The workshop runs for seven days in Suffolk, during the course of which each participant makes their own one-row, ten-key melodeon to very high specifications under professional guidance from Emmanuel Pariselle, with the aid of Theo Gibb of The Box Place and Rees Wesson of Wesson Accordions.

During the workshop, participants will find out more about:

• the different components and materials

• the mechanical functions

• techniques for a professional level of craftsmanship

• tuning the instrument

Prerequisites are basic woodworking experience, manual dexterity and skills, but most importantly, to be a musician motivated by working knowledge of the instrument.

Emmanuel says: "The boxes we will make are a copy of the Monarch (one row melodeon from around 1900). I like to make it in walnut wood (dark) or pear tree (light) wood with a little line of marquetry along the bellows. I use Binci a mano professional reeds and Serafini or Marconi bellows, and I put inox metal buttons and metal corners as is traditional. You can also put an extra button: in D this would have a C/G# reed to play in G major and A major like on the new black melodeon of the photo with the Monarch. The options for tuning are very large, C, D, G, Bb, Eb or anything else you want. It's a group adventure, somebody can be bad at wood work and a very good reed tuner ...!"

'Take one Frenchman and many, many pieces of wood, five hundred screws ...'

A report on the 2007 Melodeons Makers course by Katie Howson

Eighteen months ago, I was teaching students at ‘Melodeons at Witney’ (Oxfordshire) how to play the traditional Suffolk style of folk music, on the one-row melodeon. Also teaching on the course was Emmanuel Pariselle, from Poitiers in south west France. Emmanuel had with him an impressive one-row melodeon he had built recently, and mentioned that he had run a week-long course in France where students had made their own similar instruments.

That spark of an idea resulted in the UK’s first ever melodeon-making course, which took place in Stowmarket in March 2007.

From amongst over fifty interested people, eight people eventually came along to the Museum of East Anglian Life on a sunny spring morning, full of hope and apprehension in equal measures. How could they turn a pile of wood and an enormous number of tiny screws, buttons, wiggly bits of metal and unidentifiable objects into a high quality instrument that they would be able to make music on in only six days?

Emmanuel had of course put in many hours previous to driving his Citroen van for ten hours across France and southeast England to meet his expectant students. Some of them had engineering or carpentry backgrounds, some had little experience in this sort of work, but they all shared a love of traditional music and an enthusiasm for the melodeon.

Emmanuel soon took command of the group and spurred them on to work intensively through out the first day, until they could see the structure of the boxes beginning to take shape. A relaxing meal and session ended the exhausting but satisfying start to the week. By the end of the second day, they had varnished the walnut or pear-wood frames and begun to work on the fingerboards (seven different pieces of wood!) and mechanical parts. A patient film crew from BBC Look East stayed for three hours, filming what would eventually become a two-minute slot on the early evening regional news. A bemused group of visitors wondered why our students seemed to be sanding the banisters up the front door (just the right diameter to act as a sanding block for the bass end, apparently!) Day three saw the bellows and buttons fixed in place, and levers being worked into submission. Meanwhile technician Theo Gibb was busy constructing ninety inox buttons, Colin Dipper (yes, the concertina-making maestro) was varnishing the distinctive wooden ‘stops’, and I dropped by to count screws (500, if you must know!) and take yet more photographs and deliver yet more biscuits. A short break was taken to watch a DVD recording of the television broadcast, then it was time to fix straps and corners and drill yet more holes – no wonder people were glad to collapse with a hearty meal and a glass of wine at the end of another long day.

Day four started with some difficult tasks – cutting and fixing the springs, and finding someone prepared to go out and buy some bright red nail varnish in the town – guess who! Plenty of visitors, plenty of dust, and plenty more hard work. BBC Radio Suffolk reporter Jon Wright spent an hour or so with us on day five – a distinctly quieter atmosphere today, as the realisation dawned that there were only two days to go! Stops were fixed to whatever-you-call-those-things-they-fix-to (you can see why I didn’t do the course!) and the some boxes looked finished … just lacking the reeds inside! This was a seriously pressurised day, and loyal supporters brought a buffet meal out to the students, so they could continue working through the evening. Just after 7.30, everyone was immensely cheered to hear the first tune played on one of the instruments by Colin Dipper, followed not long after by Rees Wesson. Everyone now sported a pair of glasses for close-up work and pleas for extra lighting were rapidly fulfilled!

