Brian Hayden

[Bald Reynard]

Is Brian still active in the 'Concertina world' ? It's been a while since I've seen anything posted about him.

[JimLucas]

Is Brian still active in the 'Concertina world' ? It's been a while since I've seen anything posted about him.

 

Brian is member Inventor here on concertina.net, and his profile says he was last "active" here this morning. His own most recent here post seems to have been on Aug. 16.

[inventor]

I looked in the obituary section of the local paper last Friday but did not see my name listed, so I expect that I am still alive. I no longer drive long distances. Even going a few miles to the nearest town and back to shop, involves no less than ten changes of speed limit, and a silly chicane through my village. Driving in the countryside used to be a pleasure, but no longer.

 

I have been by no means inactive in the musical instrument field. Some sixty years ago I started to look at ways of arranging the notes on the buttons of the melodeon in a better more useful fashion. I came up with 3 not entirely satisfactory solutions; but along the way hit on an excellent way to arrange the notes on a duet concertina, and changed to that instrument instead. The melodeon problem stayed on the back burner for many years but recently I cracked that problem, to my satisfaction. I believe that the same solution could be applied to an anglo-type concertina, As I now I am much to old to pursue that, I would rather someone else discovered it as their own invention.

 

Inventor.

Edited August 30, 2015 by inventor

[MatthewVanitas]

Perhaps you could write it down, seal it, and give it to a young solicitor with a "do not open until 2050" on the envelope. That'd give the rest of us 35 years to take a shot at second-guessing it, but still have the idea preserved in case nobody comes up with the same idea sooner.

 

Barring motorcycle accidents or malaria, I'll likely be around in 2050 and looking forward to the unveiling!

[Noel Ways]

Has Inventor posted any youtubes?? I've looked and looked, but alas, find none.

 

I'll keep looking, though ....

[inventor]

As I don't know any young solicitors willing to hold a description of my idea for an improved bisonoric concertina for 50 years I have decided to write this down now anyway. The reason for my hesitation was remembering how devestated I felt when Maria Dunkel showed me a book she had written (in German) about concertinas; which included a diagram of what I thought that I had originated for the duet concertina, and included the date 1896. As I couldn't read any of the German I concluded that that the date was a misprint for 1986, the year of my Patent. Then she dropped the bombshell, pointing out that the idea had already been discovered by a Swiss gentleman in 1896 - Kaspar Wicki !

 

My idea is based on the following ideas :- (1) 4 related keys (in my example I have chosen C,G,D & A) are arranged in the same manner. (2) The individual octaves of these keys repeat. (3) the right hand side does not have squeaky notes which are never used, but does include a few more lower notes that are frequently used when playing melodies. (4) The left hand side adds several lower notes including the missing (from a C/G Anglo) tenor ds..(5) The remaining notes to make up the chromatic scale are also included.

 

I have for simplicity shown the buttons in straight rows. but it is intended that these should follow a similar spacing and curves found on Jeffries Anglos & Duetts or Wheatstone Anglos.

 

I shall show my idea in short sections as the rather old computer that I am using frequently locks up and also for the moment seems to refuse to let me alter or correct the text without loosing everything that follows so that I have to rewrite it all from that point.

 

Inventor,

 

 

[inventor]

40 Button Anglien Concertina, Right Hand Side.

 

(d#'/a#') ( c"/d" ) ( e"/f" ) ( g"/a" ) ( b"/c"' )

 

( e'/f' ) ( g'/a' ) ( b'/c" ) ( d"/e" ) ( f#"/g") ( a"/b" ) (c#"'/d"')

 

( d'/e' ) ( f#'/g') ( a'/b' ) (c#"/d") ( e"/f#") (g#"/a#")

 

( e'/f#') (g#'/d#")

 

(AIR)

 

Brian Hayden

Inventor.

[inventor]

40 Button Anglien Concertina Left Hand Side

 

( d#/a# ) ( c'/d' ) ( e'/f' ) ( g'/a' ) ( b'/c" )

 

( e / f ) ( g / a ) ( b / c') ( d'/e' ) ( f#'/g') ( a'/b' )

 

( c / d ) ( d / e ) ( f#/ g ) ( a / b ) (c#'/d') ( e'/f#')

 

( e /f#) (g#/d#')

 

(g#'/a#') thumb

 

 

Brian Hayden

Inventor. .

[inventor]

Note : c' is middle C, and so on up to b', c" is the octave above middle C, c"' is two octaves above middle C and c without any suffix is tenor C the octave below middle C. The note written first for each button is the press note, and the note written after the "/" is the draw note.

I will come back and explain how the system works shortly.

 

Inventor.

[inventor]

Further notes on the "Anglien" concertina.

 

I chose to restrict the system to 20 buttons on each side of the concertina so that it could be easily fitted on to a standard size 6.25" concertina. Anything larger than that can give problems on a bisonoric instrument. For an accordion reeded instrument, the reedplates are to be laid out 8 up, 8 down and 4 in the middle. Look inside any accordion reeded 30 button Anglo and you will see that there is sufficient space on the reedblock to do this. A similar scheme may be adopted on a concertina laid out in the Crabb/Jeffries manner. On a concertina with the reeds laid out radially; as on Wheatstone and better quality Lachenal concertinas: it might be possible to include more notes, but here weight problems would have to be considered.

