TedtheToad Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 This was my great-grandpa's old concertina, it was given to him by his uncle, so I'm not quite sure when it was made. A couple of my relatives have been trying to fix it up so it's ready to play. I haven't personally seen it yet, but apparently, it is missing a couple of keys, or possibly a couple of them are broken. We've been looking for someone to repair it, so if anyone knows a repair shop around Michigan, that would be a huge help. Does anyone know what kind of concertina it is? I'm like 90% sure it's a Chemnitzer, but it could be a Bandoneon, I'm just not sure what the distinction between them is. Also, does anyone know what the clarinet button and the bandon button do? Does it make the instrument sound like a clarinet? I've never seen buttons like that on a concertina. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) Try asking on: https://concertinamusic.com/ They are based in North America and bill themselves as 'The Chemnitzer Concertina Web Site', so you may stand a better chance of getting detailed answers to your questions there (where to get it repaired, what make/model/vintage it is, etc.)? Edited August 25, 2023 by lachenal74693 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedtheToad Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 Oh cool, I'll try asking this over there. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 You got me interested! I also found the following Chemnitzer organisations - which may also be able to assist you? Czech Area Concertina Club (New Prague, Minnesota) Czech Area Concertina Club sheet music Cicero Concertina Circle (Chicago) Cicero Concertina Circle FAQ Cicero Concertina Circle layout diagrams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedtheToad Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 Those links are really good! The Czech one has tons of free sheet music on it, and it looks like they are all modern computer made, so they're real easy to read. I checked out the Cicero FAQ and its jam-packed with a ton of useful information about Chemnitzers. These are very useful, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) 23 minutes ago, TedtheToad said: Those links are really good! etc... Yes. The first link I supplied has loads of music, but it's (nearly) all hand-written which is very difficult to read. The music on the Czech Area site is, as you say, far easier to read - I just transcribed a couple of tunes into ABC in about 15-20 minutes just to see what it all looked/sounded like if I wanted to play 'em on an Anglo... Looks like you're going to have fun, though the prospect of 28 buttons on one side and 24 on the other terrifies me...😊 A Ja Sam Polka.pdf A Ja Sam Polka.mid Edited August 25, 2023 by lachenal74693 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedtheToad Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 That little tune sounds pretty good! That program seems to work really well compared to digital software for other instruments. I've tried listening to midi files from guitar tabs and they sound nothing like what the sheet music says. I'm a little nervous to start playing, but I think it'll be a lot of fun. Like you said, having to deal with ~60 keys is gonna be a bit of a challenge. But thanks for all the help! All this has been really useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, TedtheToad said: [1] That little tune sounds pretty good! That program seems to work really well compared to digital software for other instruments. I've tried listening to midi files from guitar tabs and they sound nothing like what the sheet music says. I'm a little nervous to start playing, but I think it'll be a lot of fun. Like you said, having to deal with ~60 keys is gonna be a bit of a challenge. [2] But thanks for all the help! All this has been really useful! [1] Background to that PDF and MIDI I posted: There seems to be a very well-established style of score for Chemnitzers which includes chords and tablature for the instrument which doesn't mean a lot to an 'umble Anglo player like me, so I did a simplified transcription. FWIW, the program I used to enter that simplified transcription is called EasyABC if you are not already familiar with it. The MIDI file is one of the 'export' options available in EasyABC. The MIDI instrument I use is '24' (Tango Accordion') which IMO gives the best approximation to an Anglo. I don't know what instrument you might select to emulate a Chemnitzer... Opinions differ regarding the quality of the MIDI output - I think it may to some extent, depend on the quality of the sound card in your machine, but I certainly find it helpful. I also think that the MIDI output generated by EasyABC is better than the MIDI output generated by other ABC software... [2] My pleasure - it's a two-way process - I now know a lot more about Chemnitzers than I did 48 hours ago... Good luck! PS: I only just clocked the fact that you also asked a similar question on Reddit, I think I gave a basic answer there... Edited August 27, 2023 by lachenal74693 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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