RAc

? Couldn't you still use the loctite but sand it down so it is a little lower than flush with the top and put a very thin layer of wood filler on top of it to flush up with the top?

I know this is an old thread, but I just came across a song about concertina making and thought this would be a good enough place to post here... sorry if this should be a dupe, I did a brief search on the forum and could't find a reference yet - enjoy! http://music.harveyandrews.com/track/spinning-concertinas

Thanks, Theo. Well appreciated.

What kind of finish would typically have been used on a Concertina built around 1870? Unfortunately I don't have a picture right now but the one I'm referring to is sort of glazed with a honeyish tint. You can see the wood structure underneath it, so it may just have been transparent finish that has obtained the tint over time. Mine looks somewhat like the one depicted here, just slightly more on the yellowish side: http://www.accordionmagic.com/albums/Anglo20/Anglo20.html So what kind of finish would I use to repair worn-off areas and scratches? Thanks!

Very lovely composition, and played very beautifully. Reminded me what I love about the concertina sound and what to strive for. Thanks for sharing! The only comment I have is about the title, to me it doesn't match the piece's mood. But there is really nothing nothing else to gripe about, so I had to resort to that pathetic piece of criticism... ;-)

Hi Ken and Pamela I don't know how much information is stored online and how much is stored on my computer as a cookie, but on my computer are 13 pieces of information stored. One of them is a logic switch 0/1 labeled cnethid_sidebar, with a content of 0. I'm pretty sure if it were 1 the sidebar would be off. Would it work to sign out, then delete the cookie, then sign back in again as a new login. I'm pretty sure that would do it, similar to using another computer. Otherwise, manually edit the cookie to 0 might reset it, then go back on C.net to see if it worked. I couldn't find any information in the help file, or any settings in my profile that would address it. I thought there was a switch at the bottom of the main forum page to delete all the cookies, but I can't find it either. Thanks Leo fascinating - it's not in the cookies; if I delete all of them, the box remains a goner, even across logins and logouts! I run IE 7, and there is an option in Extras to delete everything including files saved by add ons. When I do that, the box is back...

come on, lassies and lads. This thing is about music as in sound, not dots or letters or theory. There have been 35 answers and numerous views, but only 6.5 folks contributions by people *playing.* It's not too difficult a piece (if I can figure it out, pretty much everybody can), so why discuss it for weeks and forget the music over it? Let's keep them mp3's coming! :-)

The thin leather can be obtained from bookbinder supplies, but then you'll need to skive them. There are concertina makers who sell them preskived, but that'll cost you more. If you want to make bellows, your first (and last?) place to look is here: http://hmi.homewood.net/bellows/

well then... I would first try to get the bellows airtight. If it's only holes in the gussets, it shouldn't be too hard to patch them up. Consult with Dave Elliott's Concertina Manual for instruction on how to do that. DO resist the temptation to use tape for it, it'll ruin the bellows for good. Once the bellows hold the air alright, you'll find out about the rest soon. The reason why I suggested earlier to check out the action as well as the reeds along with the bellows was that you want to have a feeling for how much work awaits you down the road - there really isn't a strong point in spending a lot of time on the bellows if it turns out afterwards that the reeds and/or action elements need a lot of restauration as well (unless see below). As far as I understand it, brass reeds are more susceptible to problems than steel, so there may be another issue lurking. If it's really the hand strap and palm rest preventing you from giving the keys and reeds a thorough test, you may want to improvise that somehow so you can evaluate the instrument as well as possible before tackling the job. The leather pads in the reed assembly are valves. Replacing lost or defect ones isn't a very big deal. Again the manual will help with the basics. About the top runs - maybe it IS leather after all; the leather used for that purpose (bookbinders spilt goat's hide to about 0,6mm and then skived to almost 0 at the end) will lose a lot of its leatherlikeness over time (I'm working on a concertina built around 1875 right now, and some of the leather crumbles apart like cookies). If it's not leather, it may be buckram, but as Jim pointed out, other folks here on the forum are much more in a position to comment on those details. So to make a long story short - if Stephen or another one of the wizards finds out that you have got yourself a little gem there, you may consider giving it away for pro restauration and spend more money on it and end up with a nice enough instrument. But a 20 button with brass reeds, wooden top and wooden pegs... hmmm, my gut feeling is that this may turn out to be more of a good fixer upper to become experienced in restauration than a sleeping beauty. But of course I may (and possibly will) be totally off the rocker here.

