I recorded La Cumparsita

[Frank Fusari]

I put together an amalgam of different arrangements, as well as my using my own ideas, and came up with this. Not the easiest arrangement to play! If anyone wants the sheet music, the ilnk is in the description.

 

[wirralaccordion]

Very enjoyable arrangement Frank and well played.

What's the tuning on your accordion?

I'm still working on your Blue Danube arrangement on my Brandoni. I love the tied notes in the first theme. Really makes a difference!

 

[Dingo40]

Very nice, Frank!
Nice sound.
Good job!

 

[mgavrilov]

Very pleasant performance, Frank!

 

[JIM D.]

Your rendition is excellent - Don't change it !!

 

[Frank Fusari]

Thanks so much everybody!
Wirral, I not sure what you mean by 'tuning'? Obviously it's A440...does it sound out of tune?
Frank

 

[JIM D.]

The tuning on your box should A442 which is the norm for this box. Some recordings can be deceptive.

 

[debra]

Very nice new arrangement of La Cumparsita! And very well performed. One detail sounds odd to me: at 0:31 and 1:41 the upper note you play is C and my memory tells me it is usually played as C#.
As for tuning, it's odd that Jim D says that A442 is the norm for this box. Around here (in Europe) A440 was always standard for Hohner. I play in a group with mostly Hohner accordions (all different models) and all of them are 440. I have had a Polyphonic 400, Atlantic IV N, Verdi VN, and still have an Artiste XS, and all were factory tuned to 440Hz.

 

[wirralaccordion]

Thanks so much everybody!
Wirral, I not sure what you mean by 'tuning'? Obviously it's A440...does it sound out of tune?
Frank

I was enquiring about the cents difference between the two 8ft reeds that are utilised when you use the fourth registration from the top. Or is it one 8ft plus one 16ft and therefore "straight" tuning as on your Blue Danube sheet music?

I am assuming that the other registration you use ( second from the bottom ) is clarinet, a single 8ft reed.

Either way your registrations are spot on. Cheers.

 

[Frank Fusari]

Oh I see what you meant Wirral. On this one, I used the bandoneon register, which is the the low and middle reed, and the bassoon register which is just the low. The bandoneon is straight tuning. This is not my usual accordion though; in all my but my last 3 videos I am playing my Bellini, which is at the shop right now. I always use straight tuning in everything, I never use any of the 'out of tune on purpose' registers.

 

[wirralaccordion]

Oh I see what you meant Wirral. On this one, I used the bandoneon register, which is the the low and middle reed, and the bassoon register which is just the low. The bandoneon is straight tuning. This is not my usual accordion though; in all my but my last 3 videos I am playing my Bellini, which is at the shop right now. I always use straight tuning in everything, I never use any of the 'out of tune on purpose' registers.

Yes, I noticed the Bellini on your other recordings.

I couldn't work out whether you sit or stand whilst playing. Your accordions are both 120 bass and therefore heavy. What position do you take?

You said I never use any of the 'out of tune on purpose' registers.

So you only use 3 out of 11 registers!

 

[Frank Fusari]

haha that's almost true. Everything is some combination of the 3 in tune sets of reeds. Harmonium which is all 3 reeds is like my master switch. On my Bellini it's like this:

piccolo : H
clarinet: M
bassoon: L

flute: MH
bandoneon: LM
organ:    LH
harmonium: LMH

but if you think about it, the single reeds are the same register really, just octaves apart. Also true for flute and bandoneon..

I sit on a chair or a kind of a bar stool, but I have the accordion strapped on super tight. I always have to punch extra holes in straps. That way it doesn't matter about the chair, or if I'm standing, that accordion is fixed and not moving.

 

[wirralaccordion]

I get it. So the Bellini is what would be described as a LMH accordion ( 7 registers ) and the Hohner a LMMH accordion ( 11 registers ). You have 4 registers with a tremolo which you say you don't use.

It would be interesting to hear something with the MM register. That would be the answer to my original question. If you were to play any cafe music for example that would be the registration to choose.

There is lots of sheet music on www.arrigotomasi.com for straight tuned accordions which is accessible for a very modest one-off subscription.

 

[debra]

...
piccolo : H
clarinet: M
bassoon: L
...
but if you think about it, the single reeds are the same register really, just octaves apart. Also true for flute and bandoneon..
...

That statement is really false. While H, M and L are using the same reeds and reed plates, just octaves apart, they sit on different size reed blocks, and as a result the (internal) resonance chambers are of different size resulting in a different sound. Furthermore the sound exits the accordion in a different position, influenced more or less by obstructions that again change the sound. So even on an accordion without cassotto the C5 (in the middle of the keyboard) in the M register will have a different sound than the L register one octave higher or the H register one octave lower. The same holds for combined registers: MH does not sound the same as LM played one octave higher.
On cassotto instruments the differences in sound are a lot greater, and because of differences in position inside the cassotto notes on one reed block will sound quite different from notes on the other reed block (with both reed blocks in cassotto). On most PAs the reed block for white keys sits deeper inside the cassotto than the reed block for black keys, and you can clearly hear that the sound of the white keys is more mellow than that of the black keys (perhaps with an exception for a note that was moved to the reed block for black keys to save space).

 

[Frank Fusari]

Hey Wirral, my Bellini is LMMH just like the Honhner. Here in Newfoundland Canada, accordion music is very big (think jigs and reels) and that musette sound is part of the sound of the traditional music here, so I do use that sound for gigs sometimes, it can also help cut through other loud instruments, like drums...
Also I'm a huge fan of Arrigotomasi, he has some of the best (and playable) jazz arrangements, and a beautiful sound. I payed the 50 bucks to get about 50 of his arrangements. What a deal!!
cheers!

 

[wirralaccordion]

Hey Wirral,  my Bellini is LMMH just like the Honhner. Here in Newfoundland Canada, accordion music is very big (think jigs and reels) and that musette sound is part of the sound of the traditional music here, so I do use that sound for gigs sometimes, it can also help cut through other loud instruments, like drums...
Also I'm a huge fan of Arrigotomasi, he has some of the best (and playable) jazz arrangements, and a beautiful sound. I payed the 50 bucks to get about 50 of his arrangements. What a deal!!
cheers!

You said

Also I'm a huge fan of Arrigotomasi, he has some of the best (and playable) jazz arrangements, and a beautiful sound. I payed the 50 bucks to get about 50 of his arrangements. What a deal!!

Me too although my definition of playable might differ to yours!

I logged on yesterday and there's quite a lot more than 50 now!

I also paid for the jazz improvisation course but am happy to play just the basic tunes without all the improvisations which are way over my head!

 

[nagant27]

Frank,
I really like your version on this tango. Your playing is very clean and sounds nice. You did a great job with this classic!