Really big steirische Harmonika

[barkis]

I found this video featuring a really big steirische Harmonika. Quite cool:

[video=youtube]http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C7WwLcA0Po[/video]

 

[JerryPH]

I bet that this accordion has no greater range than any other accordion on that stage... the pitch at the very top of the accordion was about 2 octaves too high from where it should be to accommodate that many buttons, it was the same octave as the normal sizes ones.

 

[Dingo40]

Barkis,

Theres another, even bigger: about seven foot tall!

Here it is:



And people complain about the weight of their instruments!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

The tune this guy played could have been done just as well on a 12 bass instrument. (or even an 8 bass)

Impressed? Nah!! Somebody could do themselves a mischief on that thing.

Kind Regards to One & All,

Stephen.

 

[Dingo40]

Stephen,
The looks on the other player's faces says it all !

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Dingo,

I had not noticed the looks on the band member's faces, to be honest. What do you read from their non-verbal communication?

Could it be disbelief, loathing, contempt or resignation? I just don't know.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Dingo40]

Stephen,
It may be just me, but I got a strong feeling there was a sense of trying to ignore the elephant in the room (literally)

 

[maugein96]

Stephen,
It may be just me, but I got a strong feeling there was a sense of trying to ignore the elephant in the room (literally)

The French player Marceau Verschueren (no relation to Andre Verchuren) had an oversized accordion made for him by Cavagnolo with a walnut body. It became his trademark instrument. 

Here he is playing it. Ive posted the clip before, but its just to show the size of the instrument. Dont know what range it had, and youll see it had 7 rows of bass buttons, arranged 3/4. My bog standard Cavagnolo Vedette 5 has 56 playing notes, so hes probably got at least another 12 notes on that one, probably more. If I was really keen I could count the buttons. If anybody bothers to count the outside three rows, remember that most Cavagnolos have an extra note at the top of the 4th row. I used to think mine had 55 notes until I discovered an extra low C on mine in that 4th row. 

Judging by his fingering its a B system, which would probably figure, as his family were from Lokeren in Belgium. 

If you find any old French accordion sheet music signed V. Marceau or just Marceau, thats this guy. He was prone to play rather faster than the usual dance tempos of the day, but he was a solo instrumentalist who had no real interest in playing for dancers.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Its possible this giant Steirische Harmonika only has the standardsize reedblocks inside. 
Perhaps many buttons are dummies and dont produce a sound ?
If anyone finds an inside picture of this big accordion...

Here is the maker, Franz Parz, in a video playing his barrel accordion. This Parz Steirische Harmonika has a working mechanism with a container for half a liter of liquids, alcohol, spirits, or another drink:  
  
[color=var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary))][font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]Aufsteirern Graz Parz-Harmonika 20.9.2015-33p © OlmHERZ      [/font][/color]

The barrel accordion details:
[color=var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary))][font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]https://www.harmonika-parz.at/de/harmonikas/sondermodelle/   [/font][/color]

 

[Dingo40]

John,
Thanks fo the Marceau clip.
Yes, we've seen him before, in the context of not using shoulder straps.
I have heard somewhere that playing too fast is something instrumentalists are prone to, although I don't mind it outside of actual dancing situations 

Stephen,

The German sense of humour can be quite "robust" at times. I believe both the größten harmonika and the barrel harmonika are examples of this tendency!

 

[maugein96]

John,
Thanks fo the Marceau clip.
Yes, we've seen him before, in the context of not using shoulder straps.
I have heard somewhere that playing too fast is something instrumentalists are prone to, although I don't mind it outside of actual dancing situations 

Stephen,

The German sense of humour can be quite "robust" at times. I believe both the größten harmonika and the barrel harmonika are examples of this tendency!

Dingo,

I almost suggested that the big harmonika was a actually a beer dispenser for the band. Wasn't far off. Look at it with a keen eye and you'll see that one of the buttons on the outside row is notably higher than the rest. At a guess that marks the limit of its range, whatever that would be. 

The north of France produced a lot of great instrumental players, although the most successful of them almost invariably moved to Paris, to better their incomes. Marceau was one such player, along with Verchuren, Aimable, and Larcange, the latter three probably being the biggest names in the history of French musette just before it took a nosedive. Most of the other famous players were of Italian descent, and even that quintessential Parisian player, Jo Privat, had Italian relatives.


Sense of humour in the UK varies so greatly from one area to the next that I wouldn't even know where to start with any other country's humour. My wife and I are from different parts of Scotland and we're still trying to work out what we're saying to each other a few decades on. It may be just one word, or a phrase, but I lose count of the times I have to start all over again when the eyebrows are raised. Her Border dialect is generally nearer to written English than mine is, so I can usually work out what she's saying. The swear words are essentially the same, but maybe with different pronunciation!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Dingo, Stephen, John, et al.

