ACCORDION AND CONCERTINA - GENERAL INFORMATION

This is from Tom Root.
             
  TITLE:  concertina
{kahn-sur-tee'-nuh}
    
An improved small ACCORDION, but without the accordion keyboard, the concertina
was patented in England in 1829. Its hexagonal end pieces are fitted with studs
for selecting the various pitches from its reeds. Fully chromatic and capable
of various tonal effects, it has been used in solo and chamber music.
Tchaikovsky used four concertinas in his second orchestral suite. A popular
instrument for informal occasions during the 19th century, the concertina is
still widely used, especially in England. ELWYN A. WIENANDT
 
  TITLE:  reed organ
    
The reed-organ family of musical instruments, descended from the Chinese SHENG,
includes the ACCORDION, CONCERTINA, and HARMONICA (or mouth organ).  The term
refers more specifically to floor-standing keyboard instruments such as the
harmonium and American organ.  All produce musical pitches by means of thin
reeds, set vibrating by air under pressure or suction.  The standing reed
organ, activated by bellows driven by foot pedals, was developed almost
simultaneously in Germany, France, and the United States around 1810.

During the period of their greatest popularity, from 1840 to the end of the
19th century, reed organs underwent many improvements, including the addition
of percussion effects, knee levers to control loud-and-soft, and even drawtops
to emulate the tonal variety of a pipe organ.  In Europe, they were mainly used
for home music-making.  Several composers, including Dvorak, Franck, and
Schoenberg, used the harmonium in concert works, often for its "humble"
associations with domesticity or amateurism.

  TITLE:  Welk, Lawrence
    
The orchestra leader Lawrence Walk, b. Strasburg, N.Dak., Mar.  11, 1903, d.
May 17, 1992, maintained his longtime popularity with a musical style of
"champagne music" that seemed to satisfy a widespread interest in nostalgia.
Welk earned his first accordion by hiring himself out as a farm laborer and
began his career playing at rural celebrations.  At age 17 he formed his first
dance band, performing at dance halls and occasionally on the radio.  Radio,
then television, gradually brought his music to a national audience.  Welk's
own television show ran on television from 1955 to 1982.  With Bernice
McGeehan, Welk collaborated on several autobiographical books, including
Wunnerful, Wunnerful! (1971) and Ah-One, Ah-Two! (1974).

  TITLE:  zydeco
    
Zydeco is a style of popular music that has emerged from the Cajun and black
Creole cultures of Louisiana's bayou region.  With a driving syncopated rhythm,
zydeco combines the lilting sounds of traditional Cajun music with elements
from BLUES and ROCK MUSIC.  Both styles are sung in French, and the central
instrument is the accordion, but where Cajun music uses acoustic instruments
such as the fiddle and the triangle, a zydeco band usually includes a rubboard
(a piece of corrugated steel worn like a vest and played like a washboard), a
saxophone or trumpet, and electric bass.

From lc1r+@andrew.cmu.edu Tue Jun 15 10:46:45 1993

There are five different types of concertinas:

1)    English:  fully chromatic, same note in either direction, scale goes
      up vertically alternating from hand to hand (the lines on one side,
      the spaces on the other).  Comes in four sizes, representing the violin
      family:  treble, tenor-treble, baritone and bass.  Has thumb straps and
      may or may not have hand straps.

2)    Anglo-German:  two rows of buttons on each side, different notes in
      either direction, tuned from left to right according to two scales,
      usually in fifths but occasionally in fourths (e.g., bottom row C, top 
      row G; bottom row D, top row A).  Bass on left hand, treble on right.
      Hand straps only. [see below - ed.]

3)    Anglo-Chromatic:  same as Anglo-German but with a third row above the
      others that provides accidentals.

4)    Duet System:  I'm not exactly sure how this works, but it has features
      of both, i.e, same note in either direction like the English but left
      hand bass, right hand treble like the Anglo-German or Anglo-Chromatic.
      Very rare.

5)    Bandoneon:  Large square concertina used in Argentine tango music.  The
      system is _very_ confusing and apparently there are a couple of variants
      on it but I was told that there was a central logical core with buttons
      radiating out from there.  If anyone can provide more info than that, go
      right ahead.

Hope this is helpful!

Lori Cole 

From: Sushiqueen <sushiqn@cais.cais.com>
Re: Anglo concertinas in message above

I think this is backwards, no? Every Anglo I've 
ever run across was tuned C on top row, G on bottom row, or D 
on top, A on bottom, etc. or is she saying something else? I 
would find this paragraph very confusing if I were a newbie - 
hell, I found it confusing and I'm not one! Also I don't think 
"bass on left hand" is clear. There is no bass on a 
concertina. It is "lower notes on left hand, higher notes on 
right".