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Author Topic: melodeon social history  (Read 11398 times)

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Nick Hudis

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melodeon social history
« on: January 28, 2009, 06:06:41 PM »

I recently played my little Hohner Liliput to my mother who is 83.  She immediately recognized the instrument and came up with an interesting story.

Just after the war in the late 40's she went on a walking holiday in the Swiss and Italian alps guided by a former member of the French Resistence.  Apparantly whenever they met German hikers in chalets and inns, the German's produced little accordions out of their rucksacks just like the Liliput and played and sang. Given that at that time in history Germans were not the most popular people in Europe, these little accordions did a lot to break down ill will and establish friendship between people who only a year or two before had been killing each other.

Now that's a nice thing to know about melodeons.
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Nick

Rob Phillips

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2009, 09:18:36 PM »

Yes, it's good to know how melodeons can bring people together. Last year I took one of my boxes to Pakistan in my backpack. While I was staying in a rural area I met a builder who played a harmonium. We sat around one evening on the building site with some of his workmates taking it in turn to play. He sang and played Punjabi love songs. I belted out some Cotswold morris, etc., across the rice fields. Neither of us understood much of the other's language, but the reeds did the talking. It was a great evening. There was one bizarre thing, though, that I still haven't puzzled out. I make plenty of mistakes when I'm playing (being a relative newcomer to squeezeboxes), but my mistakes that evening often got applauded. Were people just being sympathetic? Or did they think my discords with accidental changes in tempo were clever improvisations?
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HallelujahAl

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2009, 10:28:43 AM »

I find this topic very interesting - and I would guess that there's a book in it somewhere.  The close connection with The Salvation Army and the concertina is well documented, but not so with the Melodeon, which is a shame.  I've a number of pics in my collection which prove my point - but I attach one of my favourite:


A bunch of Hallelujah Lasses taken at the turn of the century (around 1911 apparently). Note the melodeon right in centre of the photo.
AL
« Last Edit: January 29, 2009, 10:30:52 AM by HallelujahAl »
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GbH

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2009, 05:59:01 PM »

Just a side point...

Stories about melodeon history, particularly those relating to specific instruments, would be well suited for inclusion into the Melodeon Database (http://wiki.melodeon.net/wiki/Main_page) on this site.  Rather than get lost in a mass of forum posts, 'Database' entries should be much easier for others to find and discover.

Although the instrument pages have a formal structure at the top, any relevant information can be added below, including stories, historical photos and other items of interest.  Also, if you have a lot of additional stuff - say, a long story - there's no harm in including that in an additional page and linking to it.  If you're not sure, ask me or one of the administrators how to achieve what you've got in mind. 

Lastly, if you have any other, more general, ideas about how the database might usefully store historic reference information, please let us know.

Guy
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finnhorse

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2009, 10:10:25 PM »

Not to detract from the usefulness of the database, but the forum is very searchable.  That's how I originally found it.  Anyone using Google to search for melodeons and related topics like repair, construction, history, and general rag chewing would be hard pressed to do even a "bad" search and not have Google return a link to the exact post.  It would take an administrator to verify this, but I think that's where we get the referrals for all those one-off "how much is grand dad's box worth?" posts in the buy/sell forum.
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IanD

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2009, 11:09:35 AM »

I recently played my little Hohner Liliput to my mother who is 83.  She immediately recognized the instrument and came up with an interesting story.

Just after the war in the late 40's she went on a walking holiday in the Swiss and Italian alps guided by a former member of the French Resistence.  Apparantly whenever they met German hikers in chalets and inns, the German's produced little accordions out of their rucksacks just like the Liliput and played and sang. Given that at that time in history Germans were not the most popular people in Europe, these little accordions did a lot to break down ill will and establish friendship between people who only a year or two before had been killing each other.

Now that's a nice thing to know about melodeons.

For those who might not know, the Liliput and the Preciosa were both made specifically for this market -- the Preciosa in particular is an object lesson in how to get the largest possible amount of melodeon into the smallest possible space, with little touches like the internal bellows lock that means there are no bellows straps to come undone if the instrument is packed into a tight corner.

