squeezora

Hello Everybody, My mother Vicki is a painter and she is in the process of painting a series of Concertina art. She has completed 10 different paintings in the series. Right now we are offering cards and prints, but posters will be added shortly. We live near Limoges and intend to have them make mugs, cups and pitchers for us as well. I will take some samples of the cards and prints to the Bielefield concertina event in Germany, where I've been invited this next weekend. Any ideas or suggestions will be very much appreciated, Juliette http://www.juliettedaum.com/index.html

m3838 wrote > Would it be too much to ask you to record some of the music before excercises? Squeezora> I plan to do that at some time in the future. Right now, though, I'm working hard on a getting a full concert ready and so I don't have much extra time. m3838 I looked through some of the scores and found them to be quite typical, employing lots of playing in thirds, lots of music goes up high, where, to my opinion, Concertina doesn't sound too convincing. Very little in terms of counter-melody, and harmonizing is done very simply. Squeezora Some of it's quite nice, but remember that it is written in the style of the way the concertina technique was at the time (1880's). That is why I like to play a lot of classical guitar and Renaissance/Baroque lute scores, because the scores are already arranged in a way that works out well for me on the English concertina. I think some of your aversion to the high notes on the concertina might be the quality of the reeds of the concertinas you are familiar with. I like the tone of Aeola reeds, even up high. But I too, prefer the lower ranges, which I also prefer with most other instruments. I'm always on the lookout for new music, that suites my abilities, and would appreciate a glance on how it really sounds. Me too, that's one of the many reasons why I like to listen to other instruments like guitar. Juliette

I'm happy to report that I just put up another 21 pages of music from the "CONCERTINA BOOK" on my website at <http://www.juliettedaum.com/ > I'm getting close to the tutor part of the book and will be making videos of some of the special exercises. Juliette

I like to name things, so I name my hats and lot of other possessions. I call my treble Wheatstone that I have had from just about the beginning of my playing “Ophelia” because it is another tragic character in a Shakespeare play. My tenor treble is called Maxmilian a derivative of the name of the Scottish man who bought it originally and passed it on to his nephew who in turn sold it to me. My Bass/Baritone is called Neptune as it has a voice like I imagine Neptune to have and because I am from the Planet Neptune. Although, it is known by a different name to Neptunian’s. My busking tenor treble is called Louise because it has the same birthday as an old, long since departed, woman, Louise Juliette Bath, that I knew only from all her old papers strewn about on the floor an old abandoned mill. Since she was evidently forgotten, I decided to remember her with the music from this old instrument. These are explanations, but they are not rationalizations, as I think, anyone who tries to rationalize anything at all, in this crazy world of ours, is still crazier yet. Only fools try to make sense of their actions, I am, what I am, a mad “concertinistaneena.” Juliette

Hellon everyone, I just posted another 10 pages of the Concertina Book. Now we're up to page 70. I've been redoing my website and adding more artwork and photos of concertinas. Please have a look at: http://www.juliettedaum.com/index.html I will be regularly posting new drawings and paintings. I'm working with a company in Limoges to produce porcelain mugs, etc., decorated with concertina artwork. regards to all, Juliette

Hi, I just posted another 10 pages of the Concertina Book, including "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN", at my website: < http://www.juliettedaum.com/index.html > I'll try to get another 10 or 20 pages up shortly. Juliette

