Melodeon.net Forums

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Welcome to the new melodeon.net forum

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: G/G# anyone ?  (Read 4908 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Andrel

  • Regular debater
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 232
G/G# anyone ?
« on: June 24, 2009, 06:18:46 PM »

Just curious. Anybody out there who owns (and plays) a G/G# ? (Where the heck is that poll anyway ?). Whenever I hear tunes played on a G/G# it tickles my ears in a very pleasant way. Probably because it makes playing in Bb easier, from what I've read (it corresponds  the D fingering  on a B/C box, apparently). Listen to Paudie O'Connor playing Corney Drew and a great hornpipe version of Turkey in The Straw. (Winds & Reeds).
  Also, Christy McNamara (The House I Was Reared In). Sharon Shannon herself had one of her Cairdins tuned to G/G#, from what I've read.
 Those boxes aren't easy to find. I am awfully tempted to get one though. I'd love to hear from owners. Like do you play them on a regular basis, or just for the odd tune ? Thanks a bunch. (:)

A.

Logged
Bertrand Gaillard D/C#, Acadian in C, Castagnari Ciacy
B/C, Castagnari Sharon D/C#

jb

  • Respected Sage
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 250
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2009, 06:28:16 PM »

Where the heck is that poll anyway?.
I guess you mean this one.
Logged
there ain't no such thing as a free reed

Andrel

  • Regular debater
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 232
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2009, 06:33:05 PM »

That's the one. Thanks jb. Not there !
Logged
Bertrand Gaillard D/C#, Acadian in C, Castagnari Ciacy
B/C, Castagnari Sharon D/C#

Stiamh

  • Old grey C#/D pest
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3538
    • Packie Manus Byrne
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2009, 06:45:09 PM »

On Joe Burke's website you can listen to some samples from his CD the Morning Mist. I'm pretty sure he must be playing them on a G/G# box because the tunes are coming out 2 tones lower than normal. Fabulous sound. It's probably one of his nice collection of Old Paolos:

.

I read or heard somewhere that he started on a G/G# box though not playing B/C style.

If I saw a nice one I'd grab it, wallet willing. But what I really hanker for is an A/A# box for playing in Bb - C#/D style. (And George please don't give me any of your usual suggestions, we've been there before (:) ).

Jackie Daly has a box tuned to F#/G - the C#/D player's equivalent of a viola.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2009, 06:48:47 PM by Steve Jones »
Logged

Andrel

  • Regular debater
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 232
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2009, 08:26:46 PM »

Steve, do you know anybody who plays an A/A# box ? I'd love to hear one. I agree about the sound on The Morning Mist. It's one of those albums that I listen to in total darkness, for full effect.
Andre
Logged
Bertrand Gaillard D/C#, Acadian in C, Castagnari Ciacy
B/C, Castagnari Sharon D/C#

boxlad

  • Respected Sage
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 289
    • Ray Ó Díomasaigh
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2009, 11:46:17 PM »

Ned Kelly 1992 All Ireland Champion plays a nice G/G#

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_287_1_ned_kelly/
« Last Edit: June 24, 2009, 11:48:14 PM by Boxlad »
Logged

Stiamh

  • Old grey C#/D pest
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3538
    • Packie Manus Byrne
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2009, 01:14:46 AM »

Steve, do you know anybody who plays an A/A# box ?

I don't, never heard of one in fact. It's just that it's what I would need to play in Bb sessions, with flutes mainly. Flutes in Bb sound sooo wonderful. Hearing those B/C players on G/G# - Joe Burke and Ned Kelly - gives a taste of what A/A# would be like for me. I've asked my tuner-repairman Yves H if he can come up with a reasonably inexpensive way to convert a Hohner Erica and he's mulling it over. But I suppose ordering one from a maker would be the thing.

triskel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3290
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2009, 01:25:19 AM »

I read or heard somewhere that he started on a G/G# box though not playing B/C style.

You might have got it from me, if you read the version I told on Concertina.net?

Quote from: Stephen Chambers - Irish Button Boxes
Joe Burke was born in Kilnadeema, Co. Galway in 1939, and both his mother Annie, as well as his uncle Pat, played the accordion. About the age of four, he too started off on a Hohner G/G#, on which his uncle showed him a couple of tunes, and I memorably heard him say that "at that time we thought the second row was in case anything went wrong with the other one; a spare" and "I was even told that one row was for jigs and the other one was for reels !"