Which begs the question -- if they were so popular and useful why did Hohner stop making them? Maybe they cost too much to make compared to bigger boxes with much simpler construction, and cost was all-important after the war...

Ian
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mikesamwild

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2009, 12:06:30 PM »

The innardsof the Liliput  are quite complex so was it a money saving measure in production?

I love 'em, I've got a favourite in Eb/Bb
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Mike in Sheffield

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IanD

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2009, 12:10:29 PM »

The innardsof the Liliput  are quite complex so was it a money saving measure in production?

I love 'em, I've got a favourite in Eb/Bb

Probably, this was my guess -- the Preciosa is even more ingenious (read: even harder to build)...

Still, it's a pity there's no real modern equivalent :-(

Ian
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hopey

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2009, 01:02:26 PM »

Could somebody upload a photo of these little instruments, I'm intrigued by anything small like this.
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IanD

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2009, 03:23:21 PM »

Could somebody upload a photo of these little instruments, I'm intrigued by anything small like this.

Here you are, one of the outside and one of the inside -- for scale, it's about 20cm tall...

Ian
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ghijze mitter hacken

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2009, 03:34:26 PM »

The inside of the Hohner 48 key concertina I bought some 30 years ago has also two layers of reed blocks at each side.
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IanD

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2009, 03:52:02 PM »

The inside of the Hohner 48 key concertina I bought some 30 years ago has also two layers of reed blocks at each side.

This construction does pack a lot of flat-mounted reeds into a small space -- and I'm sure Theo can tell us (no swearing, please :-) just how easy this makes them to tune...

Ian
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GbH

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #12 on: January 31, 2009, 09:55:35 PM »

In response to the comment left above, yes, this site does have a useful search facility and I wouldn't want to undermine its usefullness.  However, the Database offers the potential to bring together information in a way that Search can never do.  It's a communal resource that will only achieve success if people are prepared to contribute their own knowledge.  As it stands, we now have a whole load of forum posts about the Lilliput and Preciosa, yet on the Database neither are present.  If you want to build a cool reference resource, you know what to do...
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finnhorse

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2009, 09:19:51 AM »

Quote
In response to the comment left above, yes, this site does have a useful search facility and I wouldn't want to undermine its usefullness.

I wasn't referring to this site's search facility.  I was referring to how easy it is to find the information on the site using other search engines.  Had nothing to do with the database, but in that regard it makes the database almost redundant - although it could be useful to have it all organized in one place.

What's with the italics?
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GbH

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2009, 10:36:59 AM »

Quote
In response to the comment left above, yes, this site does have a useful search facility and I wouldn't want to undermine its usefullness.

I wasn't referring to this site's search facility.  I was referring to how easy it is to find the information on the site using other search engines.  Had nothing to do with the database, but in that regard it makes the database almost redundant - although it could be useful to have it all organized in one place.

What's with the italics?

OK then, have a look at these sample reports http://wiki.melodeon.net/wiki/Sandbox.  Yes, these are dynamic queries* that will update themselves as people enter new information at source.   You can't do that with a standard search engine - keyword recognition will only take you so far.  The Database has its key information annotated so that it's meaningful to computers as well as humans.  Thus, we can achieve reports and queries that would otherwise be impossible with regular web technology.  As more information is added, the impact of this will grow.

Also, the ability for people to add their own thoughts and content to pages could eventually lead to a resource that extends far beyond the mere factual listings found on manufactuer's sites.  It's just down to users to buy into the possibilities...

The italics were an attempt to avoid branching from this thread's true purpose.  I seem to have failed...

Guy 

* Anyone can create custom reports like this, or, if they're unsure about how to go about it, request that an administrator do it.
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Martin J

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #15 on: February 01, 2009, 10:46:58 AM »

I was referring to how easy it is to find the information on the site using other search engines.  Had nothing to do with the database, but in that regard it makes the database almost redundant - although it could be useful to have it all organized in one place.

