Is a D/A anglo a rare bird?

[mobilecat]

I picked up a German anglo that's turned out to be in D/A with a classic German layout. Tried a search on "D/A" and the search function cant handle it.

 

What type of music will lend itself to this instrument? Anyone have one? thoughts?

 

Thanks for any info.

[TomB-R]

Fiddle tunes!

[david fabre]

D/A should also be well suited for irish music

(although it is not the first choice of most musicians playing this style)

[michael sam wild]

I picked up a German anglo that's turned out to be in D/A with a classic German layout. Tried a search on "D/A" and the search function cant handle it.

 

What type of music will lend itself to this instrument? Anyone have one? thoughts?

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Is it a 2 row with D outer and A inner ? Which key is lower in tone?

[TomB-R]

If the lower toned row is nearer the players palms, does that make it a hexagonal melodeon?

 

Assuming the rows are "normal" is it a tone above a C/G, (getting very high at the top end,) or nearly an octave below?

[mobilecat]

Let see...

 

The outside D row is lower than A row

 

Its only a 2 row

 

D/A A/C# D/E F#/G# A/B D/C# F#/E A/G D/B F#/C#

A/E E/G# A/B C#/D E/F# A/G# C#/B E/D A/F# C#/G#

^^^

 

Assuming the rows are "normal" is it a tone above a C/G, (getting very high at the top end,) or nearly an octave below?

Not sure what you mean here...The C# on the right hand inner row is pretty high.

[Frank Edgley]

D/A should also be well suited for irish music

(although it is not the first choice of most musicians playing this style)

Loretto Reid, from Sligo, and now living in Toronto plays a D/A. She plays it in such a way as to play the tunes in the usual keys. I have often been tempted to make one for myself, and may do so if sufficiently motivated. There is a local fiddler who plays a lot of tunes in A, which I know in G. This would make it possible to play along without the problems of learning a bunch of tunes in A. There is at least one Irish player who has recorded on a D/A.

Edited January 16, 2010 by Frank Edgley

[Michael Eskin]

D/A should also be well suited for irish music

(although it is not the first choice of most musicians playing this style)

Loretto Reid, from Sligo, and now living in Toronto plays a D/A. She plays it in such a way as to play the tunes in the usual keys. I have often been tempted to make one for myself, and may do so if sufficiently motivated. There is a local fiddler who plays a lot of tunes in A, which I know in G. This would make it possible to play along without the problems of learning a bunch of tunes in A. There is at least one Irish player who has recorded on a D/A.

 

I would love to hear that, must be an incredibly bright sound!

[Daniel Hersh]

I have a 20-button German-made D/A and occasionally use it to play Irish tunes in "along-the-row" style. It works well for hornpipes -- it's not quite responsive enough to play reels up to speed.

 

I picked up a German anglo that's turned out to be in D/A with a classic German layout. Tried a search on "D/A" and the search function cant handle it.

 

What type of music will lend itself to this instrument? Anyone have one? thoughts?

 

Thanks for any info.

[Bob Tedrow]

My first "good" concertina was a Bastari d/a with an octave drop on the A row. This was in the 80's. I incorrectly assumed this was correct and normal. When I eventually met another concertina player, I found that not to be the case. Ah well.

 

I arranged several tunes for that fingering system. I built ten d/a "tenor treble" concertinas in the 90's. I still like to play that system.

 

Here are some tunes I recorded some time ago, on that Bastari d/a forgive the boo boos. I hope .wav files still play!

 

http://hmi.homewood.net/sounds/brain.wav

http://hmi.homewood.net/sounds/ship.wav

http://hmi.homewood.net/sounds/bobhll.mp3

[TomB-R]

Great "English style" playing there Bob, (hope that comes over complimentary as intended!)

[michael sam wild]

Nice! My Grandson recognised Brain and wants it!

 

 

when you say octave drop I assume A in this case is inner, lower, row?

[Bill N]

My first "good" concertina was a Bastari d/a with an octave drop on the A row. This was in the 80's. I incorrectly assumed this was correct and normal. When I eventually met another concertina player, I found that not to be the case. Ah well.

