Jody Kruskal

Thank you Henk and all. My guess is that this symphonetta was made around 1930. The range is 5 1/2 octaves from Bb” to f#” Below is a photo of the key layout. This is the left hand (the bass side), but the position and number of buttons is the same for both the right and left sides. There is just over one octave overlap in pitches between the right and left sides. Though very worn, you can sort of see the buttons are numbered and lettered. This system has the same note pull and draw, and like the Hayden and others, the intervalic fingerings are transposable to any key. Of the five rows, the middle three are the basic pattern with the outside upper and lower rows being linked buttons to aid fingerings. So just consider those three middle rows to see the pattern. You are looking at three octaves here. You can see the silver inlay at a slant, visually dividing the octaves. The octave pattern repeats for each of the three octaves pictured here. Each octave is made up of the three rows we are talking about and four slanted columns. Starting on the top left and moving down the columns, you get half steps. Across the rows you get minor thirds. The left most top row (main pattern row) yellow button is clearly marked 1/C and that is the lowest C on the instrument. A quick search on cnet and related links did not turn up a fingering system like this. I don’t play this beauty, but playing around with it I can get the idea. Just under the buttons is a bar that the thumb curls around and the palm rests on. The four fingers can span two octaves with a stretch. The two bellows can maintain constant pressure with practice. It’s a bit too leaky to hear about articulation. The sound is rich and loud with (I think) two reeds in octaves for every button. The instrument is lovely to look at, but I think it’s very unlikely I’ll ever learn to play it.

I have a beautiful Symphonetta that I am curious about. It is quite old and a faded label says: Left: Richt? Schell?? Symphonetta ????????? Right: Alleintget Fabrikant Ernst L. Arnold Carlsleld???? It seems that Ernest Louis Arnold (1828-1910) was the manufacturer of the ELA bandoneons which were imported to Argentina as well as the Symphonetta. My instrument is in very good condition and plays with a lovely tone. A few leaks of course. It fits in a box and has a folding stand. It seems to have been used by a working musician long ago. Numbers and letters on the colored buttons are worn with use. I can’t find them now, but it came with printed music, parts for Symphonetta for band arrangements of tunes and hand stamped with what I remember to be a Berlin concertina club. Mr. Flake is the author of a web site in German that Goggle refuses to translate, great pictures though. http://users.interstroom.nl/~veldhuis/-symphonetta/ I tried to email Leo Flake but the emails were returned. Does anyone know how to contact him? Does anyone play these now?

This post can be viewed at the 3/18 topic of the same name.

Wow! Thanks for the link, Chris. What amazing playing.

Brian, Many thanks to you and Howard. Keith of The Old Darby Gaol just wrote back to me: "Good to hear from you – fear not, your reputation goes before you…. We were going to have a guest ‘breather’ in July – but you have changed our minds! You are welcome." So how many pints do you owe him? Or rather, how many do I owe you? A festival gig the weekend before Warwick is certainly on my wish list. As for dances... I play them often and would very pleased to play one with you. Do you have a caller in mind or would that be me? I do call and play at the same time, solo, in school classrooms, though it's hard work, it's my bread and butter. Large family and kids dances are great fun too, and I have lead a bunch of those. For adults, mostly I do a few dances at weddings where my band is playing and that's for rank beginners. My rep. runs toward the silly and simple. I don't call full length evenings for adult American contra dancers. That is just too technical for me. I’m not sure what sort of dancing you are talking about, English ceilidh I presume? Jody

I’m moving this query from http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php...opic=3222&st=15 to a new thread. Graham, Thanks for inviting me across the pond to participate in the Warwick Concertina Convention. I’m thrilled to be attending. Perhaps I’ll even get a chance to play some double Anglo tunes with Brian Peters! As for teaching Anglo techniques, strategies, chord and rhythm devices and such, there is nothing I would like better. It’s always a pleasure to share the music I enjoy so much and to help others deepen their understanding and discover untapped potential in the Anglo. If I had the opportunity to sing and play on stage or better yet, in a more intimate club setting, that would also be a pleasure. Jody All of this has just been arranged and it's very late to try and find some other UK gigs, but I'm hoping to. I have a quite collection of great solo tunes and songs, original and trad that would please adults, children or both. In addition to concerts, I have been calling family dances (kids and mixed age groups) as a solo for many years. If I could get a few additional engagements I would be able for fly over as early as the 13th. So it's really a narrow window of opportunity for me. Any suggestions, thoughts, advice, contacts? What's the Warwick Festival like? Ever been? Jody

