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New Concertina Maker


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Always surprising, life…

https://www.facebook.com/dljenks

 

Sorry to those who can’t follow to Facebook.  Its a link to an interesting concertina maker in Kwa-Zulu Natal. If you are a member here David, well done…

Edited by Chris Ghent
Reason for Edit: ineptitude
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  • Chris Ghent changed the title to New Concertina Maker
4 hours ago, Chris Ghent said:

Always surprising, life…

https://www.facebook.com/dljenks

 

Sorry to those who can’t follow to Facebook.  Its a link to an interesting concertina maker in Kwa-Zulu Natal. If you are a member here David, well done…

 

Very cool music; here's an example.

 

 

 

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Maybe the esthetic fits into this type of music…

but, personally, I wish it had more of that traditional.. English look.  as opposed to the Italian,Chinese, gdr look.

 

hopefully, he ramps up and starts doing some volume!

 

 

 

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If I remember right, squashboxes are normally double-reeded, so it makes sense that the Germans and Italians are the main inspiration. Having recently gone looking for a double-reeded box, my understanding is that none of the the traditional English makers focused on them (though a few did get made), and the only company making them in any quantity now is Stagi.

Edited by Leah Velleman
clarification
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10 hours ago, seanc said:

Maybe the esthetic fits into this type of music…

but, personally, I wish it had more of that traditional.. English look.  as opposed to the Italian,Chinese, gdr look.

 

That look goes back a long way in kwa-zulu  concertinas

 

zulus.jpg

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3 hours ago, gcoover said:

From the Qadasi Music website... Does anyone know what a "Maskandi" note layout is?

 

I'm assuming from the Wikipedia article on the genre that it's probably the same as the squashbox layout (I got that layout courtesy of Harry Scurfield, who was kind enough to demo his instrument for me).

 

Edit: quote from Bongeni Mthethwa in Harry's article on the concertina in South Africa:

 

Quote

Traditionally, the Maskanda uses his instruments as a mode of transport. He can walk long distances to the music of his guitar/concertina. The concertina is supposed to ‘transport’ him, since the walk becomes transformed into a musical experience. It is also common to find the guitar, violin, concertina ensemble forming a walking band in the rural areas.

 

Second edit: here's Johnny Clegg himself talking about his early experience buying a cheap concertina and having the layout modified:

 

 

And I'm attaching a MuseScore file of the layout for anyone interested.

Squashbox_Layout.mscz

Edited by Luke Hillman
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I couldn't stand the uncertainty! I emailed David (Qadasi) Jenkins, who sent me a layout chart. His Maskandi layout is indeed the same as the layout I got from Harry, with one difference: on the high end of his right-hand top row, he's got a D#5/F5 button instead of D5/G5.

 

He also clarified that Maskandi is the genre of music, but most Western players know the instrument as "squashbox," so when referring to the layout, either is correct. His chart was titled "Zulu Tuning - Squashbox."

Edited by Luke Hillman
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