Unisonoric & Bisonoric Bandoneons
W.D.
Recently, I come across on Internet reading about bisonoric and
unisonoric bandoneons?
Which kind is more popular in United States or elsewhere?
Which kind is more expensive to make or to buy as an old instrument?
Thanks,
W.D.
allen watsky
bisonoric are more "popular" everywhere because the unisonoric is a French
variant of the bisonoric German type that migrated to South America, which
was then adopted in Argentina and was used for Tango. The unisonoric came
about as way for cafe musicians in France to easily play on the "Bandonion"
, they made it a C griff like layout. There are fewer of the unisonoric ones
about , but they are there. Its said that the bisonoric instrument is
somewhat like a basic 20 button Anglo/German concertina, but with "weirdly
illogical" placement of buttons that surround and extend the basic diatonic
20 button layout to enable chromatic motion and complex chords. The French
instrument is basically a C griff accordion with something like free bass in
the left hand.AW "W.D." <wj...@comcast.net>
wrote in message news:288cdd5c.04032...@posting.google.com...
Joel Mayes
> Its said that the bisonoric instrument is somewhat like a basic 20
> button Anglo/German concertina, but with "weirdly illogical" placement
> of buttons that surround and extend the basic diatonic
A Bandoneon player once told me that these extra notes where added by
request from Bandoneon players who said something along the lines of
"we need a C#, a high A " ect. but didn't specify *where* they wanted
them placed
--
| Joel Mayes | /~\ ASCII Ribbon campaign
| Accordionist | \_/ stop HTML mail and news
| Musician | / \
| Music Teacher |
Theodore Kloba
bisonoric kind. One is 44-button and one is 72-button. I've never seen
a unisonoric instrument in person, but have seen them on eBay
occasionally. Any cost difference between unisonoric/bisonoric
instruments is due to supply & demand rather than manufacture, with the
exception being some new instruments made with accordion reeds that will
not have the real bandonion sound.
I think the definitive reference on the history of the instrument is
Maria Dunkel's *Bandonion und Konzertina*. It explains how the various
keyboard layouts evolved (although it doesn't cover developments in the
US in the 20th century). I have a copy but my knowledge of German is
very rudimentary, so I mostly look at the photos and diagrams. A friend
of mine has been translating the Konzertina portions in his spare time.
There used to be a site called Pied Crow that had some of Dunkel's
history explained graphically. The site appears to be gone now.
I have found that the 72-button "Einheits" layout instruments are a lot
easier and less expensive to acquire than the 71-button "Rheinische/Rio
de la Plata" layout instruments, since the Tangueros insist on the
latter and their demand has driven up the price of quality instruments.
The 44-button model I have is ancient (ca. 1900) and is a subset of
either more "modern" system.
*I use the German spelling "Bandonion" (rather than Spanish "Bandoneon")
to refer to my instruments, since neither is in the preferred layout of
Argentine Tangueros, and since the music I play is tends more toward
German folk than Argentine Tango.
Theodore Kloba
> Its said that the bisonoric instrument is
> somewhat like a basic 20 button Anglo/German concertina, but with "weirdly
> illogical" placement of buttons that surround and extend the basic diatonic
> 20 button layout to enable chromatic motion and complex chords.
I would say that both the 20 button Anglo-German and the Bandonion are
extensions of the original *ten* button German layout. Whereas the main
rows of the anglo are a fifth apart (e.g. C & G) , the main rows on a
bandonion (and other German/American concertinas) are a second apart
(usually A & G).
Rather than "weirdly illogical," I would say that there is a logic so
complex that it is virtually indistinguishable from randomness.
Chris Ryall
In group:rec.music.makers.squeezebox, Thu, 25 Mar 2004
(42l)
>> Recently, I come across on Internet reading about bisonoric and
>> unisonoric bandoneons?
Sorry - I'm bemused. I didn't know 'bisonoric and unisonoric' as words,
whereas I have long been used to 'diatonic' - if not 'monotonic' :)) for
accordions.
Is this bandoneon-speak or a trans-Atlantic English variation? /chris
--
Chris Ryall (snip spamtram
Wirral-UK to email me)
Theodore Kloba
> Theodore Kloba wrote on "Unisonoric & Bisonoric Bandoneons"
> In group:rec.music.makers.squeezebox, Thu, 25 Mar 2004
> (42l)
>
>>> Recently, I come across on Internet reading about bisonoric and
>>> unisonoric bandoneons?
Actually no, that wasn't me. You skipped a level of quoting.
>
> Sorry - I'm bemused. I didn't know 'bisonoric and unisonoric' as words,
> whereas I have long been used to 'diatonic' - if not 'monotonic' :)) for
> accordions.
>
> Is this bandoneon-speak or a trans-Atlantic English variation? /chris
>
Some people (mistakenly) believe that "diatonic" means "having two
tones." The "dia-" prefix means "through" or "across" and "diatonic"
refers to the seven note scale (i.e. do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti).
Diatonic accordions do [for the most part] play in a diatonic scale when
playing along one row. Although the core ten buttons on Bandonions &
Konzertinas do fit within a diatonic scale in the key of A, the outlying
buttons are not so straightforward in arrangement, and further they are
capable of a full chromatic scale in both bellows directions over a
range (about 3 octaves on a bandonion's right hand.)
The terms "unisonoric" and "bisonoric" refer *only* to whether a
key/button on an instrument plays the same note for press and draw.
So we have:
melodeon - diatonic and bisonoric
konzertina - chromatic and bisonoric
garmoshka - diatonic and unisonoric
bayan - chromatic and unisonoric
BTW, I've never heard "monotonic" before in that sense. OTOH,
"monotonous" is a good description for certain playing styles.
Joe Kesselman (yclept Keshlam)
> Sorry - I'm bemused. I didn't know 'bisonoric and unisonoric' as words,
> whereas I have long been used to 'diatonic' - if not 'monotonic' :)) for
> accordions.
>
> Is this bandoneon-speak or a trans-Atlantic English variation? /chris
It's convention here on the newsgroup, at least. "Diatonic" has meanings
related to the notes of the scale available on the instrument, and hence
is misleading as a designation for an instrument which plays two notes
per key. After much debate (feel free to search the archives if you
really want to know more) we decided the simplest solution was to let
diatonic refer _only_ to the notes available, and use the terms
bisonoric/unisonoric to distinguish how many notes were available per key.
This convention really is clearer, once you get used to it. The only
downsides are that (a) we have to explain it to newcomers (I presume
it's in the FAQ document; if not, it should be), and (b) it leads to
jokes about some of us worshipping a golden calf (or at least an auric
bison).
--
Joe Kesselman, http://www.lovesong.com/people/keshlam/
{} ASCII Ribbon Campaign | "may'ron DaroQbe'chugh vaj bIrIQbej" --
/\ Stamp out HTML mail! | "Put down the squeezebox & nobody gets hurt."
David Haimson
David Haimson
"Joe Kesselman (yclept Keshlam)" <kes...@attglobal.net> wrote in message news:<406a1...@news1.prserv.net>...
Chris Ryall
>It's convention here on the newsgroup
t.u Only been lurking 4 years :))
Eric Root
Joe Kesselman (yclept Keshlam) wrote:
>
> This convention really is clearer, once you get used to it. The only
> downsides are that (a) we have to explain it to newcomers (I presume
> it's in the FAQ document; if not, it should be), and (b) it leads to
> jokes about some of us worshipping a golden calf (or at least an auric
> bison).
>
I propose a new word, "buffalonic" for the latter.
W.D.
> Joe Kesselman (yclept Keshlam) wrote:
>
>
> I propose a new word, "buffalonic" for the latter.
Is anyone familiar with chromatiphonic Konzertina - a bandoneon
produced in Berlin, Germany by Hugo Stark (1973-1965). This bandoneon
has 75 buttons on left and right side.
Enjoy it,
W.D.
Theodore Kloba
Frank Riswick
http://www.bandoneon-maker.com/collection.htm
then click on "unisonoric bandonions".
It isn't a "chromatiphonic Konzertina" but a chromatic Bandonion that
got the name "Chromatiphon", probably to distinguish it from other
chromatic designs, e.g. Zademack-Micklitz Bandonion, Praktikal
Bandonion or even the Symphonetta. All these are also on Harry's site.
The layout is (right keyboard):
bes d' fis' b' ...
a cis' f' bes' ...
gis c' e' a
g b dis' gis'
bes d g'
a cis' fis'
And so on, further to the right to a"' in 10 staggered rows.
The bass layout is similar, ranging from contra B to b'.
(source: Das Bandonion by Karl Oriwohl, own publication Berlin 1997)
Frank
W.D.
Sorry, The above was a mistake. It should be 55 keys on both sides.
Is anyone familiar with chromatiphonic Konzertina - a bandoneon
produced in Berlin, Germany by Hugo Stark (1973-1965). This bandoneon
has 55 buttons on left and right side.
Enjoy it,
W.D.
W.D.
Hello,
I got my Stark Bandoneon day before yesterday. It's in very nice
condition and the sound of it is very nice. It has 55 buttons in six
rows on both sides in unisoric set up. It has steel trapezoid tongues
placed on the long aluminum plates. It's M/M configuration and the
tuning is 440 hz. with 15 cents offset.
I just have to do minor detail work in some places where veneer cover
was damage a little over the years. Overall it's very nice bandoneon.
Tuning was done by some other expert in Europe. After a while, I might
sell it, if I get good price for it. It was found on the Polish side
of the boarder town about 173 km North East from Berlin.
That was a reason i was asking questions about it. Now, I know about
it first hand. It's original work of German bandoneon maker Hugo
Stark. I might be just one and only one owner of such an instument in
the United States.
Interested persons might contact me at wj...@snip.net with an honest
offer.
Enjoy it,
W.D.