WOW! Thanks Bob!

I don't have the books you mention, would you know if they could be on the web somewhere? or would someone I could meet up with may have a copy I could browse?

This 'Pietro Diero - 1920' stuff appears all over the web (probably copied from each other!), but with no primary (or even any other level reference) source link for this claim.... Bob, I might have to 'borrow' some more of your extremely useful research for the Accordion Permathread... :-)


"What chord is in the 7th row?)."
It could be the extra (Minor 3rd) Counter-bass Row?

Chord buttons of this period may still have the third (III) of the Dim & Dom chords - I don't know when this change came in, or how long it took - thus there may be another chord row... In a book of approx 1920's vintage, I saw a mention of the 'new system' of leaving out the III of these chords mentioned.


I have a McCann... :-) It is a 'logical redistribution of the tones of the standard English Concertina, designed to place lower octaves entirely on the left hand, and upper octaves entirely on the right hand, in place of the original distribution system, which places alternate pitches on left and right sides. It seems intended to more reflect the tonal layout of a piano keyboard, allowing fingering in a manner that more reflect a piano - it is one of the Duet styles of concertina layout.'

In the recent TV doco series which has recoloured the film footage of WWI, there was a fleeting shot of a man in an army uniform playing an accordion. The footage was repeated in two places in the same episode, with different datings - one before the war, and one during it or just after it. It had a piano keyboard, but I was interested that it did not seem to have a 'normal' left side. The series was repeated, and I looked more carefully (my recorder not working) and saw what seemed to be a 'button box' left side layout with about 2 rows of 4 large buttons - it MAY have been an 8 bass 'stradella' layout, difficult to tell, and the 'original sound' was not there of course.

Robin