Ec- Wear Marks And Accidentals

[spindizzy]

After reading all the discussion about re-finishing wooden ends, I had a real look at the ends of my Lachenal to see what it had suffered in the last (almost) century.

 

Obviously it was played by someone with long fingernails. Must have been pretty long or maybe they just had have bigger fingers. My nails never touch the wood and they aren't cut completely short!

 

I was intigued to see which notes in particular had suffered, and it's an intriguingly different pattern to one that I would build up. All the worn areas are around button in the lower end. On the right I have below stave F,D,A, on stave G# and F. Left hand has below stave C & C#, E G B and Bflat.

 

No sign round the higher F#, C# and G# in fact nothing much at all above C (in the middle of the stave) - I'd be wearing those out!

 

So was the player doing low accompianments? were they always playing tunes in F (I only have a few of those)?

 

An other item I turned up was that the button that I assumed would be low G# (bottom on right hand), is in fact turned to the F below the G - a tone down rather than a semitone up! The other Lachenal that we have does have the expected G#. Maybe F's more useful. This box goes a note lower than otherwise.

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

I was intigued to see which notes in particular had suffered, and it's an intriguingly different pattern to one that I would build up. ... No sign round the higher F#, C# and G# in fact nothing much at all above C (in the middle of the stave) - I'd be wearing those out!

 

So was the player doing low accompianments? were they always playing tunes in F (I only have a few of those)?

Where fiddles and whistles don't rule, F and C seem to be more common keys than G, D, and A... and flat keys more common generally than sharp keys. And I think that in the past G and D were less common in some traditions than they are now. In a former Topic (I'm not taking the time to look it up at the moment) there was a discussion of transition among English melodeon players from C/F dominance to D/G dominance.

 

It is possible that they were playing mostly backup chords, but another possible explanation for the marks being only on the lower buttons is that on those buttons the fingers were striking more nearly straight down, while on the higher buttons the fingers were more extended and angled to the buttons, so that the nails never contacted the end even when the buttons were fully depressed.

 

An other item I turned up was that the button that I assumed would be low G# (bottom on right hand), is in fact turned to the F below the G....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was a common modification, presumably because a player was more interested in having a low F for playing in the keys of F (where it's the tonic), C (it's the IV), and Bb (the V) than in having a low G# for keys of A (the VII) and E (the III). I personlly dislike violating the layout pattern like that, but I do have a New Model where that's been done, and I'm not going to have the reeds retuned to G#.

 

I'm not quite going to leave it as it is, though, because I use that G# a lot on my other concertinas. Instead, I'm having the Ab reeds moved from the other side into that position, and the F will be moved to the Ab position. In general, I use the Ab a lot less, and that also puts the F on the correct side (i.e., the same side where it lies on tenor-treble instruments), even though not the right location.

[duckln]

All the worn areas are around button in the lower end.

Chris

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

IMO what you see is typical and to be expected.

 

It is easier and generally preferable to play in the lower octave. Also having to switch

hands when going up an octave is a mayor stumbling point for most.

 

I wish I could get the the desire to get better at it, but I have enough on my plate

just shifting keys on the lower end .

 

Joe

[JimLucas]

All the worn areas are around button in the lower end.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is easier and generally preferable to play in the lower octave.

... "Preferable" is a matter of personal opinion. It can also depend on the piece of music.

... As for "easier", that may be true for you, but not for me, nor for the many other players I've known. At least one has made strong claims that the lower buttons are inherently more difficult to manipulate. I don't agree with that, either.

 

Also having to switch hands when going up an octave is a mayor stumbling point for most.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Huh? It sounds like you're talking about transposing, not playing. Transposing by an octave is an additional skill which can be acquired with practice, but there's plenty of music (e.g., most traditional dance tunes) that goes above the first octave without transposing. I would be surprised if you find it easier to transpose those notes down to a lower octave, rather than to play them in their usual octave.

[duckln]

[

... "Preferable" is a matter of personal opinion.  It can also depend on the piece of music.

.

 

Personal opinion of hundreds of people over a hundren years as evidenced

by the finger wear on concertinas.

 

Joe

[David Barnert]

Forgive me, I don't play the EC, but I can't help wondering...

 

Is it possible that playing the entire range of the EC will result in fingernail marks only near the lower range buttons because the fingers are more curved to play those buttons, while they are stretched forward to play the higher notes, moving the nail up and away from the wooden end?

 

Also: The singular of "staves" is "staff," not "stave." "Stave" is in the dictionary only as a back-formation from staves, but is not really considered correct.

[spindizzy]

Is it possible that playing the entire range of the EC will result in fingernail marks only near the lower range buttons because the fingers are more curved to play those buttons, while they are stretched forward to play the higher notes, moving the nail up and away from the wooden end?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've just sat down and looked carefully at the angles (I was originally thinking mostly of how often notes were played) and I think that lower notes would suffer more 'cos of finger angle. That leaves the worn Bflat - which I wouldn't say was particularly vulnerable and must have been used a LOT, and the really clean C# which would certainly have suffered if I had long nails! So it was maybe played more in F&C. What did (do) Salvation Army brass play in?

 

Also: The singular of "staves" is "staff," not "stave." "Stave" is in the dictionary only as a back-formation from staves, but is not really considered correct.

 

Hey-ho, I thought stave sounded wrong, thanks :-)

 

Chris J