That was until a man called Martin Grace, an accomplished accordion player who had an unusual style for the time (playing across the two rows), visited the farm with a threshing machine, and was sitting in the kitchen drinking tea when he saw the accordion under the table. He asked who played and proceeded to knock out a few tunes. Joe had never heard this style of playing before and Martin showed him some of the basic rudiments of his accordion technique. Martin Grace was involved with the renowned Ballinakill C�il� Band with Aggie Whyte in the forties, and he played with that band for many years.

triskel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3290
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2009, 01:49:46 AM »

Steve, do you know anybody who plays an A/A# box ?

I don't, never heard of one in fact. It's just that it's what I would need to play in Bb sessions ...

I think I've only ever seen one, which was an old International, like the Wyper brothers played.

Chris Ryall

  • "doc 3-row"
  • French Interpreter
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10170
  • Wirral UK
    • Chris Ryall
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2009, 08:39:56 AM »

On Joe Burke's website Jackie Daly has a box tuned to F#/G - the C#/D player's equivalent of a viola.

I carry an F#/G(/C) and 'viola' is a really good analogy. Some of the notes I want to spread on toast and eat! The easiest 'proper' key on these rows is Bb, but Eb 'blues' goes even better, running like an eel slithering through river grass (had to make that one up)!

'You can't play a melodion in Eb' ..  from blues guitartist, who just done the ol' session unfriendly trick of capo 1st fret

Sorry if posting this sort of thing on what could be a specialist Irish trhread might have made anyone feel poorly, but doesn't Sharron Shannon do Lost Harmonium in Eb?   I'm off to the Upton Jazz Festival tomorrow - wish me luck! D3R
« Last Edit: June 25, 2009, 08:45:37 AM by chrisryall »
Logged
  _       _    _      _ 

triskel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3290
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2009, 09:55:46 AM »

'You can't play a melodion in Eb' ..  from blues guitartist, who just done the ol' session unfriendly trick of capo 1st fret

Sorry if posting this sort of thing on what could be a specialist Irish thread might have made anyone feel poorly, but doesn't Sharron Shannon do Lost Harmonium in Eb?

Many Irish box players would have an Eb box, as well as their "concert-pitch" (D) one, so a C/C# for a B/C player, or D/D# for C#/D, and Sharon has more than most (some of which she's bought off me!)

In fact you'll get whole sessions here, with "capo 1st fret"...

For that matter (coming back on topic), a B/C player would be able to play a G/G# in Eb - only it'd be their G fingering, whilst for a C#/D player, it'd be their A.
  
Quote
I'm off to the Upton Jazz Festival tomorrow - wish me luck! D3R

Lucky you, I'd be off to the Festival Django Reinhardt in France this weekend, only I can't afford it this year...  :(

(Shouldn't have bought that new 1-row 4-stop in Louisiana in January!  :||:)

Stiamh

  • Old grey C#/D pest
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3538
    • Packie Manus Byrne
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2009, 04:11:26 PM »

Steve, do you know anybody who plays an A/A# box ?
I don't, never heard of one in fact.

Ahem, I have just been reminded that I have in actual fact seen and heard such an animal, a Hohner Erica or Double-Ray that had been converted to A/A# by Paul Groff for a woman who plays B/C so that she could play with her husband, an uilleann piper, in C. Where's the Alzheimer's emoticon?

Steve C - yes it probably was in one of your highly informative "history lectures" on concertina.net (for which thank you very much) that I read about Joe Burke and his G/G#. We need a "I take my hat off to you" emoticon as well.

EeeJay

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 642
  • Old Grey Paolo
Re: G/G# anyone ?
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2009, 09:32:44 PM »

Ned Kelly 1992 All Ireland Champion plays a nice G/G#

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_287_1_ned_kelly/

Really love that clip of Ned Kelly... 8)

And this one with Michael Harrison on fiddle... 8)

The gaffer of the local session pub (and a B/C boxplayer to boot) rates Ned very highly... and I could soon see why when he invited him over to do a workshop a few years back... really nice player and teacher... with the patience and skill to explain technique logically - and very modest with it all to boot. Superb musician altogether.

And isn't that just a sublime old Paolo? These lower pitches really add a sumptuous '90% dark chocolate' edge to the music. This CD sums up a lot of why I now love these lower pitches so much...

Steve, do you know anybody who plays an A/A# box ?
I don't, never heard of one in fact.

Paudie O'Connor uses both A/Bb and G/G# 'Guest Accordions' (so I'd assume they're borrowed?) on his CD, Different State. Both are quoted as being Hohners (and John Brosnan gets a tuning credit), so they may or may not be original factory pitch... :-\

Ed J
« Last Edit: June 25, 2009, 09:42:51 PM by EeeJay »
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
 


Melodeon.net - (c) Theo Gibb; Clive Williams 2010. The access and use of this website and forum featuring these terms and conditions constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal