Jody Kruskal

Michael, You got a new toy! Wahhhhhhh I want a new toy... now I feel better. Have you figured out how to get the dynamics to feel life like? If so, can you post a file of that? I have not yet heard a convincing midi live/real time performance that "has breath" ( to almost quote m3838 ). Without that feeling right, the soul, the voice of the concertina is lost to my ears.

Sounds lovely. So simple that it could be coming from lots of tunes you have heard and so into your head. Wherever it came from I’m sure you will make it your own. Actualy, it sounds to me very like a slow version of: Les Bouffons (Thinot Arbeau - circa 1558)

Please, please please bring it. I would love to get a lesson.

Hi. Allison. I had no trouble. They're posted as mp3's, which my browser promptly played using QuickTime as a helper. But even if they don't launch automatically in a helper application, you should be able to download the mp3's to your disk and play them from there using any software that plays mp3's. When I first tried yesterday, I managed to find the link to the tunes but when I tried to play it I got a 10 second long endlessly repeating 'funky music sample' with the distant sound of pipes in the background. I couldn't stop the d*mn thing playing. It froze up the browser and I had to do a control alt delete to close out and get rid of it . Thinking it was me and my thick fingers, I got my computer savvy son to try, and he had the same problem. I have just tried again today and the last entry on the 'tune of the month' page is July '07 - Lilies of the Valley, There is nothing anywhere on the site that I can find for August 07. Am I doing something wrong or is there a 'Noo Yoik gremlin' at work ?? Cheers Dave Gremlins I'm sure of it. Dave, try again, I bet it works now, or perhaps you didn’t follow the links: Home page Tune of the Month (top of the page on the right) August 2007 (click on the words August 2007) or, Click here to go directly to the August page.

Works here, with Firefox and Itunes. Great tunes, Jody. Hi all, Sorry that some of you have been having problems listing to the files. I’m not a web tech person, just a consumer of the technology. Though I make the site on my Mac, I do test it on my wife's PC using the world wide web browser standard, IE6. No problems for me seeing and hearing all the content in my test. I have updated my site many times in the past few days, trying to get the photo gallery to look the way it should. All fixed now. Perhaps if someone was trying to look at the site while it was in transition there might be a problem... just guessing though. I’m pretty amazed that the site works as as well as it does considering how many different software products, developers and platforms the whole thing has to work with. See you at the Squeeze-In?

My Tune of the Month blog has been idle as I was galavanting around England this August playing, singing and hanging out with c.neters, but... now I’m home and I’ve put up some tunes that you might enjoy. Also check out three new vintage concertina photos in the Concertina Gallery thanks to Alan Day and Perry Werner. Here’s the blog text for my belated August entry: I’m back home from playing festivals and riding trains in England this August. All along the way I played concerts, taught workshops, drank beer and met wonderful people including Andrew and Margaret Watchorn from near Alnwick, Northumberland. I had been squeezing with squeezers all day at the Royal Hotel in Bradfield and we were a bit weary and bleary with squeezing and fun and cider. Then Margaret and Andrew got there with their fiddle and pipes and the place exploded. The three of us played a few sets of American tunes they knew, and eyes popped with the refreshing sound after five hours of free reeds. They asked me to join them at their concert set that evening to great effect. Later at Whitby, I called them up and the Watchorns drove down that Friday to join me for two concerts I was playing. We had a great rehearsal for a few hours before performing. The recordings below are understandably a bit rough... you can hear dishes being washed in the background. Andrew is playing Northumbrian pipes in G and D. These high pipes along with the fiddle and my low pitched Dipper Anglo on the bottom make for an exciting trio sound that is still shimmering in my head weeks later. Click on these titles to hear what we were up to! Jimmie Allen / Herd on the Hill / Salmon Tails up the Water Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine / Durham Rangers Green Cockade / Far From Home