Friday – the last day. Some managed to hear the Radio Suffolk broadcast at 8.45am, some were already hard at work by then. Three tuning stations were set up to get the reeds sounding sweet and coordinated, and the rooms resounded to wheezes and all manner of experimental sounds as the instruments gradually neared completion. Adjustments to the action were made, final sandings and varnishings were slotted in, and at lunchtime we cracked open a bottle of bubbly (French of course!) and looked forward to the last few hours of work and …er …clearing up! During the final evening session, people were able to down a welcome drop of beer and sit back and soak up the well-deserved compliments from visitors arriving for the following day’s Melodeons and More event at Mendlesham.

The whole experience was totally enthralling, even for me who didn’t make an instrument, and it was remarkable to see the progress of the melodeons as I dropped by every couple of hours. The participants worked so incredibly hard, but clearly enjoyed it enormously. Emmanuel kept up a very demanding schedule, but his huge sense of humour, and constant banter about the English-French relationship kept people going through the difficult bits (and everyone experienced some of those, I think!).

Why did we do it? Will we do it again? We did it because we felt that it was an unmissable opportunity to host a remarkable event in the UK, and that if a one-row workshop was to run in this country, Suffolk is where it should happen! We also felt it important to encourage the ever-growing local population of players to know more about how their instruments work, and to give them the opportunity to work alongside some of the best makers in Europe. And yes, we’ll certainly do it again. There is huge interest in the project, now that people have seen and heard the results and talked to the participants. Thank yous are due to Emmanuel of course, plus Colin and Theo, also to the Museum of East Anglian Life, and to the brave first participants!

Photo Gallery from 2007 Melodeon-Makers course

Packets of reeds waiting to be opened!	Amazing progress on day one.	Emmanuel showing the next step.	Day 2: using the drilling machine.	Preparing the fingerboards.	Teamwork.
"Oh no, I thought it was a mandolin-making course!" Keep going, Rees, it's only the second day!	Emmanuel poses for the TV cameras.	Letting the varnish dry in the evning sunlight.	Assembling the fingerboard.	Seeking refuge from the dust in the grounds of Abbots Hall.	Each box had a different marquetry inlay.
Day 3: all the holes drilled and corners being applied.	Emmanuel and Theo producing the buttons.	Dave adding the finishing touches to the varnishing.	Setting up the treble end.	Nearly ready for the buttons - hope Theo's got them ready!	Buttons finished, now it's on to the stops.
Day 4: bellows in place.	Treble end ready for the reeds ...	The reeds laid out ready to be fixed in place.	One reed block completed, three to go!	Adjusting the levers.	Day 5: checking all the bits fit together!
A touch of glamour on this one!	Seven components clamped together to make the bass end.	Day 6: Emmanuel helps Dave with tuning.	Rees demonstrates the product of all his hard work.	Celebrations on the final day.	Here's a few we made earlier ...

2008 Melodeon Makers Course

In October 2008 we completed the second Melodeon Makers course. Ten people each made their own one-row melodeon, to very high specifications, with beautifully crafted components. It took only seven days - and some late nights! This time, Emmanuel had sourced some beautiful cherrywood for the boxes, and they became nicknamed the Golden Boxes as the wood had a wonderful glow when fully varnished. Rees Wesson and Theo Gibb both came back as assistants, and were kept particularly busy at the end of the week, when their tuning skills became crucial!

 

 

More photographs from the 2008 course have been posted on the internet by various course members:

Anyone hoping to attend future such courses is advised to email info@eatmt.fsnet.co.uk to register your interest. You will be put on a waiting list and informed of future courses as and when we are able to run them. We intend to repeat the course as often as there is interest and the support to do so.

 Home      News      Diary of events      Community Projects      Research      Melodeons & More      Workshops, classes & schools      Resources      Shop       

Friends      Links      About EATMT      Profiles of traditional musicians      Traditional Music Day      Jig Dolls      Norfolk Playback project     Stepdancing