 

In my further writings about the system I shall refer to the 3 main rows of buttons as Upper (the one farthest from the handrest), Middle and Lower rows, (U, M & L); and the extra two buttons (near the handrest) as X.

 

The first button on the L row of the left hand side (c/d) is to be thought of musically as the first of the M row, and the left hand thumb button (g#'/a#') as musically the last button of the L row.

The reason I have placed these buttons in those places is: (1). to reduce the width of the button array so that no button comes too close to the edge of the concertina; (2) to make the buttons correspond with well established Jeffries concertina patterns: and (3) for the (c/d) to be close to the (d/e) button, as this will give an easy movement for the little finger if you wished to play a slow air or lament in D with a tonic drone, or in G with a dominant drone.

 

Inventor.

[inventor]

Now for a little explanation of the system.

 

The notes for each of the octaves for the diatonic scales of A, D, G, & C is as follows (Solfaicly).

 

(Do/Re) (Mi/Fa) (So/La) (Ti/--)

 

The notes of a higher octave in the same key repeat the same pattern placed diagonally back on a higher row of buttons; and diagonally forward on a lower row.

 

(do/re) (mi/fa)

 

(Do/Re) (Mi/Fa) (So/La) (Ti/--)

 

(SO/LA) (TI/--)

 

With 4 fingers you may play 14 notes with very little movement of the fingers. I will show how this all fits together for the four basic easy keys shortly,

 

Inventor.

[inventor]

Looking at the solfaric way I have written the above I have just noticed that it forms a "Double parallelogram". I remember from way back in the Australian "Concertina Magazine" a "double parallelogram dream system concertina" being mentioned several times, but no details of the system ever being given. Could it be that the author had already dreamed up the above layout ? It is only recently that I have learned that the "Cheeseman System" from Australia was similar to my duet but on a Maccann array. Well I have no intention of patenting the Anglien and so far as I am concerned it is now in the public domain.

 

To continue with my explanation of the Anglien I will show the solfaric written notation translated to the keys of G & A placed adjacently on the Right Hand Side of the concertina. The key of G is shown in ordinary brackets (--/--) and the key of A in square brackets [--/--].

 

 

( g"/a" ) ( b"/c"' )

 

( g'/a' ) ( b'/c" ) ( d"/e" ) ( f#"/-- ) [ a"/b" ] [c#"'/d"']

 

( d'/e' ) (f#'/-- ) [ a'/b' ] [c#"/d" ] [ e"/f#"] [g#"/--]

 

[ e'/f#'] [g#'/--]

 

More to follow,

Inventor.

Edited December 5, 2015 by inventor

[inventor]

See how something magically happens between the keys of G & A ! Without any extra buttons the key of D appears laid out solfaicly in the same manner.

 

 

( d"/e" ) (f#"/g" ) ( a"/b" ) (c#"'/d"')

 

( d'/e' ) (f#'/g' ) ( a'/b' ) (c#"/-- )

 

 

Now lay out an extra 3 buttons, together with buttons that you already have in the key of G; to repeat most of the same a tone lower for the key of C. The key of C is shown in square brackets [--/--].

 

 

[ c"/d" ] [ e"/f" ] [ g"/a" ] [ b"/c"' ]

 

[ e'/f' ] [ g'/a' ] [ b'/-- ] ( d"/e" ) (f#"/g" ) ( a"/b" ) (c#"'/d"')

 

( d'/e' ) ( f#'/g' ) ( a'/b' ) (c#"/-- )

 

 

A button for [ c'/d' ] has not been included on the right hand side. However it is on the left hand side, which also includes a button to play the [ c / d ] an octave below.

 

Inventor.

[inventor]

Once you have all the notes of 4 related keys, not much is left to add to make up the chromatic scale. Just a couple of D#s and a couple of Bbs are needed. These you will see are added with only one extra button, and using the spare pull notes on the G# buttons for the other two.

All of the notes on the right hand side with only the exception of the highest (c#"'/d"') are repeated an octave lower on the left hand side. This is just like the way that the right hand notes are laid out an octave lower on the left hand side of a duet concertina; which I know to be extremely useful tool to have to hand.

 

Inventor.

[inventor]

Now a closer look at chording, on the left hand side of the Anglien.

The standard Anglo has a few 3 in a row chords (4 major, 2 minor and 2 diminished) which are a useful starting point for accompanying in the 2 basic keys of the instrument.

Using the ( c / d ) as the first note of the M row; and the thumb button (g#'/a#') as the last of the L row; you have no less than 23 three in a row chords: (11 major, 11 minor chords, and an augmented fifth chord). Only one 3 in a row (first 3 upper left) is a discord. Pull these 3 and you have a very useful Bb chord, play 1, 2 & 4 to give an open C minor chord. There are of course many other chords available on the instrument, but these give you a flying start to a full interesting harmony.

 

Inventor.