Hi, The entire collection seems to be in the major keys except for some of the short pieces in the Tutor portion of the book. The book is a compilation of pieces and exercises and scales. It includes instruction on playing ornaments, playing staccato, etc.. For a person who reads music, or who is willing to put in the effort to learn to read music, it could be considered a very good tutorial and collection, complete in itself. It is a little strange, that it seems to be put together backwards, but then, it was a single person who had this bound for themselves and so they did it the way they wanted, without regard to the idea of it making sense to anyone else. I also mentioned a forthcoming tutorial that I will publish based in part on this collection. However the tutorial will include diagrams and photos as well as a greater variety of music including modern pieces and songs. So this might have been a little confusing in my original post. So I now intend to publish my own tutorial on my website, also free of charge. This is not because I am independent financially, don’t I wish, but because there was very little available for me when I started myself and I think I will ultimately benefit from encouraging as many people as possible to learn to play. The sun is out here in France and the old Templar Church is warming up and so I'm planning to record some more videos of my playing soon. I will include close ups of my hands, then you will see what I'm doing. The idea will be to offer videos of how to learn to play the English concertina. By the way, here is a little quote from the book. “ The 1st _ 2nd _ 3rd _ and 4th _ (or little) fingers being kept over the their respective rows of finger stops” I think people should play however it makes sense to them, but I play, more or less, according to the above rule. But, never-the-less, I don’t think anyone should advise others that there is but one path to playing well, there appear to be many. Just thought I’d throw this into the pot for stirring………. My father any I have developed a new kind of concertina tablature that works with the English concertina quite well. It allows players, who don’t read standard music notation, to pick out pieces with chords, etc. within minutes. Seems to work pretty well and is easy to print. I will offer some of this tablature as soon as we are sure of all the details as to the best way to proceed with it. I have lots of other new things going on with the concertina that I’m itching to tell about soon. I hope to put up another set of pages if this book in the next few days, Thanks for your support, Juliette

Today, March 12, I have added another 10 pages of the book which you can find and download for free at my website http://www.juliettedaum.com/index.html Juliette

Hi All, I've just added another 10 pages of music from the "CONCERTINA" book and I hope to have some move ready soon. Thanks for your encouragement and the kind remarks. I will record the excercises and post those in the near future, probably as Youtube videos so you can see how they can be played. I have several other old books, two from 1843, one from 1850, and one from 1854 that I will copy and put up on my website after I finish this book. I'm working on my own idea of an English Concertina Tutor which will be available on my website for free and will be followed up with Youtube examples. My regards to everyone, Juliette

Hello again, I've just uploaded 10 more pages and added the names of the songs next to the link to their page. Have a nice day, Juliette

Hello Seanc, On the main page of my site I put up a picture of the book and there is a link next to it. If you have visited my website before your memory might still have the old index page in it. Click reload and the updated page should come up. Thanks and Enjoy! Juliette

Thanks to the kindness of Alan Day for sharing this book with me, I have been able to scan and place on the internet, a wonderful collection of music for concertina along with excercises and other helps to learning and performing on the concertina. This book really shows the very high level of playing during the later part of the 19th century. I would have loved to have found such pieces available at the time I got serious about learning the concertina 8 years ago. My father searched but couldn't find anything like this. You can see and download the first 20 pages of music at my website and I will try to put about 20 additional pages up every day or so. There is no charge for any of the downloads. Please let me know here what you think of this book after you have a look and offer any suggestions you might think of. You will find the book at < www.juliettedaum.com > or click on < http://www.juliettedaum.com/index.html > My site is in both the French and English languages. Again we have Alan Day to thank for his foresight to save this collection for posterity. Enjoy, Juliette

Hi Neil, Here are some videos that show me playing an English concertina with thumb and wrist straps. They are red leather, so it should be pretty easy to pick them out. I have two other concertinas that had wrist straps and I took them off and I have one that never had wrist straps. I like them on the large Wheatstone Bass/Baritone, but don't use them on the treble or the two Tenor/Trebles that I play. The Bass/Baritone is kind of big and heavy, so it does give me a little security while playing, but I probably could manage alright without. I don't think it's a big issue whether you use them or not, it's more a matter of preference. So don't worry too much about this in the beginning, Juliette see me at: < www.juliettedaum.com > L'ENFANT DEMON <a href=" target="_blank"> Cancion de cuna <a href=" target="_blank"> Fandanguillo <a href=" target="_blank">