 

I arranged several tunes for that fingering system. I built ten d/a "tenor treble" concertinas in the 90's. I still like to play that system.

 

 

 

That would be a good set-up for Newfoundland music. The concertina is almost unheard of there, but a D/A 2 row accordion, or a single row 4 stop in D are the standard boxes there.

[Bob Tedrow]

Nice! My Grandson recognised Brain and wants it!

 

 

when you say octave drop I assume A in this case is inner, lower, row?

Correct, sir.

[david_boveri]

i know grey larsen plays a D/A exclusively, as far as his concertina playing goes.

 

i wonder if noel hill played a D/A on his most recent album? i know he used a C#/G#, as there are many tracks which i have to bring down a half step in order to play with them on my C/G, but there are also many tracks which i need to bring down 2 steps, which would put him playing those tunes on a D/A. he could have been transposing on another keyed instrument. he could have played on C#/G# and played all D tunes in Eb, and all G tunes in Ab, but i do not think he did that. it is more likely he played a C/G and played all D tunes in E and all G tunes in A, as i have often caught him playing G tunes up in A for fun. when all is said and done i have no idea which he is doing, because i have never heard of him talking about a D/A concertina, never seen him transpose up to Eb or Ab, nor see him play in E major. of course, it is very likely he owns many D/A concertinas, and he is certainly capable of playing in all those keys transposed on any instrument. the only thing that is certain is that he did at some point use a C#/G# extensively on the album, as i know he is fond of that key.

 

any one have better information than me to shed light on what instruments he used on the album? i can't find my cd insert for that album anywhere.

[david fabre]

Noel hill actually seems to own a large collection of instruments in various keys.

 

I've always wondered what key is the one he uses on this video (one of my favorites on youtube)

 

 

He says that it is "in an unusual key", and the two reels he plays turn out to be in F#.

These tunes are usually in D, so if he is using the cross-row fingerings he teaches the

instrument must be E/B. Or, if he is playing in the home keys, it could be a B/F#.

 

Has anyone a clue, among those who have approached the master ?

[david_boveri]

Noel hill actually seems to own a large collection of instruments in various keys.

 

I've always wondered what key is the one he uses on this video (one of my favorites on youtube)

 

 

He says that it is "in an unusual key", and the two reels he plays turn out to be in F#.

These tunes are usually in D, so if he is using the cross-row fingerings he teaches the

instrument must be E/B. Or, if he is playing in the home keys, it could be a B/F#.

 

Has anyone a clue, among those who have approached the master ?

 

i'm guessing he's playing a B/F#, because when i look at his fingers, i see that when he is playing a Bb in the second octave, his finger is on the right hand second button push (inner row), and when he is playing a B in the second octave, it is on the right hand third button pull (inner row). also, i see that the first octave C# of the tune is on the left hand first button push (inner row). from what i can tell, that is what he is doing, which would indicate a B/F# concertina, as C# is the fifth note in the scale of F#, and the first button on the left hand side is the 5th note of the scale for that row. that would mean he is playing a B/F# concertina not as if he was fingering the tune in D on a C/G, but rather as if he was playing it in G. however, i would say he was probably fingering it as if he had transposed the tune from his setting on a G/D concertina, not from a C/G.

 

this may be confusing, but at around that point in time, noel was playing at concertina pitch on a G/D very often, which meant that in order to play in the key of D with fellow musicians, he would have to transpose all D tunes into the key of G, and all G tunes into the key of C i think this is highly likely, as noel very often will play a tune with the same fingering on a different keyed concertina, and at that point in time, he was probably very used to playing on G/D, and not C/G as we are used to seeing him play today (please note he normally only teaches on C/G, but i have seen him most often play C#/G# or Bb/F as if he was playing on a C/G).

 

that's just my take on it. i may be wrong, but that's what i see. maybe i'll get a chance to ask him some time.

[david fabre]

Well observed.

I also tried to look at his fingers but he's playing faster than what I could follow !

David