Graham, Thanks for inviting me across the pond to participate in the Warwick Concertina Convention. I’m thrilled to be attending. Perhaps I’ll even get a chance to play some double Anglo tunes with Brian Peters! As for teaching Anglo techniques, strategies, chord and rhythm devices and such, there is nothing I would like better. It’s always a pleasure to share the music I enjoy so much and to help others deepen their understanding and discover untapped potential in the Anglo. If I had the opportunity to sing and play on stage or better yet, in a more intimate club setting, that would also be a pleasure. Jody

Hi Mike, Go for it. Can’t wait to hear your version of Kiss the Muley. We play that one a lot. In Grand Picnic, we call everything that isn’t straight ahead playing a “trick”. Every player needs a big bag of tricks to pull out of the hat to keep things interesting. Starting slow, as you describe is one of those cool tricks that can be so effective for adding interest. I try not to use it too much though, to avoid “oh no, not that again” syndrome. I’m a big fan of the KISS rule, but I have to remind myself again and again, to keep it simple. Yeah, variety is the spice of music. As for recording, you will want to make an MP3 to submit your recording to Henk, so why not just record directly onto your hard drive. Audacity (free download) or Garageband will both let you do that and give you powerful editing tools too. Jody

Mark, what a great story. The way you told it, I almost thought it happened to me. When musicians are communicating well and agreeing most of the time, intimate setting, nonverbal feelers spread wide to catch the vibe... the rest of the world ceases to exist. It can be so sexy, sex being another intimate form of nonverbal communication. I’ve often found that at such moments I wished my Jefferies was a Stagi, because I’m spending way too much effort to play quietly enough. I remember Brian Peters talking about that somewhere too. But it’s a thing, it can be a fun thing, to play that game at a session. How quietly, how minimally can I play, and still have something to add. That can be really a pleasure, and something that I have practiced at home by myself. It’s a great exercise, to play a tune I know as quietly as possible and still try to make it musical. This is so much easier on a stringed instrument. Concertinas don’t do quiet and intimate naturally. I think that practicing an attempt to go as far in that direction as possible though, has deepened my playing.

Gosh Mike, those are mighty kind words. I’m glad you like my tunes. When are you going to make an MP3 and give them to Henk to put on the recorded tunes page? http://www.anglo-concertina.net/links.htm I would love to hear your version of Little Fat Morning Man. I don’t tend to play fast on Naked Concertina. It’s not really the right place for that because I want people to hear all the stuff I’m doing and I’m doing too much for speed to sound right. With a band, at a dance in West Virginia, that’s a different story. Jody http://cdbaby.com/cd/jodykruskal

Love the enthusiasm Jody, very found of your playing, not so down the the stereotypes. Offended? No, for I realize it was not meant so. Dissapointed, a wee bit. Absolutes give one very little wiggle room when confronted with a contradiction OK Mark, You are absolutely right, I knew I’d get in trouble for that one. Of course I was not trying to offend anyone, but rather attempting to layout the differences between Anglo and English (in my opinion) as succinctly and broadly as possible. I hoped that all of the qualifying verbiage I included would allow me to speak in absolutes for clarity of meaning without cluttering up my list. In rereading it, I think that many of these attributes are really only tendencies, I can think of contradictions for many of them. Perhaps only tendencies of the players rather than the instrument? I’m not sure. Enough back peddling for now. Jody

