I spent some time with one of my upright basses this morning. My Merchant bass had a problem with the neck that was fixed a few years back, and I was afraid it was coming back again. Fortunately it isn't a problem and should be good for a few more years before I need to take it into the shop. That means I have two accordions, a couple of flutes, and a balalaika to repair. I've got a spare folding table that I can turn into a workbench for this purpose, as long as I can keep my daughter off of it while I'm doing this. I'll probably tackle the newer accordion first, since shifting the blocks will be simple.
I haven't really played accordion since I was around ten, when I got one at a garage sale. I played for a while, learning the odd polka or two, but I'm no Al Yankovick. That one disappeared into the annals of history during my college years. It wasn't until I picked up a concertina that I started getting back into the free reeds again. Now the are some differences in how they are played, though.
First off there are the obvious differences. The accordion has a bunch of buttons on the left, and a keyboard on the right. Usually you play the melody on the right, and the chords on the left. And another important thing - when you push or pull the accordion you get the same notes.
The Anglo concertina (there are different kinds) can have anywhere from twenty to forty buttons, but usually thirty. These are split between the two sides of the concertina, and like the accordion there is a bellows in the middle. But unlike the accordion, you will get different notes depending on whether you are pushing or pulling on the concertina. So not only do you have to worry about hitting the correct button, but you have to be moving the bellows in the correct direction.
Another difference is how things are laid out. On the accordion the right hand is pretty much like a piano keyboard. From top to bottom (if you're strapped in) the notes go up in half and whole steps. The left hand is a bit more complex, but is usually in fifths. The home row is second from the front, the first row is the third up, and the third through sixth rows are major, minor, dominant seventh and diminished seventh chords. And there's a bunch of them. Usually 120 buttons, giving you twenty notes and their chords, enough to cover the entire spectrum of the keyboard and then some. Usually there's some repeating to allow someone to hit a note in a couple of different positions.
The concertina, well, isn't quite as neatly laid out, though there are some patterns that make some sense after a while. The home row (usually the center row, or second away from you) will be the lower notes, while the row nearest you will be the notes a fifth up. These are repeated on both hands, with the right hand being an octave up. The pull will give you the minor a whole step up. So for a D/G concertina, you get the low G major, low A minor, D major and E minor chordings. These are very common in Irish/Scottish music.
But, this only covers the buttons nearest the top. Once you start getting into pinky territory the rules change and can be different from player to player, depending on where you learned. The third row gets even worse, since there isn't too much of a pattern to it. Actually the pattern in it is to supply the notes that the other two rows don't have, so that you get a fully chromatic instrument. A good way to think of how a concertina operates is take a harmonica and split it in half. Like a harmonica you get different notes whether you breathe in or out, and some of those notes can get a bit wonky depending on where you are at.
And after that it gets even worse. So far I have been going on about the Anglo concertina. there are a number of different kinds, such as the English concertina, the bandoleon, the Melodeon, Harmoniums (which are pumped with foot pedals like an organ), as well as different shapes, sizes makes and models.
Both instruments are strapped on in some form or fashion. The accordion is like a backpack on your front, while the concertina is more of a set of handcuffs. The accordion also weighs quite a bit more, though some of your larger concertinas can be weighty after wielding it for three hours on stage.
I've never played an accordion professionally, but I heard that they are a lot easier to amplify than a concertina. because of the size there is a lot of space to drop a microphone inside, or even multiples, and get a full sound out of them, much like amplifying an acoustic guitar. the concertina is a bit harder, since space is at a premium. my current rig is an AudioVox two microphone system that puts one mike on each side, velcro'd on close to the straps. those run to a box on my belt, and from there a cable (or a wireless pickup) to the sound board. I have used multiple microphones on stands, as well as another portable system, but this one works the best for me. while the stand system works, it allows no movement at all, and unlike a singer you have to remain precisely between the two microphones, since the sound from a concertina can be very directional to the sides.
I have owned three concertinas in the past twenty years, two of which I still have. The first was an old Hohner I picked up at a flea market. This is one of the mass marketed models with the red end caps, paperboard bellows, and generally good for not much more than learning. It was, however, cheap, at around $40 at the time. It worked well for a few years, though after a while it was held together with duck tape and warm thoughts. I gave it away when I left Michigan, since I already had another one.
Hobgoblin had a model called the Goblin, which was a thirty button D/G. I picked it up at a celtic festival in Chicago for around $500, and it has traveled with my for quite a while. I played it in Michigan as well as Texas, and it has served me well. I still play it every once in a while, since the sound is mellow and goes well with other instruments. the only drawback I have had with it is the end caps are wood, which over time has become worn, allowing the buttons to slip a bit, and sometimes getting stuck. I know a lot of people that have seeen me play this instrument at a show will remember me getting a nasty look on my face, and grabbing a screwdriver, jam it into the end piece to push the button back into place.
my last instrument I have had since 2004, and it is made by a local concertina maker in the Dallas area by the name of Harold Herrington. I think he is retired now, but someone has taken over his business and is continuing the trade. the Herrington is a smaller bodied concertina, but heavy. Because it was a custom instrument I was able to get the notes as I liked, keeping the D/G fingering. He uses steel reeds, which make for a louder tone, but they also don't go out of tune or get affected by temperature like brass does. The metal plates on the end, with a plastic alignment plate underneath keeps the problem with button slippage at bay, and wider straps make it more comfortable to hold. This one was $1500 back when I got it, which is comparable to other instruments in the range. I probably won't get another, since past that point in terms of price you are primarily getting into nuances of styling, or antique models.
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