Interesting... The bellows may not be in the critical path here. If you say that there are only a few holes in the gussets, that may be patched, but it's hard to tell by the picture what kind of a job it is on the bellows. How quickly do the bellows extend if you tilt the instrument with no button pressed? It looks as if some of the top run leather has brittled off as well so there may be leakage through the top runs, but one would really need to have a look at the instrument to say for sure. The reed pan is rather unusual, as far as I can tell; normally you'll find the radial type of reed plate. Do all reeds work and sound ok? What are they made of? Steel or brass? Instrument in tune? How about the action plate - do all holes open/close easily without deferrment and cover the holes completly? If not, you'll be looking at spring and/or pad and/or peg work. Is there reason to believe that air escapes through anything else but the bellows (eg the casing of the action plate may be slightly warped so that air escapes through the space in between the action plate and bellow case)? These are only a few of the things to look at to decide how much of a job is lurking... maybe if you prepared a little UTube clip with a few sound samples and a 360° view of the instrument, assessment would be easier...

maybe you're not using the term consistent w/ scholarly terminology. I suggest reading this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. He devotes one chapter to people with perfect pitch. This is really something inherent in certain humans that can't be trained. Frequently those who have it have an involuntary association between senses; for example, often whenever they hear a certain note, an image of a distinct color pops out in their brains, so a melody translates 1:1 to a sea of colors, making the musical experinece something that affects everything. Since I don't have it, I can only try to grasp it like a color blind person would try to get the idea of a full color spectrum. Perfect pitch isn't a necessary requirement for genius musicianship, but it normally helps. But then again, a person with a perfect pitch frequently has problems transposing a tune because as opposed to a "normal" musician, the variation to him/her means something completly different (Jim already mentioned that). As I understand it, Perfect pitch can also be a burden. I'd agree with Jim that your time is spent MUCH better learning to hear intervals (that is, train your relative pitch).

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uhm... no, this was no reference whatsoever to body functions... I'm referring to the syncopations - the tune is still waltz time, but in the phrasing, there is a periodic deviation from the ohm-pa-pa that on first listening sounds wrong but evens out in the end. Probably something you as a dancer don't think about anymore, but I wouldn't expect it there. I like it though!

well, sounds like something only a lifelong dancer can come up with... the "hiccups" are very fascinating, is that something particular to french waltzes? Thanks for the piece, I'll see if I can dot it out when time permits...

A friend whose last name you can't remember? http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11833 well we're farther ahead than I thought... SCNR. I have very fond reminders of Arizona, no offense taken?...

I think you should, so the whole book is available. Just sending you the last thirty or so pages for completion. Not all of this site are members of the ICA Ruediger so please carry on putting it up on your site. Many thanks for the prompt action from you both. Please let me know everyone if you find the pages interesting Al ok, upload is now complete. There are 2 sets of files: On http://www.ruediger-asche.de/jdbook/ , there is a collection of 54 pages of tunes, and on http://www.ruediger-asche.de/jdbook/book2/ there are 28 pages of excercises, scales and so forth. Please let me know if anything is missing, but I don't hink so (Alan has strictly numbered the files consecutively). I'll also try to get a single file version done asap; it's not that hard, but I'm behind schedule in my other tasks, so it may take a while. Thanks again, RAc just in case anybody is still using this: I need to make some space on my account, so I'll delete the directory soon. Please let me know anybody if there's a problem. Thanks!

I sort of took the easy way out and added a light accompaniment that I basically repeat all three times around - knowing in the back of my mind that there'll be other people to add much more, so I didn't want to be too pushy... ;-) I also attach the dots for everybody who feels more comfortable with those (I didn't write down all the accentation/punctuation etc., I think that sorts itself out...) fun little project, thanks! march.pdf march_2.mp3

That's a great idea, Alan, I'll take a stab at it this afternoon. I just wonder how to avoid overlapping check ins (meaning that individual recordings get lost if two folks use the same base to play their respective contributions over it)? Should we allocate time slots, or have everyone check in their own mp3s and then centrally mix it all up?...

why John, you certainly *are* a language wizard... without wanting to argue with you - I basically agree with all you write -, I sort of don't see where the "education" process comes in. Language interpretation is not a prescriptive but a descriptive thing; whatever people use words for at any time *is* their meaning... you have lived in Germany long enough to understand, for example, the complete change of meaning that a word like "geil" has undergone. Although the term will have certain connotations with folks our age (or 40 and up for that matter), it is as generic as "gee whiz" to today's kids (probably as outdated as well). Sooo, what you probably wanted to express (just a feeble attempt of mine to paraphrase) is that we have to watch out that the "old" meaning of a word like friendship should have a distinct word in today's language to clearly distinguish it from the obfuscated meaning it has taken up in cyberworld - and thus ensure that what we understand as (first-life) friendship endures undigitalized? Funny (and worth mentioning in this context), though, that I get to converse with you (and show my respect to you) mostly via our keyboards even though we only live an hour's drive away from each other? ;-) P.S. May be an old hat, but I still like this definition best: Friends help you move. Good friends help you move bodies.

well, it's not bad, but if you use the suggested document, be prepared that your "student" points you to a YouTube recording of Alistair Anderson playing a killer English concertina - standing - and waving his instrument in generous circles in front of him, proving the stability statement not exactly wrong, but a beginner's piece of advice that may be modified by the advanced player...

I looked it up on the ledger and thus know it was manufactured in 1916. Does anyone have more information about it, e.g. previous owners, possible recordings made with it, modifications/repair jobs performed on it etc.? If need be, PM is fine. Thanks!

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