Hello,
about accordeons and hurdy gurdy:
Am 02.02.2008 um 14:38 schrieb Derek Lofthouse:
Given that depending on the tuning (C/G or G/D) most french
HurdyGurdy music is going to be in C,G,D, cmin,gmin and dmin, what
tuning do accordion players use. Actually, what type of accordions
are used. 2 row diatonics, 3 row diatonics, 2, 3 or more row
chromatics?
I checked a few cd's and they are no help, Cyril Roche (trio
Patrick Bouffard) plays "Accordeon Diatonique", as does Frederic
Paris. Alain Bruel (from tour a tour) plays "accordeon chromatique",
Irish players use b/c or c#/d 2 row chromatics, english musicians
tend to g/d diatonics but i have no clue what french music would use.
if diatonic accordeons are used its usually two of them alternating
on stage: one in D/G *AND* one in C/F (like Frederic Paris at La
Chavannee). This is because from the D/G you get the D and G major, D
mixo - from the C/F the D minor, D dorian, G dorian, G mixo.
In the Auvergne there its a common tradition to use small chromatic
button accordeons (which for the uninformed sometimes look like diatos).
The main problem between diatonic accordeons and hurdy gurdies is
that they are part of two different key modulation systems:
the hurdy gurdy is drone based and chromatic - meaning it it can play
in all scales as long as the root stays the same as the drone or
wanders to the fourh of the drone:
example:
D-drone
D major, D minor, D dorian, D mixolydian ... plus
G major, G minor, G dorian, G mixolydian ...
the diatonic accordeon is scale based and diatonic - meaning it it
can play in all scales that have their root within its diatonic scales:
example:
G-scale plus D-scale
G major, E minor, A dorian, D mixolydian ... plus
D major, B minor, E dorian, A mixolydian ... plus
so the two systems only match at certain points. Combining diatonic
and drone instruments always is a compromise and needs consideration
and constraint.
Combining hurdy gurdy with chromatic accordeons (button or piano) -
or chromatic concertinas - is an ease.
Before rejecting this for reasons like the popularity of the diatos
or weight or size of the chromatics, its probably usefull to have a
closer look on the very wide range of instruments available. There
are very small and light chromatic instruments too.
The popularity of the (cheap and robust) diatonic accordeon is not
the last reason for the decay of the drone based traditions in
general and the hurdy gurdy in special.
kind regards
Simon
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have a look at:
http://hurdygurdywiki.wiki-site.com
http://drehleierwiki.wiki-site.com
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