Hi Mike and welcome, I agree with the advice so far. Stereotypes are made to be contradicted, but often have a kernel of truth in them. Of course, you can play any way you like on either instrument. However, to my ear, Anglo/English stereotypes go something like this: punchy / lyrical wild / dignified working class / upper class folk / classical foot stompin’ / toe tappin’ very wide dynamic range/ narrower dynamic range upper body / fingers visceral / intellectual good for dancing / good for listening harmonic / single line idiosyncratic / logical harder for reading notation / easier for reading notation comfortable in fewer keys / comfortable in more keys (key, as in F# major) Have I offended anyone yet? I am hardly an unbiased judge of such matters, I play Anglo, not English. Also, my comparisons above are hardly absolutes, I have heard some wild, stompin’, dance tunes played on English with lots of extra notes thrown in, but not often and not for a while. Whatever you decide, you are ahead of the game by knowing other instruments and having a body of tunes you like. Knowing what you want out of an instrument makes it much easier to play music that sounds the way you want it to. Enjoy! Jody http://cdbaby.com/cd/jodykruskal

Al, I guess that would work, but my setup is much simpler. Microvox concertina mics plug directly into my AX30G Korg ToneWorks guitar effects processor. The processor line out goes to the halls amplification system. I hear my processed signal through stage monitors that are powered and mixed by the halls system. It did take some study to program the Korg processor’s user specified patches to make the concertina sound more to my liking. I got the processor because I was getting lost in the noisy swirl of dance hall sound and wanted to be able to cut through. The vibrato effect, chorus, EQ, compression, over all volume and the use of the pressure pedal to dynamicly control some of these effects were all helpful in giving me the control I need when I play with Grand Picnic or any big band. When I play quieter dances with Dressed Ship we are playing English Country and it’s a trio... I leave the Korg unit at home. My unit is no longer made. The latest version is AX3000G not 30G, but appears to work the same with a few additional bells and whistles. I would probably get something else if I were to go looking today. There are lots of guitar processors to choose from and you can walk into any music shop and try them out. To see more info on some of what’s out there, go to: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar/navi...N=100001+306293

Depends on what kind of audio quality you want. Like I said, my laptop internal mic is part of my mac laptop and sits behind a grill. Something like it exists on most computers. Audacity makes very listenable recordings using this very convenient setup. Free and pretty easy to learn how to use. I have a Sony stereo mic that I put through a mixer. The mixer out signal goes into my computer's audio in mini jack. This is better quality. M-Audio and others make USB A/D converters that will accept professional XLR phantom power mics if studio quality is required, but at that level, the sound of the room you are recording in starts being even more important in the quest for quality. Most pro studios are recording onto computers these days. The gold standard in software is Protools. The last I heard, you can download a working Protools lite free off the web as well. To answer your question better, I would need to know more about your computer and what your needs/projects are. Also, I’m really no expert... still figuring this stuff out myself.

Hi Daniel, I would recommend exactly that. Many cneters use Audacity, which is free recording software, easy to use and offers a bunch of powerful editing tools. Download it right off the web. I use Garageband which came on my Mac and works very much the same way. The sound quality is excellant, even using my computers internal mic and improved by using a sterio external mic as I do. Jody

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo, lucky you. Enjoy your new toy.

Brian, I would like that very much, but with no travel plans to Glossop in place, it seems unlikely. Perhaps you will visit NYC soon? Let me know. Or... perhaps I'll get an invitation to tutor at Whitney, where you can show me around and make sure I find a place for lunch. Jody

