Wolf Molkentin

After your contribution and the one from David, I must admit finding the Crane layout quite attractive and interesting. A duet based on the EC layout and meant as its "improvement". Perhaps I'll get me a Triumph/Crane one day or other But nevertheless, the EC is a fascinating instrument, very playable even in a melody-and-chords-manner, against some first impression... Of course not so much "ooom-pah", but one may find other ways...

Hi brother Chas, that's a real pity; imagined you roving around through the Fraser Valley and all... Straps from the ceiling might be the solution for at least the concertina problem; fine that you're sticking to playing your black shiny beast anyway! I whish you all the best! W.

If you (as myself) want chiefly a keyboard/layout which is accessible for ad-hoc playing & chording, I'd suggest sticking with the idea of playing the EC. It's so simple as that, I guess. Apart from that, sheet music (unless it's meant for the EC, of course) might be played in a more sophisticated manner on a "duet" (at least Dirge's renditions suggest this). The Hayden system would (because of its comprehensible logic) nevertheless be of some particular interest, if there only where appropriate instruments... P.S.: Hope this will sound sufficiently open-minded, not prolix...

In the movie, the concertina appears to be double-reeded (wet tuning) --- "She said, your music stinks" ---

Region 1 as well What about UK &c. then?

Well, at least Dirge might get himself a DVD copy! Enjoyed the three snippets; silly, but in an appealing way...

I've already travelled this path. Nothing wrong with it, nor with switching back to the PA then. IMO the EC with its own strict logic is the natural choice for anyone familiar with an "Ivory & Ebony" keyboard... (but there are others who have chosen one of the "duet" systems instead)

Mr. Monk would presumably reply: "Why the hell couldn't you complete the 20 years?!!" Besides this I'd think that the oddness belongs to just this last day of your old life, whereas tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will contrast whith the past in their own good way... I whish you all the best!

We might preferably say, expand your abilities...

What happened?

Well, the bellows will act effortless (as action/buttons won't presumably), but the sound will be rather squeaky. I would suggest staying off it... (I haven't come across this model by now, just recalling the nevertheless poor wooden Italian one I own)

Missed this thread by now. Hard to believe... It started with my Hohner harmonica - at the age of three, I seem to remember. Next was the piano, at the age of six - "serious" lessons by a terrific musician and teacher. Changed career aspirations from Astronomy to Grand Piano Virtuoso... For any number of reasons I didn't realise that. But over the years I learned to play cello (gave up soon), guitar, PA, recorder, pipe, reed and "transistor" organ, mandolin, melodeon (one-row, two-row C/G and B/F, three-row F/C/G), C/G 20b Anglo, and... (after having returned a much cheaper Italian 30b Anglo, which had fortunately been faulty in several ways) EC (having found a lovely 48b Lachenal Excelsior on eBay), which means a real fulfilment for me in so many ways! Currently, I am quite euphoric when achieving some "free" chording... After all I'm still most experienced in playing the (grand or upright) piano, but having always loved the sound of any free reed instrument am really glad whith my EC (looking forward to getting a TT or even BT at one time or another).

Me and my (second?) favourite instrument - and some friendly audience as well...

Thank you for posting - such vivid playing..., and I like these drone style chords anyway!

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I'd put my bet on that type as well! Cheers, John Same as me... or more likely: octave detuned But, Lester, cool video!

Thank you again! Fits perfectly in my current chording exercises...

is a version played on flute - at first played slowly, then properly up-tempo...

Let me add another aspect: I play instruments of different kind (such as piano, harmonium/reed "organ", -bisonoric- melodeon, recorder, guitar), and may have repeatedly experienced just what you described . I strongly feel that the "resistance" of each instrument (action, required attack, push/pull alternation etc.) challenges the player in its own way, so that the overall approach can develop more "feeling", control, intentional delay etc.

... and thank you, Gary - for the hint on the book/pdf, which was new at least to me

Glad it's not just me. Fine, so let me join the club... I've chosen the EC (instead of expanding my "Anglo" playing beyond the 20b) just because of its strictly logical (and in fact basically diatonic!) arrangement of buttons - and learned to love it! Besides of the concertina (and piano) I play the PA (mainly), but also the melodeon. There you've got a bisonoric instrument with two different, but likewise logical solutions: the Irish with two rows, the second being shifted by a semitone, and the "TexMex" instrument (which I am used to): up to three rows arranged in fourths and thus giving the player tonic, subdominant and dominant. Guess I would really enjoy trying out a bisonoric 'tina with such three rows...

Perhaps it's all because of two missing edges...

Hard to imagine anyone trusting this odd and simply-too-good-to-be-true "offer"..., regardless of the iteration

Obviously one of the many parodies of the Sullivan Song "The lost chord"... And then the monkey came around and took his seat on the organ... (visit him over here)

This may very well be the case... That tendency stems from my own PA playing in fact. But OTOH I like those drone-style fifths a lot... And aside from that - thank you for your further explanation! edited to replace a German word, which had gone astray obviously, with its English compagnon