steven r. arntson
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Posts posted by steven r. arntson
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I was very surprised to log in and find my humble "wtb" post getting so many replies! Fortunately, I was pretty interested in the new topic, but thank you all the same for moving the discussion over here. :)
Best,
steven arntson -
Interesting! I didn't even notice. I'll ask my friend who plays it if I can have another look.
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Thank you! I very much appreciate your thoughts, as I haven't tried many instruments. I played Anglo for about ten years, and tried out a few makes during that time, but in terms of duets, I've so far only played a Concertina Connection Elise and my Peacock.
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I'm not sure about very much in this life! ? I presently play a Concertina Connection Peacock that's in the parallel style, so I thought I'd stick with it since I'm used to it. I've heard reports from some players that the slant on the Hayden keyboard makes some of the outlying buttons difficult to reach, and my hands aren't terribly big to begin with. If you have a moment, I'd be interested to know how you've found the slant helpful!
-steven
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Great material, excellent playing, and a wonderful arrangement! I've been recently interested in music written for the hardanger fiddle, and hadn't known of any concertina players who were doing this kind of thing--it's inspiring to hear it done so well. Thanks for posting this!
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I'm planning to put my name on the waiting list soon with Mr. Wakker for one of his W-2 concertinas, but thought I'd post here first just in case anyone is thinking of selling one. Thank you!
Steven
in Seattle, WA -
Thank you for taking the time to start this project! I'm very excited to listen to the final page and to learn about new players--what a great resource. For what it's worth, here's a link to a Soundcloud track of myself playing an original composition on my Concertina Connection Peacock Hayden. I had this professionally recorded, but of course the proof is in the pudding. I know my material is a little off the beaten path, so I perfectly understand if it isn't suitable. Thanks again for doing this work.
https://soundcloud.com/stevenarntson/evergreen?in=stevenarntson/sets/without-haste-without-rest
Steven Arntson
seattle wa, usa
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I'm not sure if Bell and Reed is still under the same proprietorship as it was eight years ago--but I had Eli do some work on my Tedrow Anglo back in the day and was very satisfied with his work, and he's a nice fellow, to boot. :) It might be worth getting in touch to see if he does tuning (I worked with him on some valve and spring replacement).
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Does anyone have any opinions about the playability of an instrument like this one compared to, say, a Wakker H2--just thinking about reed responsiveness, dynamic variability, stuff like that. I know there's a different number of keys, but would the general excellence of the instruments be commensurate with one another?
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Thanks for the responses, everyone! This certainly gives me some ideas. Actually, looking at some Bach 2-part inventions could be very fun, I think.
Adrian: For my 42b Peacock, there are quite a few notes in that piece in the bass that are outside the range. If the high note is the A on the first ledger line above the treble clef, you could transpose it up a minor third, but even then some of the low notes would be too low. Of course, if we wanted it all to be easy, we've picked the wrong instrument!
Best,
steven
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I've been trying to improve my reading skills recently by playing some simple(ish) classical-type music on my Peacock Hayden. So far I've been working through the S, A, & T lines of some Bach chorales (the bass lines go too low for my little box), and I've struggled through a few of the simpler tunes from Bartok's Mikrokosmos. I'm wondering about other classical music that more-or-less fits the range (three octives starting at the C below middle C). If this has been written about here before, I'm happy to be pointed in a direction to keep looking. Thank you for any ideas!
Best,
steven arntson
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There's a music compilation series here in Seattle called Ball of Wax. Each outing has a different theme, and this time around it's "Pieces over 10 minutes in length." I composed a tune that's included, titled "The Squirrel," written for my Concertina Connection Peacock duet. Here's the blog post from the organizers with the streaming MP3 for anyone who might be interested:
http://ballofwax.org/2018/02/ball-of-wax-51-songs-steven-arntson-the-squirrel/
Best,
Steven Arntson
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I'm a little late to this thread, but as to your initial query about "Piano to concertina," that describes me. My answer, ultimately, was a duet system (I chose a Hayden duet). Here you'll find the low notes on the left side and the high notes on the right, as with a piano, and a unisonoric system with consistent fingering patterns for whatever key you're playing in.
I started on an Anglo, but became frustrated with some of the limitations of harmony, and the strange fingerings required as I moved southward over the circle of fifths. The Hayden duet is quite consistent in how it plays from key to key. I've managed with my Hayden to play some of the simpler tunes from Bartok's Mikrokosmos, and even some simple Satie reductions. Here's a classical(ish) piece I composed for my Concertina Connection Hayden duet (42-key Peacock model):
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steven_Arntson/Without_Haste_Without_Rest/03_Evergreen
Best of luck with whichever system you choose! They are all wonderful, in the end.
Steven Arntson
Seattle
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Thanks so much! I hope the sheet music is enjoyable to learn from, and I apologize for any mistakes in there ... it was a one-man editorial department.
I wrote and performed these on a 42-button Hayden, so I think, range-wise, they should be within reach of most duets.Best,
steven
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Hi Mark,
Thanks for listening! I was using a cheap "child's" accordion at the time, which had fallen into my life somehow, and has since fallen back out.
The arrangement was actually quite challenging, as what sounded good on the accordion didn't always work so well with the concertina.I do have sheet music for this album, and just got around to posting it online:
https://archive.org/details/without-haste-book.pdf
Best!
steven
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Thank you for listening! "Evergreen" benefited from a long period of development--I first wrote it on accordion several years ago, and then re-arranged it later to the concertina.
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Hi C-net,
I've just posted a new album of music, available for free online. The album features some instrumentals, songs, and yodels performed by my voice (and occasionally my wife's voice) and my Concertina Connection Peacock. The tracks are on Soundcloud (streaming), and WFMU's Free Music Archive (streaming and download). Hope a few people find it interesting!
Best,
steven arntson
Seattle USA
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These are great questions! The Association will take them up at next year's convention.
BTW, the concertina here is a Concertina Connection Peacock duet (forgot to mention that in the original post).
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I may be the only member of this organization.
However, it released its official political platform for 2017 at its "convention" in Seattle, accompanied by some yodeling concertina performed by yours truly. -
What great, energetic videos! I love these, and especially the powerful rhythmic excellence of your playing here. Bravo!
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This instrument has been sold.
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I'm lowering the asking price on this box to $1,500. I think maybe I had it overpriced in view of its cosmetic wear and tear. PM me if you're interested!
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I didn't realize you were in NYC! I hope S.K. is still playing; let me know if you do see him. I teach college here in Seattle, and I used to show the movie about him every quarter to my Humanities class. Not only is he a great player, but I consider him to be a pretty courageous person, trying to be himself in a world that doesn't always encourage that ...
More Renaissance Polyphony on Anglo concertina
in Concertina Videos & Music
Posted
As a former Anglo player who made the switch over to (Hayden) duet a few years ago, I'm happy that I no longer encounter situations where a note that's only available in one direction forces an inopportune bellows direction change. That said, your recording here almost makes me wonder if I should have stayed the course! Amazing playing. I really enjoyed it. As a listener, I was not distracted by bellows-change issues; just enjoyed the musicality of the performance. :)