Hi nuc. I agree with Peter about two 58s... but I use something more like what you are talking about. There are two brands of concertina mics that I know of: http://www.microvox.co.uk/concpage.htm which you can buy from http://www.buttonbox.com/accessry.shtml or perhaps other sources and http://www.accusound.com/start.html I use an older set of microvox mics that attach to both sides of my concertina with velcro. They do cost some $, so do a pair of 58s with stands and clips. The main advantage is mobility and no mic stand to get in the way. The quality is fine for a loud noisy dance, though I would choose other mics for recording. The nice thing about one or two mics on stands is that you can work the mic by getting closer or farther away to bring out solos or bass lines or whatever. I prefer the attached mics though, because I plug them into a processor for added tonal control. There has been lots of talk on this and related subjects in the thread: Playing in the dark on a G/D. Here is the most relevant part: "That's why I like my mics that velcro on to my concertina for those big halls. If I'm not stuck to a mic stand I can go and visit the piano player and sit right down on the bench, or get right next to the fiddle when there is something that we are doing together like a harmony or a backing chunk thing. Of course no amplification at all, and just sitting around the kitchen table is the best, but where would all the dancers fit? I made little extenders that put the mic about 2 inches out and angled back at the reed pan. It's not perfect, but most of the reeds sound at the same volume. Close enough for a noisy dance. The bellows noise is way below the radar at the echo ridden halls around here." Good luck finding the right thing for you, nuc.

Welcome Terry, Please do keep us informed of how you are getting on. C/G instruments certainly can cut through. Personally, I've never had a problem being heard on my G/D Jefferies, some times just the opposite and I find it hard work to play quiet enough. As Alan pointed out, it's a bit rude to play louder than everyone else and it's better to blend. I really like situations where everyone is kind of moving in and out with their dynamics and taking turns leading, following, imitating each other and doing the kind of listening that you have to do if you are having a real conversation. That's why I like my mics that velcro on to my concertina for those big halls. If I'm not stuck to a mic stand I can go and visit the piano player and sit right down on the bench, or get right next to the fiddle when there is something that we are doing together like a harmony or a backing chunk thing. Of course no amplification at all, and just sitting around the kitchen table is the best, but where would all the dancers fit? I made little extenders that put the mic about 2 inches out and angled back at the reed pan. It's not perfect, but most of the reeds sound at the same volume. Close enough for a noisy dance. The bellows noise is way below the radar at the echo ridden halls around here. Talk about playing in the dark! Who knows what it sounds like out there. The way it works here in the US is that every community dance has a crew of volunteers who run the sound and also dance themselves. Some groups have a tech person who knows what they are doing, but most are amateurs. Sometimes we play weekends or concerts where the sound people are professional but that is not the norm. So we have to trust them to muddle through as best they can. We take turns walking around the hall while the rest are playing and sometimes tweak the hall a little. I only know of one contra dance band that brings and runs their own PA reinforcement system. I have heard that things are different in this regard for English bands. Yes? So, how do I know my adjustments are working?... because I hear them in the monitors and I see the dancers respond to what I play. Some of my settings are subtle, but if I want to, I can make them overt, and I do from time to time just to prove to myself that I am there. Jody

So, how many buttons does your box have?

Bravo Brian and Dan too, I agree, well said. The pull C is a thinner chord with the lowest C being two octaves higher that what is possible with the push. That limitation of the 30 button instrument leads players to compensate in all kinds of interesting ways and is one of the things that gives the harmonic Anglo its sound. Because melodeon style um-pa is not possible, you come up with other sorts of arrangements. Though I learned on a 30 button Bastari, I prefer to play 38 button Anglos these days with a pull C on the thumb button (though it is one octave higher that the lowest push C). That lack of a 30 button low pull C is probably the most important one single reason I like the 38s. I have played several 31 button Anglos that have this additional thumb button. 38 or 31, I’ve only seen them tuned F/C (push pull) though I think Brian’s instrument plays the same C both directions to make it a drone. Right Brian? Jody

