English edition of Elsbeth Moser's "Das Knopfakkordeon C-Griff"

[WilliamKErickson]

I posted this request in another thread, but thought I would pull it out in a separate post for easier tracking:

Hey fphlpsnrg, when the English edition of Elsbeth Moser's "Das Knopfakkordeon C-Griff" is released, could you announce it here, along with info on how to order a copy?

And while we're waiting, I'd love to hear the story of how you came to be working on the English translation with Dr. Moser.

Thanks!

Bill Erickson

 

[fphlpsnrg]

Thanks for your interest in this project. The "final" version was submitted to Sikorski Musikverlag in early September. Prof. Moser let me know at that time that they have at least looked at it. I have not heard from them since that time. Considering the plethora of publications on instruction and methods for the accordion, I have little confidence in it actually reaching the market. Due to copyright restrictions on the original material, I would not be able to submit it to another publisher.

After 10 years of work, I submitted a draft version directly to Sikorski in the summer of 2018. They put me in contact with Prof. Moser. She has been very involved in reviewing and critiquing the content. I did not submit the final version until everything had met her requirements. She is particularly enthusiastic about the changes to the presentation of the diagrams from the  original version. In the English version, the diagrams present both the left and right hands as if the musician were viewing the instrument in a mirror. Also, if the student were to lay their hands on the diagrams in the book, they would be in the same orientation as if they would be on the instrument.

I picked up a copy of Prof. Moser’s book from an obscure music store in Washington, DC, sometime in the late 1990’s. The book is still available from different vendors in Europe and the U.S. The diagrams were useful, but the text was inaccessible, particularly since I had not read, written, or much less spoken German in 40 years. I am not a professional musician or academic. However, as a software engineer for over 40 years, I developed a style of clear and concise writing style for documentation. Prof. Dr. Paul De Bra and Tony Grieco on this forum have reviewed this document. They are both in agreement that the material seems dry and academic (they should see the original German) and that it may be more appropriate for an instructor for presentation to a student rather than for someone trying to learn on their own.

 

[WilliamKErickson]

Fphlpsnrg,  thanks for the background on the project!  I especially like your change to the diagrams presenting both left and right hands -- great idea!  I actually bought the book just expecting it to about the right hand, and was delighted to see the discussion covered both sides.

Agreed that the material comes across as dry and academic -- that even shows through in the Google Translate version which sometimes retains some of the German sentence structure.  I took 2 years of German way back in high school, and retain just enough to pick up on some of the grammar constructs and some very limited vocabulary, and it's been great fun watching Google Translate dynamically update the translation as I'm typing the text in.  But honestly I'm loving the material -- her rigorous and logical approach to analyzing the keyboard (gameboard    ) layout in terms of verticals, horizontals, and diagonals appeals to my anal-retentive side, and I like her concept of a "Bridge" as a way of emphasizing the potential problems with horizontal key jumps.  Definitely not appropriate for someone learning both instrument and music theory at the same time, but for me coming from an extensive background in in music and PA and looking for something to focus on what makes the CBA unique -- this material has been perfect!

That's too bad that copyright restrictions may prevent you from getting your hard work published.  While it's too technical to be a good "Intro to playing CBA", I could see it being a useful supplement for those really getting into the theory behind the C-griff CBA.  Alas, while the market for an "Intro to playing CBA" is pretty small, the market for an advanced technical text is even smaller...