The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #150840 Message #3516754
Posted By: Harmonium Hero
19-May-13 - 11:38 AM
Thread Name: The tyranny of D and G at sessions
Subject: RE: The tyranny of D and G at sessions
I take Brian's point that the chromatic box is a different instrument. I know box players who can play both systems, although admittedly not many. However, the C#/D/G box is a combination of both systems, and is a good way of easing your way into the other system.
Actually, I read somewhere that Irish players used the D/G box up until the 1950s, and then switched to the B/C, and in more recent years, many have moved to D/D#, or C#/D etc. And it's not entirely the melodeonistas who are to blame. Flute and Whistle players don't like playing in A either, although flute players could, if they wanted to. Some do. The whistle is a bit more problematical, but it's a small instrument, and even the expensive ones are not in the same price range as squeeze boxes, fiddles, banjos and such. You could always get a couple of whistles in different keys, just as the moothie players do. Of course, there is the option of learning to play a chromatic instrument as well as your flute/whistle/pipes/melodeon, so that you can join in with whatever is going on.
John Kelly.