Hi Chris. Yup, that was Andrew and Margaret Washorn from Alnwick, Northumberland. I had been squeezing with squeezers all day at the Royal in Bradfield and we were a bit weary and bleary with squeezing and beer when Margaret and Andrew got there with their fiddle and pipes. What fun! The three of us played a few sets of American tunes they knew and eyes popped with the refreshing sound after five hours of free reeds. They asked me to join them at their concert set that evening to great effect. Later at Whitby, I called them up and the Washorns drove down on Friday to join me for my concert sets. We had a great rehearsal for a few hours before performing. Recordings were made and I plan to put some of those files on my web site “Tune of the Month” blog page when I get a chance. Andrew has the more common F/C as well as higher G/D pipes. I did not bring my Bb/F concertina and so we stuck with the G/D pipes for our sets. I was playing my G/D Dipper Anglo which has a very rich low baritone sound. It worked very well with the pipes and fiddle allowing me to really define the harmony as we played. Intonation was not perfect between the concertina the pipes but close enough that it did not detract from the exciting sound and may have even added to the shimmer of our trio. Hi Jody, Pipes and box are a great combination (especially with the Watchorns) - You can hopefully make a repeat performance at next years Bradfield Traditional Music Fest on August 8th-10th 2008. Put it in your diary, folks. That would be great. Fortune willing.

Hi Chris. Yup, that was Andrew and Margaret Watchorn from Alnwick, Northumberland. I had been squeezing with squeezers all day at the Royal in Bradfield and we were a bit weary and bleary with squeezing and beer when Margaret and Andrew got there with their fiddle and pipes. What fun! The three of us played a few sets of American tunes they knew and eyes popped with the refreshing sound after five hours of free reeds. They asked me to join them at their concert set that evening to great effect. Later at Whitby, I called them up and the Washorns drove down on Friday to join me for my concert sets. We had a great rehearsal for a few hours before performing. Recordings were made and I plan to put some of those files on my web site “Tune of the Month” blog page when I get a chance. Andrew has the more common F/C as well as higher G/D pipes. I did not bring my Bb/F concertina and so we stuck with the G/D pipes for our sets. I was playing my G/D Dipper Anglo which has a very rich low baritone sound. It worked very well with the pipes and fiddle allowing me to really define the harmony as we played. Intonation was not perfect between the concertina the pipes but close enough that it did not detract from the exciting sound and may have even added to the shimmer of our trio.

Hi Larry, You have made a good point that I mention to my students again and again. I like to think that the impulse for the bellows movement comes from the whole upper body, shoulders, arms and wrists. The fingers do not push the bellows. They are freely wiggling around at the ends of your hands. They push buttons, not bellows. Kinetic confusion between these two functions leads to stiff playing, sloppy articulation and can result in more serious tension issues in your playing. Good luck in trying to figure out how to seperate these two action impulses. Mearly thinking about it while you play can go a long way. The fact that you have noticed the difficulty leads me to think that you will solve the problem. Awareness is half the battle. Cheers

Haw Haw! Good one indeed. Let me agree with all the well deserved kudos for Mark and Joan. Both of you two were the finest kind of hosts... throw a bunch of like minded musicians and singers together and tell them to have fun. I will never forget Joan holding forth and directing the evening sing at the Royal on Sunday night. Such a study in natural joviality. Nor will I ever forget the Bellman song that Mark sang there, can’t get the darned thing out of my head. A pleasure Geoff to sit in and play with you and your mates. Got to run off now, no more time for idle chit chat, I’m late for the next session!

I had a reaction like yours with my new Morse. Some of the upper notes didn't speak or were slow to speak under very low pressure. This was true both for attack and decay. I sent it right back and Bob Snope adjusted the voicing or reed height and that made a big improvement. You might try giving the BB a call and see if something can be done for your box. Bob or Rich could probably shed light on this subject and enlighten us.

I just got one and am very impressed with the whole package. I do not find the tone of the instrument accordion like at all. They do sound differant from my other concertinas but very pleasant, round and full, quite loud, good dynamic range and very responsive.

