The Schrammel Accordion (Die Schrammelharmonika)

A Schrammel accordion (German: Schrammelharmonika) is an accordion with a melody (right hand) keyboard in the chromatic B-Griff system and a twelve-button diatonic bass keyboard. It is named for a traditional combination of two Violins, Accordion and Contrabass known as Schrammelquartett, the music being performed was called Schrammel music, in the Vienna chamber music tradition. A button accordion An accordion is a musical instrument of the handheld bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as squeezeboxes. ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine states (Land Wien). ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ...

In most cases, it has two or three sets of reeds tuned in unison configuration. The sound is quite different or special, when compared to modern chromatic button accordions. This is because it is much smaller and lighter than modern CBAs. The handmade reeds used may also contribute to its sound.

History

The first written notice about the existence of such instruments are from the 1854 Industrial Exhibition in Munich. The Vienna accordion builder Matthäus Bauer was mentioned as one who showed instruments with piano keyboards, and one with a "3 row machine and accidentals", mentioned in combination with the piano accordion. It seems likely that it was unisonoric and chromatic. Matthäus Bauer then held a Vienna privilegium (Patent, 1851). Advertisments in newspapers of the time show pictures off various accordions, that were mostly diatonic, but also piano and 3-row B-Griff configurations. 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... For the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, see Munich (film). ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine states (Land Wien). ... 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Alfred Mirek mentions the Instrument as precursor of the Bayan in his book. The first Bayan was built in the Year of 1870. Bayan is an accordion-like Russian musical instrument. ...

By 1890 the Vienna "Harmonika" builders produced a very large range of instrument types. In 1900 there were 72 accordion builders in Vienna. They also sold copies of English concertinas, German concertinas and bandoneons. 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1900 (MCM) is a common year starting on Monday. ... English concertina made by Wheatstone around 1920 A concertina, like the various accordions, is a member of the free-reed family of instruments. ... The bandone n is a free-reed instrument instrument particularly popular in Argentina. ...

Some documented names of Vienna accordion Builders that were building instrument over two generations are: Reisinger, Edmund Hochholzer, Josef Trimmel, Pospisil, Bauer, Pick, Adolf Regelstein, Franz Kuritka, Josef Barton, Budowitz; many more were not documented.

Some Instruments at that time had up to 46 chromatic bass buttons, some had an early version had a with mechanics similar to the modern Stradella Bass or only 36 buttons with unison single notes. But the usual Schrammelharmonika had only 12 bisonoric bass buttons. This was not a limitation, because a versatile musician war could combine two or more buttons at the same time and so ontain a great variety of chords including seventhand diminished. A chord is a geometric figure. ... A seventh chord is a chord or triad which has a note the seventh above the tonic in it. ...

Bass keyboard layout

The idea of arranging the buttons in B-Grff order goes back to a musician named Franz Walter. The oldest known and still usable such instrument dates from 1874. The first instruments had less buttons on the treble side 46, 49, and later 53 Buttons on three rows. 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

After 1954 few such instruments ware produced in Vienna. 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

More about History on the German Wikipedia site:

• PianoAccordion
• de:Harmonika
• Harmonium

Today

Most instruments still surviving date from the 1920s and 1930s. Only one maker is still alive, named Mr. Mazourek - he and his son are still working. Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ...

Origin of the name

In Vienna, since 1870, the musician and violin players Geiger Johann and Josef Schrammel performed in the Georg Dänzers Quartet together with Anton Strohmayer on the Contra gitarre. Dänzer was famous in Vienna as virtuoso on the G-Clarinet, they played Ländlers, Polkas and "alten Tanz". In 1890 Georg Dänzer died, and his place was taken by Anton Ernst, a cousin of Johann Schrammel's wife. He was the first "Schrammel"-Harmonika player. He wrote some very good music and he also wrote a Tutorial for the instrument. In a very short time the combination of two Violins, Harmonika, Contrabass ware known as Schrammelquartett, the music being performed was called Schrammel music, up to now in Vienna chamber music tradition. Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine states (Land Wien). ... A bass clarinet, which sounds an octave lower than the more common Bâ™­ soprano clarinet. ... The ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century. ... Polka is a type of dance and genre of dance music; it originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia, and is still a common genre of Czech folk music; it is also common both in Europe and in the Americas. ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

External links

• schrammelharmonika.nonfoodfactory.org