Womble

Yes, that helps, thanks. I've been sent a link to a video where a guy uses braces as shoulder straps and that looks very interesting too.

Cheers for that. I'm not a royalist either, but I am very glad that we have been given an extra day holiday from work. Personally, I plan to spend the extra day out on my motorbike, enjoying what will hopefully be empty roads whilst others are having garden parties.

I bought a second-hand Kindle DX on eBay (UK) purely for the purpose of storing sheet music instead of lugging around files. Whilst it does display the PDFs well (except in low light), I sometimes find it quite difficult to find a tune on there. I need to come up with a better method of storing/indexing them. A single PDF index might help, but even so, searching takes a while.

How is that attached to the concertina, please? I'm finding that playing the English whilst standing is absolutely killing my hands. I thought about using a camera strap and somehow attaching it to the thumb loops. I don't want to start screwing things into the box itself.

Ah ha! http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9873

Thanks Chris, there's some interesting stuff on your site, very helpful

Well, last night I finally took the plunge and took the ends off. I know to some of you, this is everyday stuff, but to me it was a little nerve-wracking, as I wasn't entirely sure what was in there. Anyway, there is a maker's name inside - "R.J. Ward and Sons, Musical Instrument Makers, Liverpool" and the number 568 is stamped on both sides of the action board. It's in good condition and looks to have had some recent refurbishment. All of the pads and valves appear to be in good order, but one of the reeds, the low F# has a mark on it, as though the end has been bent, which would probably explain the strange warbling sound it makes. Having done a brief Google search, I'm not really much the wiser. I'll keep looking!

The first time I went to a session, I was very nervous and I ended up not playing a single note. I knew none of the tunes (having learned classical violin rather than folk fiddle) and felt very self-conscious. At the end of the session, one of the organisers came over to talk to me and I explained that folk music was pretty new to me, and he immediately suggested that I go on the Internet to download some free sheet music. He gave me a few titles to look at and said he looked forward to seeing me again. The following week, having downloaded and learned O'Carolan's Concerto, we played it together. I was terrified, but he was very supportive and it encouraged me to continue. Now, if I'd taken music along and someone had told me to put it away, I would probably have left the session and never come back. Having been brought up with 'thou shalt play by the dots, thou shalt play only what the dots say, thou shalt not deviate or improvise', I found it extremely difficult to learn 'by ear' and I was always full of admiration for anyone who could do that, because I really struggled. It's funny really, because one of my friends can't read music at all, and thinks that people who can are 'amazing'. It took me about two years to be able to go to a session without the dots, and just pick it up as I go along. It does get easier with practice. However, I always remember how I started, and would never admonish anyone for using the dots. People learn in different ways, and I'd rather they played by the dots than didn't play at all. With regard to the suggestion about the Kindle - I bought a Kindle DX (the one with the larger screen) and put some music on there in PDF format. It works a treat and is far easier to carry around than a binder full of paper. I'm not sure about its beer-proof-ness though

Hi everyone, thanks for letting me in. My name's Karen and I've just acquired an English concertina from eBay and have already been torturing it. I've played fiddle for 27 years, but I borrowed a concertina from a friend last year and rather liked it, so I decided it was about time I got one of my own. I've absolutely no idea who the manufacturer of my box is, but the fretwork is identical to the one in the picture Theo posted here in 2004. It's not the same instrument though, because the grain on the wood is different, the black buttons have retained most of their colour, and the buttons on mine have red bushes. There's no label on it and I've not plucked up the courage to take an end off yet. I'd rather do that under supervision. One of the reeds buzzes slightly and sounds a bit like a party blower, but other than that and a couple of 'breathy' notes, it seems fine. Anyway, I'll keep practicing and try not to annoy the neighbours too much. Cheers.