What's with the italics?
I'm so surprised by Finnhorse.  :o  The database came about because it is almost impossible to find any particular information about specific instruments you may have seen on the Forum earlier.  As a forum for people interested in Melodeons the database is designed to grow into a definitive reference source.  It can only do that if members are willing to input the information.  It is simple enough, if you are making a post ,just to copy the releveant information and drop it in the database.  Try it, you may like it, after all you wouldn't want to be thought of as a Luddite would you ?  :D
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Bill the Farmer

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #16 on: February 01, 2009, 11:28:21 AM »

... As it stands, we now have a whole load of forum posts about the Lilliput and Preciosa, yet on the Database neither are present.  If you want to build a cool reference resource, you know what to do...
We do now, based on the information in the Hohner history document. More info would be nice...
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finnhorse

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #17 on: February 01, 2009, 12:24:38 PM »

Quote
In response to the comment left above, yes, this site does have a useful search facility and I wouldn't want to undermine its usefullness.

I wasn't referring to this site's search facility.  I was referring to how easy it is to find the information on the site using other search engines.  Had nothing to do with the database, but in that regard it makes the database almost redundant - although it could be useful to have it all organized in one place.

What's with the italics?

OK then, have a look at these sample reports http://wiki.melodeon.net/wiki/Sandbox.  Yes, these are dynamic queries* that will update themselves as people enter new information at source.   You can't do that with a standard search engine - keyword recognition will only take you so far.  The Database has its key information annotated so that it's meaningful to computers as well as humans.  Thus, we can achieve reports and queries that would otherwise be impossible with regular web technology.  As more information is added, the impact of this will grow.

Also, the ability for people to add their own thoughts and content to pages could eventually lead to a resource that extends far beyond the mere factual listings found on manufactuer's sites.  It's just down to users to buy into the possibilities...

The italics were an attempt to avoid branching from this thread's true purpose.  I seem to have failed...

Guy 

* Anyone can create custom reports like this, or, if they're unsure about how to go about it, request that an administrator do it.

Drifting a little farther from the OP, does having key information annotated (read: meaningful to computers) make the database easier to find with an external search engine, or only more easily searchable while on the site?  Because I was specifically referring to the ability of melodeon lamers (such as myself) to find the site/information they need if they weren't aware the site existed to be searched in the first place - hence the point of the original search, and why it's good that engines like Google bring you here (mel.net).  That was what prompted my original reply (OR :)?).

(this post EDITED to correct a Misplaced Modifier of Mass Destruction)
« Last Edit: February 01, 2009, 01:47:33 PM by finnhorse »
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Falseknight

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #18 on: February 01, 2009, 12:54:13 PM »

Finding information we don't know exists...

Sounds suspiciously like Donald Rundsfelts "unknown unknowns" ;)
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GbH

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Re: melodeon social history
« Reply #19 on: February 01, 2009, 02:13:08 PM »

Drifting a little farther from the OP, does having key information annotated (read: meaningful to computers) make the database easier to find with an external search engine, or only more easily searchable while on the site?  Because I was specifically referring to the ability of melodeon lamers (such as myself) to find the site/information they need if they weren't aware it existed.  That was what prompted my original reply (OR :)).

Hmm, there's probably no straightforward answer to that at the moment.  The Database uses Mediawiki as its core engine, the same system that powers Wikipedia.  Thus, given the Wikipedia entries get found by search engines, you'd expect others to be found too.  The additional functionality that allows data to be 'marked up' as having meaning comes from an extra bit of software called Semantic Mediawiki (SMW).  This software is one aspect of a phenomenon known as the 'semantic web' (and sometimes as 'Web 3.0') - supposedly the next major shift in internet use.  At the moment, this is still niche technology, so mainstream support for it is thin and non-standard.  As such, our marked-up data is unlikely, at the moment, to be useful outside of the Database itself.  But in the future, even the near future, who knows?  What I do know, though, is that if the raw data isn't there at all, nothing will happen.

Although this all sounds a bit techy, the reality is that SMW allows us to create a system where the involved stuff is hidden from regular users.  So far, it seems that contributors new to the system have been managing to add information in the right place without the need for much assistance.  Creating custom reports, though, does require a bit more knowledge, although it's not exactly 'rocket science'.  We'll have to work out, over time, the options for making that more accessible.  In the meantime, if you want something specific, just ask. 

Guy
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