gibet_b' date='Jan 8 2008, I think that the concertina is a good choice for many types of music, not just "traditional" or "classical". It's good, when you have learnt the basics, and made further progress, to push the boundaries. It's my plan. I hope I will be able to "push the boundaries". I think it's perfectly possible : i heard somebody try to play "La valse d'Amélie" by Yann Tiersen (from the "Amélie Poulain" soundtrack) and it was very interesting... It's possible but if i will be able to match the challenge. For the moment, I seek for a repertoire of songs that i will be able to learn. I found for celtic music on this website (my favourites songs are here : Carrickfergus, Brian Boru's March, Morrison's jig ; only some of them miss : foggy dew, the town i love so well, and 2 or 3 songs. But I don't know french traditionnal music as well as celtic music, and i don't know where i can find a compilation of the most well known french traditionnal, especially auvergne's songs. I'm curious to learn this type of music, but i don't know it very well. http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showuser=6410 Member Group: Members Posts: 14 Joined: 28-December 07 Member No.: 6410 I'm in the "Puy-De-Dôme" county (like Juliette Daume, but if i'm no wrong, on the opposite point on a map), more precisely in an area called "Les Combrailles", and more again precisely in a village called Saint-Maurice Près Pionsat. I know that english people love Auvergne ! My wife is teacher in the village's school and 25% of the children are english !!! To be honnest, the only problem : it's now very difficult to buy a no so expansive house... Or we had to make it build, but it's not the same. But you are wecome ! Come in France, come in Auvergne ! For me, I'm proud to be an auvergnat, and i always happy to talk about it ! And to prove it and finish, some photos (on the 2nd : my sister, me and my wife) : Hi 'gibet_b' Actually I live just 70 kilometres from you and I'm planning to move just 2k from Pontaumur which is about 30k from you. Pontaumur is famous for it's beautiful Bach Organ which attracts people from all over the world to hear and to play it. I plan to open a music school there to teach the concertina and some related music forms. It is a perfect area to have a concertina festival with the lakes, and mountains and beautiful scenery. I will have a very wonderful setting close to hotels, restaurants, camping, etc.. This is only ½ hour from Clermont-Ferrand and so it is easy to access by plane or train. There is no more beautiful area in all of France and the people in the area are very friendly, generous, helpful and hospitable. They are very welcoming to my ideas. Only people who don't know the area ever have something negative to say about it. But, then, it may be a mistake to say too much nice about it here, better that it remains a special secret! I am also considering offering free lessons in concertina playing on the internet and I'll make some announcements about that idea on the Cnet shortly. I have this to say about various kinds of music for the concertina. There is lots of traditional music available here and in time you will connect up with plenty of that. You can only learn so much at a time though and so you shouldn't worry too much about that. People can write me in French or Spanish as well as in English, so don't hesitate to write me. Juliette www.juliettedaum.com

Hi Mark, I did mention in my original post on this thread that the sound wasn't the same as on my CD's. But I see that I didn't make it very clear that these were recorded, my CD's, with ribbon microphones and preamplifiers that were carefully placed to reduce the echo's of the recording chamber. So the sound won't be the same as in the videos and I think you will be able to hear the notes more clearly on the CD's. I was hoping that if people would like my playing on the videos, that they would go to my website at < www.juliettedaum.com > and there they could hear excerpts and better still, that they would order a CD from me. My music is my sole source of income and every CD that I sell really does put bread the table in my house. And it does make it possible for me to work harder and harder on my music to see where it will go. I am working very hard on a concert program that I will make available for booking by next spring. I love to play for people and I get a lot of energy from an audience, alive or via the internet. The sound effects on my recordings are all as natural as I can get them to be on a recording. There is no "reverb" as that is "an electronically produced echo effect in recorded music". It's interesting that in old times we used words describing natural phenomena to describe unnatural produced effects and now we have gone to using words describing unnatural effects to describe natural phenomena. Of course, I'm not offended by this, just pointing out a little twist in times! So thanks for the positive comments, it really is appreciated and they make me feel very happy, Juliette Hopefully I will figure out a way to get better sound on the videos in the near future.