Mike, that is most interesting. Though I rarely want that high Bb (talking G/D here) I’ve missed it sorely on those few occasions when I do. I’ve been playing for 20 minutes now trying to figure out when I play the E pull and for the life of me, I don’t think I ever do! I use the push al the time but the E pull is always played by the left hand. I’ll have to keep looking. I wonder what other folks have for that button? Could this me another wild card button on the pull?

Just looked at your G/D 38 key finger chart - see the problem. first button on the middle row right you have C# push Epull. My 38 has what would be C# push high Bb pull if it where a G/D. Its C/G so I got the top Eb for the 7th in E or D as it would be in the Bb/F. Mike, Let me get this straight. On your C/G 38, button #1 of the middle row plays F# on the push and high Eb on the pull? When you say high do you mean the note 1/2 step above the D push 4 button of the right hand near row? I’ve got a bunch of differing intervals for that right hand middle row button #1. So... you are saying that you have the interval of a 6th with the pull higher than the push? My 4, Jefferies 38 boxes have differing intervals for the #1 Rt. middle row button. They all play the same note (relatively speaking) on the push; a half step below the second button push of the near row, ie. the leading tone (7) of the upper key. In all of the boxes, the pull is lower than the push. key - pitches - interval C/G - F#/D# - minor 3rd G/D - C#/E - 6th Bb/F - E/Ab - Aug. 5th A/E - D#/G - Aug. 5th

...my own 45-button C/G -- which I suspect was originally a Bb/F -- also has a pull G# against the push A (an exception to my claim about "all" C/G's I've tried), the same relative notes as on Jody's Bb/F and C/G. Well... I do play those tunes as well. Especially when I’m playing English country dances. When I do play in Bb, F, Gm etc. I play them on a Bb/F concertina. And for playing in Gm, Jody, your Bb/F has both (albeit in different directions) a low D (useful for both G and D chords) and a low F# (for all those Gm tunes that still use a D major chord). Which makes me wonder what it would be like for you to play G major and D major tunes on the Bb/F. Have you experimented with that? Well I haven't in recent memory... until just now that is. Although it seems plausible at first, I do run into some problems. On the Bb/F, playing in G puts the range of the tunes I play a minor 3rd lower on the instrument than I like. The solution to that is to either play melody and everything else on the left hand sometimes. Not impossible, but it certainly adds to the difficulty. Or... switch octaves mid tune, a trick that I do use, but prefer not to. Also, the 5 chord only has a low bass note on the push (and a pull note an octave up, but only on the 38 button instruments). There is no bass note for the relative minor chord. This is very limiting. How about the Bb playing in D major? I just played through Shepherds Hey (in D) with out too much difficulty. Not up to speed or in time really, but enough to say that it works, ie. the notes are there. The range puts tunes a major 3rd higher than I’m used to. Pretty squeaky up there for some tunes. Also, in the upper range there is no 7 in the scale. That’s the C# leading tone and it’s just not there (transposed, also missing on all of my 38s, woe!). So, half an hour of interesting speculation and technical concertina talk has led me back to my original conclusion. The best instrument for the keys I play in most... is a G/D. (edited for grammer)

Well... I do play those tunes as well. Especially when I’m playing English country dances. When I do play in Bb, F, Gm etc. I play them on a Bb/F concertina. I can see the advantage of being able to play everything on one instrument but I just can’t wrap my mind and fingers around it. My style uses lots of chords, harmony and bass notes along with the melody and takes advantage of what I think of as the natural abilities of the system. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I decided long ago that enough of the notes I wanted just were not there for much beyond three keys plus modes. With a few exceptions, I have pretty much stuck to those. Perhaps I’m just lazy.

Hi Ken, When do you use the Bb? I bet you are playing melody down there which I rarely do. I also would miss the low F... what! No root of the 4 chord in C? Jody, Primarily for song accompaniments laboriously worked out in flat keys. They fit my singing range, and I'd be loathe to give up all that effort! Ken I never would have guessed. That's impressive. Flat keys are something that I've never attempted to do myself.

