Henrik Müller
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Posts posted by Henrik Müller
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Yes - one should never forget one's ancestors:
I borrowed Henk's code when I started my site - but Henk doesn't use a big blank spaces at any time
- leaving it up to the user to find out what goes on 
/Henrik
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... have never seen it done that way before. ...
Neither have I
- in retrospect, I could have made each page show the first photos of the set, but that still wouldn't indicate that the links should be clicked. Interfaces are fascinating - can always be improved, and one size doesn't fit all.But if you guys hadn't cried out, I would never have made the all changes I did yesterday (of which many are invisible to some and make the whole difference to others)
/Henrik
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Looks fine to me, as long as one reads the instructions that sit where the photo might be expected. Or is that something you've added since the "complaints"?
Exactly what I did - better safe than sorry.
And to make up for all the confusion, I have added a new "build" page - number [16]!
/Henrik
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Henrik, I can't see most of the pictures on your website, doesn't matter if using Firefox or IE, is anyone else having this problem? Story is fascinating though....
Lars
Hi, Lars -
I have checked the site on IE (on Mac) - certain text details differ, like the top menu - I will look into that, but otherwise it behaves OK. I'll check it on IE and FireFox on a PC later today - I have done that earlier, but not after the changes yesterday.
/Henrik
It seems Ok in Firefox, once you'ld explained that the top line takes you to a new section, but pictures don' t appear until you click on the links down the page.
Fascinating project though - really brings home the amount of work in making a concertina!
", but pictures don' t appear until you click on the links down the page. " - yes, I have started to think about that, right now. It does seem confusing that you come to a new - seemingly blank page. Let me think some more. Meanwhile, I have dug myself into some more HTML - I realised that the top menu turned into separate lines on IE (Mac, probaly Win as well) and that a comment line appeared in FireFox Win. That is being fixed right now.
/Henrik
I want to build concertinas, not do web design
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Henrik, I can't see most of the pictures on your website, doesn't matter if using Firefox or IE, is anyone else having this problem? Story is fascinating though....
Lars
Hi, Lars -
That was worrying... the only thing I did yesterday was add a chunk of HTML in every file - the chunk that creates the "[1] [2] [3]..."-menu at the top.
And sorry for getting into nitty-gritty details: each page is not supposed to show any photos before one of the links below the text block is clicked.
When you you say "I can't see most of the pictures..." which do you see?
I have checked the site on IE (on Mac) - certain text details differ, like the top menu - I will look into that, but otherwise it behaves OK. I'll check it on IE and FireFox on a PC later today - I have done that earlier, but not after the changes yesterday.
I am an HTML-amateur - I hope I can fix it it.
/Henrik
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Dear all -
I have made a significant change to my building series on my site: added a small, menu on top of every page.
This way one can freely jump between sections - no more "Next, Next, Next...", though the "Next" and "Previous" links are still there.
I hope to have some new stuff up tomorrow - things have are moving at snail speed, clamped down by various demands from job, family, and stuff like that.
Bushing felt
Has been difficult. I want thin, vowen felt. Even special fabric-only shops go blank when they hear the word "vowen".
But again I was amazed to find rescue just around the corner.
When I got far enough to understand that that kind of felt is the stuff pianos are made of (plus a few things more) I realised that we have a real live piano repairer in town. And sure enough: he kindly donated a strip of wonderful, thin, red vowen felt (he called "Kashmir felt, "garnishing felt" (lit.) or Simply "Red felt" (He-henk).
Why am I so exited about this? Because...
In order to make the bushing boards I need to have the felt, 'cos then I will know the size of the button holes and thus the size of the button holes in the end plate and in my "Tedrowed" aluminum dummy end plate that will hold the buttons when I set the action. And then I can let Roy, the black-belt tool maker around the other corner prepare another one of his super drills, so the bushing board doesn't splinter when I drill it. That's why.
Another thought has struck me during these months - have there even been any attempts to make sort of "Concertina Innards Terminology Manual"? Because I found that I am using words I have picked up and learned along the way, and add new ones when I don't know. Any thoughts here?
Dinner time...
/Henrik
Hopefully I can add another page tomorrow, provided I get some of these done:
I just love jigs(awing)...
