Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Four-voice Gaillard -- available again





The purchaser of my four-voice Gaillard D/G has decided to sell it -- it's at the Button Box now. What a box! If you anywhere near Sunderland, stop by and give it a squeeze -- Gaillards are rare enough in the U.S., and since Monsieur Gaillard no longer offers a four-voice model, this one is extra special.

P.S. I'm not connected to this sale in any way -- just interested in seeing this great box find its way to the right box player.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Extensive photo-documentation of melodeon building

(Photo by Lester Bailey)

     Emmanuel Pariselle has been teaching melodeon-building workshops in which he guides the participants through the construction of one-row or 2.6 row melodeons.  Recently, Lester Bailey attended one of these workshops and build a gorgeous 2.6 row, 14-bass box.  And on top of that, Lester took dozens of photographs in which the process -- as well as some silliness -- is thoroughly documented.

     Lester's photos can be viewed here.

     There have been previous postings of Emmanuel Pariselle's courses, but I believe that Lester's photos are the most extensive and useful photo-documentation of multi-row melodeon-building that is viewable by the general public on the internet -- 9 day's worth of photos.

     These pictures are inspiring --- inspiring to those of us who wish to build a multi-row melodeon someday, and also, very likely, inspiring envy in those box-players in North America who have never experienced such a workshop on these soils!  Could we organize such a thing? I believe there are a number of venues in here in Vermont that could host a workshop like this. Please contact me if you would be interested, and let me know what times of year you would be available to attend a 7 or 9-day workshop.

     And before I forget to mention it: Lester Bailey puts his skills to work as a repairer -- read more here.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Chords and rhythms on the melodeon

Here is a video (from YouTube) of one of my favorite accordions, Emmanuel Pariselle, teaching a workshop on chords/rhythm/accompaniment on the diatonic accordion.  As I watched this, I marveled at the subtle -- and drastic -- changes in effect that he can accomplish on the melodeon.  Simply wonderful!



And while I'm at it, here is another video (from YouTube) featuring Emmanuel Pariselle playing his Dipper "Franglo" concertina/melodeon.  I love it!!! Again, his great accompaniment style!!! Bravo! Bravissimo! More, please!