Thumb strap for Anglos and Duets

[Jim Albea]

This weekend I experimented with adding a thumb strap to my duet box (Stagi Hayden). It worked out pretty well, and I'm definitely keeping it. It adds so much more control that I can now even play the thing up in the air. And that's no small feat with a heavy Stagi Hayden!

 

My motivation for trying this was that it seems that the thumb, a fairly strong and versatile appendage, was just hanging around not doing much other than hanging on for dear life to the side of the hand rest.

 

This link has several photos of the project:

 

thumb strap photo essay

 

[hjcjones]

If that works for you, great. After a lengthy discussion with Goran Rahm on Mudcat I decided to experiment with my anglo. My Dipper has long enough hand straps to enable me to extend them to create an improvised thumb loop.

 

The results didn't encourage me to try any more permanent modifications. It did make it very slightly easier to support the instrument while standing, but as I suspected it considerably restricted my hand movement and made it more difficult to play.

 

Goran's proposed modifications go much further, and include raising the hand rest, adding a wrist support and wider straps.

 

I find it curious that while EC players spend some time discussing the inadequacies of thumb straps, and Henrik Muller has built an EC with hand straps instead, some anglo and duet players are going the other way!

[Dirge]

MY 71 Maccan had thumbstraps when it arrived. The owner must have had tiny thumbs and they were a bit tired anyway, so an ordinary set was fitted and I never tried the thumbstrap setup. I keep wondering about sorting them out, precisely because I think it would allow me to play standing too. The excuse for not getting on with it is that I use my right thumb to play the low C sharp a lot. It doesn't sound important, but it is to me! In theory the same sort of thing would apply to the left hand but I only have one piece where this is necessary.

 

(Blinding inspiration as I type this: perhaps I'll fit the LH one only as an experiment!)

[PeterT]

MY 71 Maccan had thumbstraps when it arrived. The owner must have had tiny thumbs and they were a bit tired anyway, so an ordinary set was fitted and I never tried the thumbstrap setup. I keep wondering about sorting them out, precisely because I think it would allow me to play standing too. The excuse for not getting on with it is that I use my right thumb to play the low C sharp a lot. It doesn't sound important, but it is to me! In theory the same sort of thing would apply to the left hand but I only have one piece where this is necessary.

 

(Blinding inspiration as I type this: perhaps I'll fit the LH one only as an experiment!)

 

This should enable you to stand on one leg!

[Ross]

Just an observation, it seems as though the more inexperienced players are more inclined to want to re-engineer the handle assembly for better bellows control. The more experienced players are more likely to keep things a little loose for better finger movement. Part of this may be due to the instruments that we play. Playing the Hayden Elise that I have takes twice the effort that it takes to play the old 20B Lachenal that came in the mail today. I'd seriously consider adding thumb loops for the duet, just because of the weight and stiff bellows. Absolutely not needed on the Lachenal. (IMHO)

[Henrik Müller]

...

I find it curious that while EC players spend some time discussing the inadequacies of thumb straps, and Henrik Muller has built an EC with hand straps instead, some anglo and duet players are going the other way!

I am trying to find an emoticon for "giggling" but I'll have to do with this:

/Henrik

[ragtimer]

This weekend I experimented with adding a thumb strap to my duet box (Stagi Hayden). It worked out pretty well, and I'm definitely keeping it. It adds so much more control that I can now even play the thing up in the air. And that's no small feat with a heavy Stagi Hayden!

 

My motivation for trying this was that it seems that the thumb, a fairly strong and versatile appendage, was just hanging around not doing much other than hanging on for dear life to the side of the hand rest.

 

This link has several photos of the project:

 

thumb strap photo essay

 

Nice going, Jim! I long ago despaired of ever playing my Stagi Hayden standing up. Maybe thumb loops would do it.

 

Now, I don't find my thumb a useless appendage when playing, but instead it is used to tension up the strap for more control in some places. However, I did notice a coupel years ago that I always switched my bellows movement to pull/draw duirng a tricky fingering passage, so as to get more control (and I suppose, to get my hand farther away from the buttons -- re the thread about handrests usually being too low).

 

I suspect that thumb loops would be a great help to me, once (1) I got them in teh right place, and (2) got used to them. Funny how they seem to give Jim more freedom of movement, by actually taking away some freedom (freedom to move in direcitons you don't need or want).

 

Now to go look at the rest of the photos.

Thanks, Mike K.

Edited February 10, 2010 by ragtimer

[ragtimer]

Nice work in the photos, Jim. You're pretty handy with the leathre tools -- I guess when yoru Stagi straps break, you'll be able to make new ones yourself. Maybe I'll come to your for help when mine fail ...

 

I notice that you put your thumbs in all the way. Is that the standard practice on an ENglish, or do they normally insert only up the first joint? Not that it matters how an EC player does it, since the hand positions and button layout are totally different. In particular, Duet playeres need lots of lateral range, as do Angloists.

 

Anyway, great going, and yet naother step in the evolution of the Hayden!

--Mike K.

[Jim Albea]

This was actually the third attempt.

 

The first idea was to try to get a lever arm going in another direction besides the plane of the handle. "Extension" was what I thought I was after. So I rigged up an L-shaped piece of metal and attached it to the front of the handle. To the end of that metal arm I attached a thumb loop. The thing was a disaster as well as being ugly. Mobility was impaired and that long lever arm pulled down so hard on the thumb that it almost immediately caused some sort of ligament damage.