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It has been anoounced by Henrik in another thread:
So, finally!
I have added a few tunes on a "Tunes" page on my site.
So the Recorded Tunes Link Page has been updated with Henrik's tunes. They are a fine example of playing the Irish repertoire on a (very simple) EC, that looks like this:
!!!!
well done Henrik
Thanks, Henk -
I have added two more tunes on the site (I really just want to see if I get you guys into more beer-drinking
) Hmmm - I could become an alcoholic by proxy - interesting!
The picture of the Stagi is from an early stage of development. Here is how it looks today:
Happy Sunday!
/Henrik
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Anglo or not, this was a chance I just couldn't miss. It probably happens once every 30th year or so that you can find a concertina for that price..
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I haven't forgotten about the recordings -
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/Henrik
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So, finally!
I have added a few tunes on a "Tunes" page on my site.
I also have asked our "Recorded Tunes" web master,
the honourable Henk van Aalten,
to link them to his "Recorded Tunes Link Page",
so they will appear there in due time.
/Henrik
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Hi
Well I've finally taken the plunge
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With thanks,
Morgana
Hi, Morgana -
Whoo! A biohazard! But good on you! Always encourage couriosity - you will learn a lot from this. You will not end up with a wonderful airtight, well-playing box but you will be a lot wiser when it comes to the inner workings.
Compared to lots of the folks here, I haven't done much restoring/repairing work, but what I have done I remember well.
Rust on reeds
I don't think (just an instinct) sandpaper and reeds is a good combination. What I have done a couple of times, is to carefully scrape off the rust with a small screwdriver, the same width as the reed - it doesn't really remove the material and the reed will need tuning no matter what. I found that the reed's backside often comes out in its nice, blue hardened steel colour after this. Worth a try.
Don't leave the thing apart for long
What I mean is that the reedpan may want to change its shape once it is out of its jail - hold it down with a thick piece of something, something - something solid that can clamp it down another something - a plane, e.g., thick plywood. The one (and only) time I didn't do this, I ended up with a reedpane that looked like something out of a bag of crisps (= one crisp). The same goes for the sides - I used the end bolts to screw the sides onto a thick piece of plywood. This way, it can be left for longer periods when more boring stuff requires one's attention.
Keep us posted!
/Henrik
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I have followed this thread for a while and my blood pressure has increased sufficiently for me to realise that I will have to add my first - and last - post to this thread in order to bring it down again.
The thread started as "about use of classical training for folk music" but slided into Irish traditional music and that is where I started to listen.
I have listened to (and attempted to play, but that's irrelevant here) Irish music for close to 30 years. Lately - the last 4-5 years - I have realised that it has become a constant, stable source of pleasure, joy and passion - something I wouldn't, couldn't be without.
In other words: it's getting better all the time. I get the same kicks out of hearing new tunes as I got years ago when I heard Mary Bergin the first time, Noel Hill and Tony Linnane the first time, Matt Molloy the first time - the list is long.
I also find that I go back to records I bought 25 years ago and suddenly understand them - Jacky Daly's first record, Johnny O'Leary's "Music for the Set". So somehow I have learned and experienced something along the way.
During this afternoon's Google hunt for Johnny Doran MP3s and video clips, I stumbled into Custy's (Traditional Music Shop), got sidetracked by finding all the CDs I wanted, and finally ended up with a video clip with Kitty Hayes.
And that put everything in order: there is no master plan, no aim, no analysis, no entertaining, no professionalism. It just is - and luckily, I am able to enjoy the simple emotion it creates in me. No rocket science here. The less discussion, the better.
/Henrik
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I'm going to take some photos of my new baby as soon as I get hold of a digital camera (in two weeks) and I'll let you see it.
Now after some trying I've found the G chord and maybe the C. I can't manage to find the D yet. How long does it really take to learn to find the notes and play melodies without too many delays (=breaks while I'm
trying to find the note)? It seems impossible today, but I'm at least beginning to find the C scale. I'm using the chart from www.concertina.com, even it's for 48 key concertinas.
We can't wait!