If, as has been suggested, most of the buttons are "dummies", that would make this the accordion equivalent of a teenager's hot-hatch. In other words, it is more an expression of style over substance than anything useful.

Could it be so simple? Look at me .... I can play a very big and stupid looking instrument ! Oh Well, they say it takes all kinds to make a World.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Dingo40]

Thanks, John 
Always interesting and informative!
I'm sitting by the telly ( it's 6-20pm) watching the British show "Escape to the Country " and enjoying glimpses of the great British countryside 

Stephen,

I think you're right 

Effectively, it's a "visual gag "

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Dingo,

Hmmmm, "a visual gag." Well, maybe it is, but the humour is lost on me. As John says, humour differs across national and regional boundaries.

Anyway, a bloody big accordion may be a side-splitter in Germany, but it doesn't seem to translate very well where I live. Short leather pants and thigh slapping seems to tickle the fancy of those who indulge in that behaviour but, once again, I don't see it catching on here.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Hi Dingo,

Hmmmm, "a visual gag."   Well, maybe it is, but the humour is lost on me.  As John says, humour differs across national and regional boundaries.  

Anyway, a bloody big accordion may be a side-splitter in Germany, but it doesn't seem to translate very well where I live.  Short leather pants and thigh slapping seems to tickle the fancy of those who indulge in that behaviour but, once again, I don't see it catching on here.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

Stephen,

Nationals of one country often stereotype people from other countries. 

A few years back I was in Malta, and a shopkeeper asked me (in English) where I came from. When I told her I was from Scotland she said, "How come you have a Northern Irish accent?". I asked her where she came from and she said, "Marsaxxlok". I told her that her accent sounded more like Ghajnsielem on the nearby island of Gozo.  

She saw through my wit almost immediately, and we both ended up having a good laugh about it. I would say that 99% of the time my attempt at being funny just wouldn't have come off, and the person concerned would have asked me why they sounded as though they were from another island. 

I've spent a good few months in Malta over the years, but certainly couldn't have told one Maltese dialect from another. The few words of Maltese I acquired are nearly all distant memories these days.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

I have visited Marsaxlokk on many occasions. The last time I was there my Wife bought (using my Amex) a very intricately woven tablecloth. It was a lovely thing, but I still maintain that we were too hasty to buy it at the price it was offered for.

We sometimes stayed at the Hotel Cerviola in Marsaskala, just up the coast from Marsaxlokk. Very nice place.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Mr Mark]

Just curious...a bigger instrument like that could house much larger reeds.  Would this then also equate to more volume (dB)?

 

[maugein96]

Hi John,

I have visited Marsaxlokk on many occasions.  The last time I was there my Wife bought (using my Amex) a very intricately woven tablecloth.  It was a lovely thing, but I still maintain that we were too hasty to buy it at the price it was offered for.

We sometimes stayed at the Hotel Cerviola in Marsaskala, just up the coast from Marsaxlokk.  Very nice place.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

Stephen,

Couldn't get the spelling right, a common thing with Maltese names. One x and two kks right enough. Arabic languages written in Latin script can get confusing at times (unless you're Maltese). We thought about going to Marsaskala once or twice, but for some reason it never materialised. We ended up going to Xemxija once, and wished we hadn't. Nothing much there.

We prefer the more laid back pace of life in Gozo, with Xlendi being perhaps our favourite resort on that island.  

There are a handful of PA players in Malta, who you occasionally get to hear in St George Square in Valletta, and also in the gardens in Floriana. They also used to have guest players (mainly from Sicily) in some of the bigger hotels.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Mr Mark,

You would need some tremendous biceps to make that thing very loud. Anyway, I have never had complaints from people who couldn't hear my 120/41 Arietta. To be truthful, I just don't like gimmicks.

Hi John,

I have been to Gozo (and Comino) a few times. The ferry they used on the last occasion I went to Gozo was a wreck, with more rust on it than paint.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Hi Mr Mark,

You would need some tremendous biceps to make that thing very loud.  Anyway, I have never had complaints from people who couldn't hear my 120/41 Arietta.  To be truthful, I just don't like gimmicks.

Hi John,

I have been to Gozo (and Comino) a few times.  The ferry they used on the last occasion I went to Gozo was a wreck, with more rust on it than paint.  

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

---

Hi Mr Mark,

You would need some tremendous biceps to make that thing very loud.  Anyway, I have never had complaints from people who couldn't hear my 120/41 Arietta.  To be truthful, I just don't like gimmicks.

Hi John,

I have been to Gozo (and Comino) a few times.  The ferry they used on the last occasion I went to Gozo was a wreck, with more rust on it than paint.  

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

Stephen,

Never bothered to go to Comino, and these days the three ferries to Gozo are all less than 20 years old. You only pay on the return trip from Mgarr to Cirkewwa. The trick is to get the ferry there and just swim back, when I suppose a stop at Comino would be beneficial!