 

Back to the drawing board. I realized that the base of the thumb is the place to outfit a thumbstrap for anglos/duets. I got rid of the attractive metal L-shape and firmly attached the thumbstrap to the end of the handle. I did a stout job of it, piercing the leather with two screws in a row and then a third time on the loop back. Turns out my thumb is attached to my hand instead of being attached to some point in space straight back from the handle. This second attempt also inhibited movement but was merely painful instead of being injurious, so I counted it as good progress. To alleviate the pain and improve movement I started making the loop bigger and bigger. It finally got big enough to allow the thumb to move around freely (rendering the assembly pointless) but I noticed that the thumb really needed to be at an angle in just about every direction.

 

Luckily leather is flexible unless you make a special effort otherwise. For the final attempt I tried piercing the leather loop just once on each end. On the top end I tightened the screw down snug instead of tight. This allows the assembly to rotate to an ergonomic position. Also I reduced the loop size so that it fit snugly around the thumb, and trimmed the leather so that it fit the inside contour of where thumb meets hand. This worked wonderfully.

 

Since the thumbstraps now handle a lot of bellows control and instrument support, I have been able to loosen up the hand straps which allows greater mobility in general.

[Frank Edgley]

"Just an observation, it seems as though the more inexperienced players are more inclined to want to re-engineer the handle assembly for better bellows control. The more experienced players are more likely to keep things a little loose for better finger movement."

 

Exactly! It's the "training wheels" concept all over again. Once you know how to "ride the bicycle", you take off the training wheels, because (a) they are no longer needed, and ( they restict you in how well you can "ride it," once you have the knack. After 150 years of some very clever people making & playing anglos, you'd think if there were a better way, someone would be doing it.

[Henrik Müller]

Yes - a brilliant metaphor!

There is no free lunch - but once you have the knack, it's lunch all day long -

/Henrik

[Robin Harrison]

This is an always intersting and oft returning subject ! Here's my take.

I find standing up and sitting down are two entirely different playing situations that require different strap arrangements...............I'd go further and advise newer players not to expect to be able to stand and sit using the same strap tension.

The reasons for this have been thrashed out many times before but I would add that on my main anglo, I've bodged a downwards extension to the hand rail (opposite end to my thumb) that facilitates greater ease of movement for my little finger. This makes my hand even looser in the hand rail/strap setup.

I would concede that if your way of playing is tied to keeping your hand in a "home key" position, this may not be important.

I suspect the training wheel analogy is right on the money ie having more confidence to let your hand be less firmly anchored to the instrument.

Robin

[Jim Albea]

Yes it could be training wheels, or it could be clamping your foot to the bike pedal so that you have power on both the down and up strokes.

 

But it really is not worth debating, if you're the tinkering sort you can try it out for yourself for the price of a few minutes and a thin scrap of leather. My experience with it is that I have both more control and more mobility. It comes from having the thumb as a full team member. Of course, your mileage may vary.

 

The details in a neat row:

 

-Thin leather (for flexibility).

-Inch or so wide.

-Positioned flush with the front of the handle.

-Top screw snug (not tight).

-Strap snug around thumb.

-Inside contour trimmed away.

 

"New" type handles are ready to go. "Traditional" handles, with thumb rest, present some complications. The Stagi comes with a traditional style handle so I chose to put on a different handle rather than start punching holes in those places.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Jim Albea

[yankeeclipper]

I find it curious that while EC players spend some time discussing the inadequacies of thumb straps, and Henrik Muller has built an EC with hand straps instead, some anglo and duet players are going the other way!

 

Funny, that. My EC came from the Wheatstone shop with hand straps as well as thumb straps. I found the hand straps confining and not very useful, so I removed them. So much for "inadequacies."

 

The thumb straps work fine so long as they're kept loose enough to move the thumb position easily. The EC requires that the player be able to move his hand forward and backward in order to conveniently reach all the keys. Seems to me that both EC and Anglo players need freedom of hand movement as well as bellows control, and are really only dependent on the (hand and/or thumb) straps when opening the bellows.

[ragtimer]

 

After 150 years of some very clever people making & playing anglos, you'd think if there were a better way, someone would be doing it.

Valid point -- but the Hayden Duet concertina has been around for only about 35 years (working from memory here). And since each style of concertina has different requirements for hand motion, it's reasonable that the Hayden could still be undergoing evolution and development. We're still on the first or second generation of players.

Oops, make that 45 years above, but the idea is the same.

--Mike K.

Edited February 12, 2010 by ragtimer

[Henrik Müller]

Yes it could be training wheels, or it could be clamping your foot to the bike pedal so that you have power on both the down and up strokes.

 

But it really is not worth debating, if you're the tinkering sort you can try it our for yourself for the price of a few minutes and a thin scrap of leather. My experience with it is that I have both more control and more mobility. It comes from having the thumb as a full team member. Of course, your mileage may vary.

...

Now, giggling aside:

When I showed off my finished concertina in at the SSI 2006, I remember Chris Timson saying something like:

"Hmm - maybe thumb straps could be of use on an Anglo...".

 

Maybe it was because the instrument felt to him like an Anglo, with weird buttons and thumbstraps.

(Correct me if I am off track, Chris).

 

I should add that the thumbstraps (which went off, permanently, in 2008) weren't "normal".

They were narrow, about 10 mm (approx. half the width of normal ones). The reason was that

since I wasn't carrying the instrument in the thumbstraps (I always sit down), I might for

various, non-explainable reasons bend my thumb(s) - and that would feel unpleasant. But that's

all history.

 

"Of course, your mileage may vary"

Yes - it may be useful for a certain playing style, and irrelevant for another.

 

/Henrik