Hi Jim, I’ve had that problem too. Especially playing in some of the big gyms and dance halls, the sound can get very muddy. A good monitor system and a responsive sound person can do wonders... but only to a point. In the midi concertina thread I mentioned my dance rig: “I already have a bunch of gear that I take to a contra dance gig. My G/D (plays 95% of the time) and C/G (for Dm, C, and high squeaky G tunes). I have my velcro mics and a guitar processor (AX30G Korg ToneWorks) that I plug into for all kinds of tonal control and effects.” Most of those effects are EQ, compression, and occasional tremolo at various settings. This handy box lets me design and save my own settings and then recall them with foot pedals. I have 4 voices that I’ve made for concertina at dances. 1 - for most of the time, 2 - for solos, 3 - for a wet accordion sound, 4 - for quiet stuff like waltzes. There is a pressure pedal too, which lets me control a parameter dynamically, like tremolo for instance. The harder I step on the pedal, the more of the effect is there. This lets me go from no tremolo to a kind of B3 jazz organ sound with fine control. Very cool, if used sparingly. Even a little tremolo really cuts through the mush without increasing volume. My band members wonder what’s up over there with my box, ‘cause my settings are really pretty subtle and to them it all sounds like concertina. I use it just to add clarity or warmth at the appropriate times, so I’m not using the killer death distortion patches that the device comes with. I hope you find my solution to this problem helpful. Jody

I found it intuitive and took to it straight away - just like playing a mouth-organ. Yes, some people take to the harmonica, Anglo, German, melodeon or whatever you want to call it system. As Dan Worrall has illuminated in his research on early concertinas, the development started with ten buttons, went to twenty, went to thirty, and has been further developed to include various arrangements with even more buttons. The basic ten button system makes perfect sense if you want a one row push pull instrument to play in the home key, and, if the music you are playing is diatonic and doesn’t need to get much beyond 1, 4, 5 harmony. This is true for many European and European diaspora folk songs and tunes. Even the 4 chord is really not required for lots of old fiddle and pipe tunes. So it’s a very efficient system, ten buttons play lots of music. Efficient and limited, yes. However, it’s not a natural system but rather a man made one. Instruments based on a tube or string use natural systems for getting pitches. Basically, long is low, short is high. Our minds can easily grasp the logic. The piano keyboard system is a great invention. It’s also diatonic in origin and man made but feels natural because it is simple, linear and consistent throughout it’s extensive range and because you can understand it graphically. It’s relatively easy to build a mental map of the pitch relationships of those black and white keys. As more and more rows and buttons were added to the core ten or twenty, the Anglo system breaks down and you get so many exceptions to the rule that they outnumber the core system. Though my 38 button Jefferies layout makes sense culturally and ergonomically it does not make sense graphically or intellectually. When you say that a system is intuitive, I think you mean that using it is instinctive and based on what you feel to be right without conscious reasoning. Two different but related attributes contribute to that feeling. The mental map (your mind can understand the system graphically) and the ergonomics (your fingers know what to do). So is the Anglo intuitive? Yes and no, says I. No, because even after years of playing, my mental map of the layout is quite deficient. I’m still using the hunt and peck method to find notes when I stray from tried and true patterns that I’ve developed. Yes, because through use, my fingers know what to do without any help from my intellect. The production of the music comes from a very deep place in my brain. It’s not coming from the intellectual, reasoning, logical part of me, but rather from the part of me that is concerned with dancing, emotions, with prioperception or 'body awareness', with language and story telling. Ever try to have a conversation while playing? I get totally tongue-tied because those neural pathways used for speaking are busy playing music. At least that’s how it seems. Singing while playing is also hard, but easyer than talking. I’m not thinking about fingering, bellows direction or buttons when I play. My mind is focused on the aural experience. I’m listening real hard to the music and responding intuitively. I’m also deep in the social situation and paying attention to what is being communicated by and to those folks I’m playing with. That's an intuitive thing too. If I have to read staff notation, for instance, or think about some tricky fingering then the music suffers and I feel like I’m having to divert my attention from the main task at hand, which is after all, playing music. Jody

Congrats! Whatcha working on?

... except for Laurie Andres. You're right Daniel, he's sure got the bellows thing figured out. No even pressure for him. His bellows is doing what the fiddler does with a bow. Sorry all, I guess I got into a rant there. Other instruments can turn heads too. Ever heard Tim Jennings play his old Bastari English? He was at my first NE Squeeze-In back in... the Joel Cowan days. Tim's a story teller up in Vermont, USA http://www.folktale.net/ He managed to figure out how to make that old doggie bark though now he plays an Aola and a Lochanal ediophone. Haven't heard him in years. Jody