Amen! Glad you spoke up for I was thinkin' it. Just trying to follow these two threads was burnin' up an already greatly diminished mental acumen. Yeah, words words words, when what really matters is the music, how it sounds and how it fees to play it. Chris, you have a good point there. The English system makes much more sense conceptually. What makes the Anglo so fun though is figuring out how to use the wacky patterns that the hodgepodge of a system presents. The amazing thing is how well it actually works in practice.

I'll be there. Can't wait.

Yes, and moreover, on a C/G I'd want that D in both directions. On a G/D I'd want the low A! I remember talking to John Kirkpatrick about this very issue a few years ago. He was really excited when he discovered that a Jeffries Bb/F Hobgoblin were selling at Swaledale that year did actually have that bottom C (the equivalent of the low D on a C/G) in both ways. Right Daniel. If you play mostly tunes in the Major keys of G, D, A with rare forays into C and E (including all of these keys modes and relative minors) then a G/D makes most sense. That would make the pitch we are discussing an A. Yes John would like that. I'm really quite excited about having that note on all of my instruments and don't think I would miss any of the lost notes very much. I have a G/D Dipper with an extra C/A button (below the first button on the third row left hand) that I've been playing for 5 years. I've found that I almost never play the C push and play the A pull frequently. Having the A pull only feels like enough. So it seems like I've got a potentially open spot for a low push note that I actually would use. If I had it to do over again I'm not sure what would be the best candidate for the push pitch. any ideas?

Hi Ken, When do you use the Bb? I bet you are playing melody down there which I rarely do. I also would miss the low F... what! No root of the 4 chord in C?

I just got my new Morse C/G and it is very nice. I asked the good Button Box folks to try one innovation in the pitch/button layout and I’m thrilled by the result so far. One 30 button Anglo pitch has long been missed in the left hand and I have spent considerable time over the years in working out arrangements and musical cover ups to compensate for it’s lack. That note is the low D. One whole step up from from the lowest note on the instrument. All you Anglo players out there who play mostly trad style Irish have probably never missed that note, but I’m a harmonic player... melody on the right and harmony on the left. That missing low D has felt to me like a defect of the system since I first started playing, 30 years ago. But where to put it? Pull is the most useful direction for that D and short of adding another button I thought of having that low pull D replace the C# pull, second button of the "accidental" or far left hand row. That makes the button play A/D. It works great and having the button play the interval of a 5th is very handy. The fingerings seem natural. I almost never want to play the C# that’s now missing because I rarely play melody down there and a C# bass note is not too useful in the keys I do play. It’s a 7 in the key of D, a 3 in the key of A, a 4+ in G etc. The new low D note sounds good in almost every tune I play. For those who play UK, American, French, German, Swedish, South African, Australian etc. (did I miss anyone?) fiddle and dance tunes in the harmonic style, I highly suggest that you consider this option on your new orders. I bet a reed change is not too hard to do as a retrofit and I’m considering changing my Jefferies instruments to include this highly useful note.

Steve found my # and called me up, we both live in Brooklyn, NY. He came over this afternoon and showed me his lovely Aeola. What a thing of beauty it is! The raised Amboyna ends are highly figured, hardware gold plated with a few buttons worn down to the brass. A quick check of the tuning is A=440 and very good with only a few notes off by a bit. Close enough that perhaps cleaning the reeds is all it would need, if that. All the buttons work, as well as the pads and valves. The bellows are in great shape with only a few scuff marks and the whole thing is very tight with no leaking to speak of. The case is in great shape too with a zippered canvas cover. I’m not an EC player but I could play enough to see and hear that the action is quick and the tone rich with a wide dynamic range. I think that Steve wants to sell after all. Whoever gets this beauty will be very pleased to own it.

Right. I guess it's all a dim haze now. Have fun in Ireland!

Speak for yourself Chris. I'm very picky about who I share my DNA with.