The sheet music on ConcertinaMusic.com is saved in monochrome (8-bit) GIF (graphics interchange format) files. The images are all 640 pixels wide by various lengths. This format was chosen many years ago in an effort to help accommodate most all visitors' browser and system capabilities. It also allows for efficient file storage on our web servers.

The GIF files produce reasonably good quality printed output that is adequate for its purpose. The user can print the music from within their web browser, or choose to save the file to their computer system and print it from some other graphics viewing program.

For best results, we DO NOT recommend printing the music from within the user's web browser! Depending upon the operating system and web browser that is being used, the sheet music will most likely fill only 80 percent or less of an 8.50 inch by 11.00 inch sheet of paper. In order to print sheet music that fills an entire page, the user should save the file to their system and print with some other graphics viewer. The user should also look for printing options within their software which may allow them to modify the output size to fill the entire sheet of paper.

The Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems include a built-in graphics viewer called Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. If this application is used to print the music, the user should make certain that they select the option to print the image as a 'Full page fax print' as shown in the image of the dialog box below.

The Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems include a built-in graphics viewer called Windows Photo Gallery. If this application is used to print the music, the user should make certain that they deselect the option to 'Fit picture to frame' as shown in the image of the dialog box below.

The Mac OS X operating system includes a built-in graphics viewer called Preview. If this application is used to print the music, the user should make certain that they select the option to 'Scale To Fit' 'Print Entire Image' as shown in the image of the dialog box below.

For consistent printing results ConcertinaMusic.com recommends the use of a stand-alone graphics viewing application such as IrfanView. IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer made for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista. If this application is used to print the music, the user should make certain that they select to use a 'Custom Aspect Ratio' with a height of 10.00 inches as shown in the image of the dialog box below.

04/2009 - Back to Top

Question

I'm in a tango group and while researching ways to amplify a bandoneon, came across your post dated 12/2008 in which you mention using (among other microphones) a Shure SM11 lavalier mic. Just to clarify, would you recommend buying two SM11 mics and placing one on each end of the bandoneon, or just one SM11 placed (somehow) in front / in the middle of the instrument?

Answer

Chemnitzer concertinas are commonly amplified using a microphone that is mounted internally. Yep, INSIDE the concertina.

External microphones tend to pick up a lot of extra, undesirable and unintended noise. This is especially true when the instrument is being played as part of a larger ensemble.

Mounting location and methods are important. Too close to the button mechanism and you pick up mechanical noise; too close to the bass end and it drowns-out the melody.

Chemnitzer technicians have played with dual / stereo microphone placement in the past, but most musicians and sound engineers (mixers) will agree that the use of two microphones has no particular benefit outside of being a novelty. A single high-quality microphone, properly placed, will provide very good results.

The microphone is usually suspended within the bellows using rubber bands or other elastic connections. You may want to experiment, but I have found that mounting the microphone within the left-intermediate bellows frame and facing towards the right-hand side provides a good combination of bass and melody.

Obviously, the microphone wiring must be carefully configured to avoid air leaks. Typically, a short microphone cable is terminated with an RCA plug. The sound board (the board to which the reed blocks are mounted) then has an RCA connector mounted on both sides (one facing inside the bellows, the other facing towards the palm of your hand). Then a XLR or 1/4 inch connector is mounted in the end cap with a plug that connects to the RCA connector on the sound board.

The results are surprisingly good. Being located inside the instrument actually provides a very clean and clear representation of the true sound of the reeds.

04/2009 - Back to Top