Don't get hooked on 56/48/or whatever numbers of keys - the English system is "repeating" - if you study the chart from The Concertina Library for a while, you will realise that it can be extended ad infinitum upwards and downwards. Look at the two inner rows as the piano's white keys and the two outer rows as the piano's blacks - #s and bs.
So - which finger goes where?
I have taken Bob Gaskin's chart and added fingers:
See? Indexfingers go on the second row (from the thumb strap) and middle fingers go on the second row (from the pinkie rest). The ring fingers handle the outer row closest to the pinkie rest, the index fingers move from the second row to the outer row closest to the thumb rests when required (not very often in the "ordinary" keys in Irish music).
Stick religiously to this fingering in the beginning. There are off course situations where the rules are better broken (especially in Irish music), but that comes later.
I have added a D chord (major and minor) - again, I believe that you can work out the rest of the system from looking at this: all basic chord lie in "triangles" - change to/from the #/b and you change between major and minor.
This should keep you awake for a while!
/Henrik
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Anglo or not, this was a chance I just couldn't miss. It probably happens once every 30th year or so that you can find a concertina for that price..
Congratulations!! So it does happen! I think I can speak for a lot of netters, when I say: Photo, photo, photo! Because the photo will immediately reveal how good a deal it was!
If you pass Skåne before next SSI, please let me know - I think a have a few tricks to show that will make surviving Irish music on an English easier (possible?). (Should I be in Göteborg, I'll let you know).
I haven't forgotten about the recordings - I've been waiting for a new iBook that has analog input = I can add a quality mike preamp + microphone and place myself in some better acoustic surroundings (than my kitchen). Have patience.
/Henrik
An early advice (though people are divided on this...): do not push the thumbs all the way through the thumb straps. Let the instrument "hang" on the first part of the thumb. I think most EC players do it this way (though I am sure a thread can be started about this..). Only my personal view.
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On English made concertinas, the bushing of the buttons where the rod passes through the button used to take me hours doing each one individually, cutting a little square of felt, inserting it into the hole in the button and forming it into just the right shape to accept the rod.
Then some one suggested a much easier method:
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Yep - that's Bob Tedrow, the procedure can be seen here on his home page.
There are a lot of little repair/design gems on Bob's page. One of them - this - is an important one, see the second photo, with the text: "A jig is cut to match the button holes on the concertina. This maintains good pad/button/hole alignment during repadding."
Especially with non-rivetted actions, the buttons are completely wobbly-wobbly when the end plate is off - leading to large sideway movements. This can eventually result in leaking pads when the instrument is assembled. So Bob's jig keeps "the bunch off buttons together" while the pads are replaced.
In my "build-my-own" project, this has led to this construction:
It is not the latest fashion in end plates! It's a dummy end plate that will allow me to get my fingers in and fiddle with the action mechanics - when I come to that part (which is soon).
/Henrik
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Any hints on achieving a better tone?
A good mic makes a big difference. As Malcolm said, try standing back a bit from the microphone, try different rooms with different acoustic properties.
Hear, hear - there is a reason that studio mikes cost thousands.
/Henrik
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After all this nice promotion, I'll see what I can do during the week - quality will be so-so, but that's better than nothing. It will be the 18-button, battered, low-life Stagi.
In your hands, it becomes high-life!
Flatter me, and you'll get a long way
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As for "the sound" being different, is that really the instrument, or is it the way it's played? Listening to Henrik Müller's playing (Henrik, could you give Henk more sound files for his links page?)
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After all this nice promotion, I'll see what I can do during the week - quality will be so-so, but that's better than nothing. It will be the 18-button, battered, low-life Stagi.
/Henrik
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This may be of some use to understand the method commonly used for slotting reed frame blanks.
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Thanks Geoff, it certainly does! For me it also has this "So, that's how it's done!"-quality about it - always stimulating.
A book on traditional concertina making methods would certainly be fascinating and well worth waiting for.
/Henrik
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Hi everyone!
I'm a Swedish mandolin and fiddle player, I'm planning to start learning to play the concertina. I'm going to play Irish music, and if possible also Swedish trad.
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Hej, Ennis Man -
Vart i Sverige finns du?
Henrik
Höör, Skåne
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- and to stop any outburst concerning language, here is the English version:
Hi, Ennis Man -
Where in Sweden are you?
