ottojas Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Please contact me in messages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Hi Otto (?) and welcome to the forums! If you don't mind me: As you're the first person ever specifically asking for an ET English concertina in my personal experience (I have and play one myself but have rarely been touching these extra buttons as yet), would you fancy to give us a hint as to what kind of music you're inclined to play? Best wishes for your quest - ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 (edited) I have heard Alistair Anderson use the extra high notes of an extended treble to play in octaves. It works very well for him! Steve Edited September 3, 2018 by Lofty Added a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, Lofty said: I have heard Alistair Anderson use the extra high notes of an extended treble to play in octaves. It works very well for him! Steve Hi Steve, this is exactly what I've been musing about myself when acquiring my ET - guess I'll have actually give it a try then. Best wishes - ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottojas Posted September 5, 2018 Author Share Posted September 5, 2018 Hi, the reason for the extended treble is that I am scheduled to perform the James Cohn concerto in "A" for concertina and string orchestra with our local Port Townsend Community Orchestra in May 2019. I have a nice 56 button extended treble I bought from Chris Algers, Barleycorn, but I need a back up instrument and possibly a better instrument. I like my 48 button Edeophone so I thought I might get a 56 button extended treble Edeophone. The concerto was written in the 60's, is dedicated to Allan Atlas and the composer says it has been performed 3 times. I think always by Wim Wacker and never (I believe) with the full 56 button instrument it was written for. The only extent recording is done with a 48 button and some of the high notes are left out, played by the violins, or shifted down an octive. Wim Wacker plays it very well, but not to compete with his performance, but in order to do something unique and different, I decided to do it with a full range instrument. Working on the piece I am getting much more familiar with the high notes, I am having a lot of fun, and I find myself using them much more often in the bands that I play in. The piece is very hard, harder than the Molique concerto which I performed with orchestra in 1997. Fortunately I have 9 months in which to get it up to speed. If anyone is interested, I can give info on the challenges and problems I have encountered using the piccolo range of instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 1 hour ago, ottojas said: If anyone is interested, I can give info on the challenges and problems I have encountered using the piccolo range of instrument. Thank you for your in-depth reply - and yes, I would be interested! My own model 24 ET has weak valves in the higher register which tend to tangle up a lot... so I can’t judge on the playability of these notes as yet. Best wishes - ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 I’m a bit surprised that there are any valves at all on these high notes, Wolf. I also have a model 24 and, although I haven’t look inside for a long time, I don’t think it has valves on these highest notes. If the valves on these notes need improvement, I would try removing them first. I’m not a concertina repairer, however, and someone who is might like to comment. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 I‘ll have another look - maybe it‘s the high regular reeds, or most of them, so that I didn‘t approach the high end at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 We are straying a bit off topic here, Wolf, but I looked inside my Model 24 and there are no valves on the highest 4 notes on each side. Also, the next two notes down on each side have valves which are very slightly short. The valves were replaced over 30 years ago by Colin Dipper, so I am sure that these valve arrangements are what is ideal. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conzertino Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Btw: here you can listen to the concerto: http://www.concertinaconnection.com/cds.htm I am a big fan of Wheatstone Aeolas ( of which I own a good number incl. an extended 56-key tortoiseshell-ended treble ;-). For professional standard of concertina-paying I would recommend an Aeola or at least a Wheatstone model 24... I had several Edeophones and loads of other concertinas ( incl. Wolf's model 24 and an extended Wheatstone Boyd ), but my all-time-favorite is an ebony-ended Aeola! Watch this ( not me, unfortunately ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JmjbVJUPfQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottojas Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 Love the off topic. Two of them here. How we use high notes and coolest concertinas. They are related. A have an Aeola ebony ended 56 button. I need a second backup and since my second favorite 48 button is an Edeophone I thought I would go that route. My first favorite is a Colin Dipper 48 button with Aboyna ends. Unfortunately loud, large dynamic range, easy playing and great tone don't necessarily translate into best instrument for a particular style. The problem here is balance. The lower notes cover the high notes so chords emphasize the bass. This is the biggest drawback of the Dipper. Not a problem when playing single note melody or accompany lines and not too much of a problem when playing chords as backup, but it becomes a major problem with polyphony. Some of this can be corrected with good articulation by releasing the notes in the lower melody line quickly (or in a chord) and holding the treble notes longer. This is bit of a problem with all concertinas, but considerably less so on my Wheatstone. As to using the high notes: anywhere that the piece calls for crescendo to Forte or double Forte on the extended notes I play the lower octave as well, or add it as the notes ascend. With a well balanced instrument the effect is that we are adding volume but the ear still hears the high note. Since I started working on the Cohn concerto, I find I am using the high notes in many other situations in my bands. Both as a higher harmony, as fills and as an obbligato part. On my instrument at least, using the bellows for phrasing in the higher registers gets a more musical result than using the buttons alone. In addition I shape the notes more aggressively in the higher registers when I want to call attention to the note. Using the bellows changes effectively on phrase changes and using the bellows to shape notes is important in all registers, but more so I think in the high registers where the notes tend to sound squeaky and fade into the environment if not emphasized this way. I am still looking for that 56 button Edeophone extended range. Regards...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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