing. I've reached out to the seller asking if they know anything about its history. I'll be bringing it to Greg Jowaisas after the Old Pal Concertina Weekend in hopes he can work his magic on it and make it as playable as possible. Of course, the biggest problem with these little guys is lack of air due to the extremely tiny bellows capacity. I know it's heresy to suggest, but it really should have a supplementary air tube like a melodica! Now if I could just figure out a way to store this "mini-me" inside my contrabass EC that would be awesome. Gary

Actually measure 13, now fixed and re-uploaded in the first post. Thanks for spotting it - "fog of war" is my only excuse! Gary

A little musical Aloha for those defending their country. Not saying the tab perfectly matches the dots (nicked off the internet), but hopefully it's close enough. For any and all concertina players in Ukraine, and elsewhere. Gary Ukraine-National-Anthem-C-ANGLO.pdf

For the harmonic-style Anglo workshop, in addition to basic chord patterns we'll have fun working on "Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos", "Bobbing Joe", "You Are All I Have", "Hard Times Come Again No More", "Weeping Sad & Lonely", "Eleanor Plunkett", "Lumps of Plum Pudding", "I Wish I Was Single Again", and "Namida no Regret". For the sea shanty workshop: "Drunken Sailor", "Roll the Old Chariot Along", "Roll Alabama Roll", "Santiano", and "Leave Her Johnny". A very full slate to be sure, but attendees get the music with tablature in advance along with QR code links to concertina and/or original recordings in the same keys. Muscle memory takes a long time to develop, so I won't be teaching these from scratch to finish, more like tips and techniques. These are some of my favorite tunes to play, so hopefully others will enjoy learning and playing them too. Several can be played on a 20-button instrument, others use a lot of the buttons on the third row. Having said all that, if it turns out the group is mostly rank beginners we'll just take something simple like "Oh Susanna" and show how to work it up a million different ways - single-line melody, block chords, oompahs, octaves, key changes, etc. There's always plenty of time for one-on-ones, plus jam sessions at this 2-day festival, so there is no shortage of musical opportunities, including meeting other players and trying instruments by different makers. There are lots of old-time music sessions too, but I'm proud to say the concertina session a few years back outlasted them all until the night janitor politely informed us he would like to go home! Gary

Thanks, Wes, the price lists are exactly the same except the one I have has a little pasted-on typed note on the Anglo page, in the same bluish-green color as the Bargain page, saying "All 20 &26 keyed Anglo Models are only obtainable direct from Lachenal & Co." Regarding the Jeffries Bros. price list, I find it odd that the 46-button Anglos and Duets are different prices (duet more expensive), but the 50-button Anglos and Duets are the same price. Not sure what the difference would be unless maybe they had to specially make new ends for the 46-button duet but used the same ends for both 50-button instruments? Surprising to see there are no 30-button Jeffries Anglos on this price list. And, except for the price of the 32-button Anglo being 7-0, what's with the matching pound/shilling prices on everything else: 8-8, 10-10, 12-12, 13-13, 16-16, 17-17, 18-18? One can only hope it is previously undiscovered evidence that the Bro's were into mystical kabbalistic numerology! Gary

Here's the other side of the bass note splice.

The button diagram in the book was originally drawn for an instrument in the home key of C - look for the C-E-G pattern on the second row on both sides - but then someone has added in the transposed notes for this instrument in Ab. Jeffries Duets are fully chromatic, but since the two rows in the middle are based on an exploded Anglo row played in a sawtooth manner, the key of those rows is by far and away the easiest to play in, so it is known as the "home key", with all the other notes sprinkled around the edges. Playing in other keys is possible, some are more theoretical than others, and some could result in permanent entanglement of the fingers! The current tuning on this one appears to be "Ab and a half" - old high Ab? Gary