How To Do It "standing Up".

[PeterT]

In several threads, questions have been raised as to how players control their concertina whilst standing. On the Anglo, I keep my handstraps fairly slack and the instrument always on the move. I tend to be fairly mobile too; in Morris performances more so than is seen in these video clips.

 

Bledington - Young Collins on C/G Wheatstone:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KEKl8odYlUc

 

Abbots Bromley - Horn Dance Tune on B'/F Jeffries:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AgQ7fOmazGQ

 

Hope that these clips answer some questions.

 

Peter.

[Dirge]

Like the flourish at the end!

[Larry Stout]

It looks to me like you are mainly supporting the instrument with your left hand, which looks to be consistently lower than the right. Is your left wrist providing most of the stability so that the loseness of the hand straps doesn't matter so much?

[John Wild]

It looks to me like you are mainly supporting the instrument with your left hand, which looks to be consistently lower than the right. Is your left wrist providing most of the stability so that the loseness of the hand straps doesn't matter so much?

 

I am no expert. I am an experienced English player who then began playing the Hayden duet. For many years I found no way I could comfortably/competently play standing up. I am still no expert but eventually I found a way that could work within my level of competence. This involved having the left strap one notch tighter than the right, which enabled me to anchor the instrument on the left (which at my level of ability is less active than the right). The slightly looser right strap gave my right hand the greater flexibility needed for reaching the greater range of melody notes. I am not aware if this means the left hand is lower than the right, but it enables free movement of the instrument 'in the air' to shift the balance of weight as I play.

 

I can only recommend that you continue observing experienced players and pick up more tips as you go along.

 

Best wishes

 

John

Edited October 16, 2007 by John Wild

[PeterT]

Like the flourish at the end!

Me too! I do a lot of this when playing for the Morris.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[PeterT]

It looks to me like you are mainly supporting the instrument with your left hand, which looks to be consistently lower than the right. Is your left wrist providing most of the stability so that the loseness of the hand straps doesn't matter so much?

Hi Larry,

 

I think that appearances can be deceptive. When I stand, I try to replicate what I do when seated, which is to "anchor" the right end of the concertina, and work the bellows with the left hand. On this concertina, the right-hand strap has about 1.0 inch of slack, and the left hand about 0.75 inch. I also use the little fingers to brace my hands against the straps. So, generally, I'm playing with three fingers on each hand.

 

Tighter straps would make the instrument more secure on my hands, but would limit finger movement. My fingers are probably a little shorter than average. When I first started playing I had difficulty reaching the third row of keys when I used tight straps.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[Takayuki YAGI]

Hello,

 

Hope that these clips answer some questions.

These clips cleared my question . Thank you.

Around the St. Patrick's day, there are parades at several venues. I have tried to play while standing, but .. not so successful. (My wrists got tired so early and couldn't play in stable condition.)

 

I also use the little fingers to brace my hands against the straps.

After viewing those clip, I tried using little fingers as you showed. Yes! it works good for me. I will practice and make a try in next March .

 

Thanks,

Taka

[Robin Harrison]

Interesting..........................everybody seems to come up with something that works for them.

I use the pinky on my right hand (sitting or standing) so when I stand ( for Morris) I have the straps really quite tight.It does constrict movement of the hand somewhat but most Morris tunes are not of a great range so I find it no impediment.

However when I sit, I find looser straps essential to reach other notes.

So , I change the strap tension, and that works fine.

Robin

[PeterT]

Yes! it works good for me.

Glad to hear it, Taka!

[PeterT]

Interesting..........................everybody seems to come up with something that works for them.

I use the pinky on my right hand (sitting or standing) so when I stand ( for Morris) I have the straps really quite tight.It does constrict movement of the hand somewhat but most Morris tunes are not of a great range so I find it no impediment.

However when I sit, I find looser straps essential to reach other notes.

So , I change the strap tension, and that works fine.

Robin

 

Hi Robin,

 

I'm fussy about strap tension, too! If I only played whilst seated, I would have my straps even slacker (which I did for a while, but found them too slack to play whilst standing).

 

I've come up with the best compromise for my playing, and have a similar set-up on my instruments. I already have to mentally switch between Wheatstone (Lachenal) and Jeffries layouts on the Anglo. What with the slightly different button spacing and my Jeffries having the small buttons, the last thing I want is another variable when changing between instruments.

 

Regards,

Peter.