Squeezeboxes poll

[BigDavy]

Sorry Nano

Couldn't resist it.

I actually prefer cittern to zouk or guitar.

David

[Nanohedron]

Sorry that I didn't hear you the first time saying cittern...
...and after seeing the thing I was thinking "I don't need no baby sitar".

A-HA! Now there's no denying it for you. Tell me a cittern sounds like a guitar. I dare you.

A cittern sounds like a guitar

David

Funny guy, you.

Cittern with voice (you'll need RealPlayer for this one):

http://home.comcast.net/~blackroisin/ws ... ite1042.ra

Guitar with fiddle and voice (MP3):

http://www.5milechase.com/YourTown_clip.mp3

I suppose to some people they might be indistinguishable, but they're quite different to my ears, anyway. But hey, this is supposed to be about accordions, right?

[Gabriel]

I don't like the sound that much, but it can blend well with other instruments when played by skilled musicians. I know a box player who manages to get a great tone out of his instrument and doesn't disturb the sound of others. He simply blends in nicely.

And I can't pick up tunes from banjos. Let a flute play a tune I know, and I can play along just fine, but when a banjo plays the same tune, my playing simply sucks. Dunno why.

[djm]

Shouldn't this thread be in the basement .... er .... I mean, the squeezebox forum?

djm

[Azalin]

... and how dare you compare a concertina with an accordeon? It's like comparing a whistle and a recorder! Blasphemy! Heretic!

[Chiffed]

And I can't pick up tunes from banjos. Let a flute play a tune I know, and I can play along just fine, but when a banjo plays the same tune, my playing simply sucks. Dunno why.

From 10 feet away, I can't even hear the note from a banjo. I hear the harmonics, but not the fundemental, and the harmonics are not in tune. Don't get me wrong - I like banjo - but they're ideosyncratic (sp!).

[Cayden]

... and how dare you compare a concertina with an accordeon?

[Romulo]

Hi Romulo

Weird session you must be going to, normally you can hear whistle/flute through almost anything.

Hi David

Not only in sessions, but also in recordings, like the ones made by CCE to accompany the tune books (Foinn Seisiún), my impression is that sound fills everything and it's quite boring to me. I might enjoy it if I play along with a whistle or flute (just a beginner on the pipes, so can't play anything along yet), but if I just hear that I quickly get fed up.

Maybe it's just a matter of being used to it. In the northeastern part of Brazil there is a traditional rhythm called forró, typically played by a trio of accordion, a triangle and a kind of drum. In that context, I feel more comfortable to hear it, but in ITM it simply tires my ears.

[Romulo]

Your poll doesn't include, "They and their owners should be cooked alive in boiling oil." I would have voted for that one.

djm

Choose an alternative technological option:

A)

B)

C)

[dwinterfield]

... and how dare you compare a concertina with an accordeon?

Maybe we could get a good thread going on the merits of hybrid concertinas with accordion reeds and artfully weave in occasional highlights on the quality issues of mass produced inexpensive whistles.

[StevieJ]

... in recordings, like the ones made by CCE to accompany the tune books (Foinn Seisiún)

All I can say is, either a) you're not listening to the right kind of accordion playing, or b) the sound of the box really does bore you!

Can't help with b) but as regards a):

for a few decades from the 1950s on the classic Irish accordion was a 3- or 4-voice box having a low (bassoon) reed and tuned in "musette" style - i.e. very "wet", lots of vibrato. This type of setup creates a big wet blanket of sound that does indeed smother everything.

Useful for playing in a dancehall without amplification but absolutely no other merits that I can think of! Is this the type of accordion you hear on Comhaltas recordings?

Over the past 20-30 years boxes with a much lighter sound have become popular - you don't hear bassoon reeds nearly so often, and a much drier tuning (less vibrato) has become the norm. Boxes like these are much less prone to smothering.

Along with the general lightening of the sound has come, in general, greater sensitivity on the part of box players. This is why box and fiddle has become such a popular combination, and in none of the recent box/fiddle duo records I can think of could you say that the accordion dominates the sound.

But as I say, if it's a case of b) you can safely disregard the above.

Steve

[Ro3b]

IMHO the accordion's ubiquity across such a vast range of different kinds of music is sufficient evidence of its awesomeness.

[djm]

Choose an alternative technological option:

Oh, goody! I pick ABC.

IMHO the accordion's ubiquity across such a vast range of different kinds of music is sufficient evidence of its awesomeness.

More likely it reflects the ease of playability. Those who can't manage a bodhrán generally turn to boxes of one sort or another ... or banjo!

djm

[Martin Milner]

... and how dare you compare a concertina with an accordeon?

Apart from the difference made by the casing you put the reeds in, people mainly think of the accordeon sound as being that or two or more reeds, from slightly to very wet. The Lilly Melodeon only has one reed for each melody note, and it's described as concertina-like, but of course it has accordeon reeds nobody would pretend otherwise, so it's close enough for most people not to care abot the difference.

The usual reason for people to buy a concertina with accordeon reeds is price - they just can't afford a top flight concertina right now - or availability, they're on a waiting list for one, but are having to wait a long time.

[Cathy Wilde]

IMHO the accordion's ubiquity across such a vast range of different kinds of music is sufficient evidence of its awesomeness.

God help me, I love them so. When you're with a good player, it's like being pulled along by a great big freight train. I just roll along and enjoy the ride.