Understanding bass side naming conventions.....

[billyboy]

Hi !
I am a beginning button accordian player (though long time irish anglo concertina player).

In looking at the Castagnari web site at the left hand layouts, i see some things i don't understand.

i see different symbols and letters used, like just a '+' or '-' with no letter. I also see an 'N/N', or 'L'. Does anyone know how to decipher?

Also, are the left side buttons paired where on one button is a chord and the button next to it is the bass? (like shown on the layouts on melodeon.net).

Any help is much appeciated.

Thanks,
Bill.

 

[dak]

You did not specify what you were looking at, and I am not going to look through everything to make better guesses. Things like c and c- in diatonic instrument bass layouts mean a C major chord and a C minor chord, contrasted with uppercase C that means a single bass note.

 

[billyboy]

Sorry - here are some screen shots. I assumed the'+' and '-' next t a letter meant major or minor but an not sure when there is no letter.

 

[dak]

Well, + and - pretty surely means Major and Minor, corresponding to the bass button next to the chord button. L, I and N I have no idea about, but I don't know the respective diatonic layouts. Anything in the FAQ for the respective instruments, maybe?

 

[tcabot]

If I was to take a guess, N means neutral. i.e. root+fifth. Quite common on diatonics where you can't afford the space & bulk for a major & minor chord.

 

[JeffJetton]

The N could just be "nota"--italian for "note"--meaning the fundamental bass note that goes with the chord next to it?

But it would probably be worth posting this same question over on http://forum.melodeon.net/

 

[billyboy]

Hi - i asked the kind folks at Castagnari and they quickly replied with:
-------------------------------
+ or - references the notes that you see immediately on the left of these buttons. On the left there are the bass notes, while on their right (+ or -) are the chords referencing them. + means major chord and - means minor chord, in the same notes as the basses

N/N or M/M means Medium / Medium. It's a system with 2 Medium reeds. While the L means Lower reed. If you see an H, that means that in the system, an High reed is included.
--------------------------------

 

[tcabot]

That doesn't sound right
Because you are asking about bass layout, not number of voices. so LMMH comment seems out of place.

My money is on neutral chord.

The fancy models have a switch that can turn thirds off an on. I'd like one of those.

 

[billyboy]

hmmmm, could be. maybe they were referring to a specific model or thought i was referring to a specific model. as a beginner, with only my Saltarelle for reference, i am trying to understand all about the bass systems.