[signature]
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I just submitted a new Polka I wrote for one of the whistle players in our session. Let me know what you think of it
Fine! I like it, I'll try it at home (Ups, slip of the tongue).
/Henrik
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I'm realy looking forward to hear the sound-files!!
And you can now do so here: www.ptollemy.com
Cheers
Morgana
That was fast! Along with your photos, the tunes give a fine overview of the Event! Next year!
/Henrik
P.S. The "Title unknown", played by Nils and Jim is "Rolling in the Barrel" - it can be found on Mary MacNamara's first, track 13, logically followed by "The Tap Room" (Where else would you roll barrels?
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Right you are, Jim! Swaging is more of a process which one uses a shaped block (the swage or swageblock) to forcibly change the shape of your object. In the case of concertina reed frames, the vent is punched out with a punch/die combo and then swaged by pressing the pyramidal swageblock into the vent to give the vent sloped sides, and then to clean things up and make the top side of the reedplate accurate and crisp, the vent it reamed.
Thanks, both! Information understood and permanently stored!
/Henrik
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I would really appreciate a posting here just to let me know the artist and album title, so I can add them to list of CDs to track down:
Yes, yes, of course! How could I forget! Jackie Daly's "Music from Sliab Luachra Vol.6" - a daily practice source! (CD)
And with the risk of not having read the list carefully enough:
"Irish Traditional Concertina Styles",
Topic/Free Reed 12TFRS506
The second B.O'Sullivan/T. McMahon record is:
"Bernard O'Sullivan, Tommy McMahon Play Irish Traditional Music of County Clare"
Topic/FreeReed 12TFRS505
- but we aren't really talking CDs anymore, are we? I don't know if any of those are re-issued as CDs.
/Henrik
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...s, swager, and ream.
Hi, Richard - I've just realized that I've grown fond of learning words that have to do with tools - not screw driver-hammer-saw sort of tools, but tool and die. But "swager" is beyond me. And the New Oxford American Dictionary responds with a "No entries found". Can you enlighten me, please?
/Henrik
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See, insomnia can be a productive thing
[Edited to correct spelling errors - Thanks Jim
]Hi, Morgana - I wish I could be that productive when I can't sleep!
Great list - lots of CDs I have, lots of CDs I plan to "get around to".
But I am happy to be able to add an item to the list:
Noel Hill, Tony McMahon, Iarla O Lionaird (Sean Nos singing): "Aislingí Ceoil - Music of Dreams"
Great stuff - live concert, dancers 'n all, with the roof lifting! Highly recommended.
Enjoyed your Arran report and photos, though something goes bad on the "More photos can be found here"-link - I seem to end up at the internet provider with a "Sorry, but the page or the file that you're looking for is not here."-message. Can't wait to see the other photos!
/Henrik
I Have A Concertina!
in General Concertina Discussion
Posted · Edited by Henrik Müller
Glad you liked them. I was close to adding a Swedish tune, until I listened to the source (Per Gudmundsson, bagpipe) and realised that I had done what I often do: used the tune as a skeleton, and ended up with something far from the original. The feel is there, though, so I can put it on the site, if you like (now that you are properly warned
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A word about Irish polkas out of books. As Scandinavians we have an easy trap to fall into, when it comes to Irish polkas - we tend to play them as Scandinavian polkas. After being around this music (ITM) for many years, I am still surprised how hard it is to play them with the right lift and flow. Use the notes to learn the melody, but try and find a source to listen to - Jackie Daly, Johnny O'Leary (old records though, though Jackie Daly's is re-issued as CD) - search at amazon.co.uk and find: "Traditional Accordion and Concertina Music from Sliabh Luachra" - a reference record, I would say. Lots of polkas on both concertina and box. The other "reference" record is with Seamus Creagh ("Jackie Daly and Seamus Creagh"), also on amazon.co.uk
The tricky thing is that many of the tunes (not all!) have a seemingly simple, almost nursery-rhyme construction - easy to be fooled by. Therefore, listening is essential. So, I'll stop rambling now.
/Henrik
Edited to add: Right should be right: there are four CDs with Johnny O'leary on amazon...