Jump to content

My Name Is Rhomylly, And I've Got An Addiction...


Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

 

I thought it would be neat if folks here had a chance to tell stories about how, when, and why they decided to take up the concertina.

 

I guess I should start :)

 

I grew up in Berea, KY in the 1970's with a father on the music faculty. For those of you who don't know, Berea is a *hotbed* of English and Appalachian folk activity and tradition. Watching the Morris dancers (years before I was allowed to *be* one, but that's anohter story), there was always at least one concertina and one accordion around. I spent my high school and college years a huge fan of John Roberts and Tony Barrand, and always loved John's playing. I also spent my college summers at various Pinewoods dance weeks, again, lots of concertinas.

 

Concertinas were all around me while I was growing up.

 

Around me, that is, except at home. My dad being the band director and my mother with her own degree in music ed meant my parents could play anything -- except free reeds: concertinas, accordions, etc. I'm sure Freud would have a field day with my taking up the one instrument my parents DON'T play, lol, and there may be some forthought to that, yes. In spite of (or because of) this musical background, I never learned how to play any instrument, or learn how to sight-read.

 

I tried to learn concertina about 10 years ago and gave it up in my pursuit of a more stable (employed) life. Wish I hadn't given up.

 

Today, I am an addict! I hope that when new ph.d spouse gets a professor job somewhere, that there's a Morris team nearby! In the meantime, I'll work on Irish tunes and English and Irish folk song accompaniment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:rolleyes: :D :) Rhomylly,

What a great idea for a forum topic. I seem to play instruments that I hear and fall in love with. That was certainly true of the hammered dulcimer and mandolin and now the concertina. What I love about the concertina is that it is certainly more portable than my hammered dulcimer and I don't have to tune 96 strings to play it.

 

I heard one at the Clarion Folk festival last year and had to get one. I didn't know that Rachel Hall was playing an English. I got an anglo, quite frankly, because a 20 button was reasonably priced. (In case I was hopeless at playing it.)

 

I like Irish, Appalachian (sp?), folk music. This year at the Clarion Folk festival I got into Klezmer music and find I like it.

 

I'd like to go to a concertina type festival or at least one that featured concertinas. Maybe next year. For now, I really like Concertina.net and all of the info and fun of reading the forums.

 

Rhomylly, what type concertina do you play? I seem to remember you from an ad on the Buy and Sell page. Was that you? I look forward to hearing other peoples' stories. I'm sure most people have played a lot longer than I have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I play an anglo. Let me rephrase that. I have played an anglo for less than 3 weeks.

 

Like you, I liked the price.

 

I've found myself drooling over two-row button accordions lately, too...must be that free-reed addiction thingy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've found myself drooling over two-row button accordions lately, too...must be that free-reed addiction thingy.

Yep. You're on the slippery slope to financial ruin now :o

 

I started playing free reeds because I had to give up playing the tuba due to dental problems. First off, I bought a cheap piano-accordion on a whim, which I still play. But the call of mysterious hexagonal boxes was too strong, so I went for a Hohner (Stagi) 30-button Anglo. That was a great instrument for learning on, but got abandoned when I finally got round to selling one of my tubas, and invested in a C/G Norman anglo.

 

I now know I'm obsessed as I find myself thinking about whether it would be a good idea to get an English and a MacCann too. There is no escape. :ph34r:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I love about the concertina is that it is certainly more portable than my hammered dulcimer and I don't have to tune 96 strings to play it.

 

96 reeds on a standard 48-button English, but if you're smart you have someone else tune them, and no more than once every 5 years (more like 50, unless you play professionally). :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I love about the concertina is that it is certainly more portable than my hammered dulcimer and I don't have to tune 96 strings to play it.

 

96 reeds on a standard 48-button English, but if you're smart you have someone else tune them, and no more than once every 5 years (more like 50, unless you play professionally). :)

:D Ah yes, Jim,

 

But I'm playing an ango - so not so many reeds. And I have no intention of tuning them myself. At least, not in the forseeable future.

 

I have tried playing a 40 button anglo, but my hands are too small and I didn't enjoy it. I've gotten a cheap 30 button used concertina that is meeting my needs until I save the rest of the money for an Edgley. (I started with a 20 button anglo.) I don't know where all these concertinas came from. Last year I had none and now.........

 

And hey, Rhomylly, 3 weeks counts!

:o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello, everyone. I started playing to offset the empty-nest syndrome when our son went off to college. (My wife took up TaeKwondo for the same reason.) I also wanted a challenge that would get me to think in different ways, to use both hands simultaneously doing different things, and to create music while exercising physically and mentally.

 

During a trip to Europe as part of an entourage led by a popular World History teacher at our local high school, I had been intrigued by accordions on a couple of occasions, in Innsbruck and Lucerne, and thought that might be the instrument for me. It always seemed too large, however, and one day in January of 1999 I had the brainstorm of trying something called the concertina.

 

I found out a little about it on the Web, and ordered my first concertina, a 30-button Stagi Anglo, from the Button Box by phone. (Concertinas aren't very available here in Central Texas.) I also ordered Bertram Levy's book and John Williams's video to get me started.

 

And at this point , I got incredibly lucky, in a way that I hadn't anticipated. When the 'tina arrived, the notes were located in the same places as on the harmonicas I had played briefly about thirty years ago! This dramatically reduced the learning curve, and I took this as a sign that I had chosen the right instrument.

 

I now have a 40-button Wheatstone, and my wife (on djembe) and I play in a small neighborhood group with a guitarist and flautist. We play not only Irish music, but also Austrian, German, and other European music. I wish I had started long ago!

 

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And at this point , I got incredibly lucky, in a way that I hadn't anticipated.  When the 'tina arrived, the notes were located in the same places as on the harmonicas I had played briefly about thirty years ago!

Greg

 

I had exactly the same experience! As a child I played the harmonica as well.

At about 35 I joined a group of friends playing all kind of folk music. At that time I played fidle and tin whistle, but then I saw this "red marbled" Hohner concertina in a shop and I did not hesitate to buy it. It turned out to be a 20 button G/C Anglo and I remember the resemblance with playing harmonica very well. The first years even my breathing was directly "coupled" to the bellows movement.

After a few years the folk group activities stopped and I played only for my own pleasure every now and then. For this way of playing the concertina turned out to be much more satisfying than my fidle or whistle. This way of making music went on till I was 56 and in the meantime my Hohner began to fall apart and my wish to replace this one for a much better grew slowly.

Last year when I was on a holiday in Ireland, I finally found (I did not search very active!) a music shop in Ennis with about 8 different types of anglo's and I was allowed to try them all. What a difference with my old Hohner!!

So now I am more than a year very happy with my 30 button Marcus G/C and I feel the wish for a second one growing.

By the way: I heard from a local Irish player that my style of playing (harmonica style on one row only) was completely wrong. This came to me as a shock, but now, after 20 years playing in G on the G row I can manage to play in G on almost anything but the G row. This is really a challenge and give much more possibilities for bellows management and speed of playing. This makes this instrument much more intriguing than it already was.

 

have fun with your tina's

 

Henk van Aalten

Edited by Henk van Aalten
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't remember when I first learned what a concertina was. Probably some time in high school. Then when I was in college, I formed a band that included an English concertina player (actually, it was Rachel Hall) in its initial lineup. For a long time after that, I mused every now and then about getting a concertina. I loved the sound, but I couldn't convince myself to lay out the money for something that I wasn't sure I would use, or be able to play well. I took up the mountain dulcimer instead (also inspired by an erstwhile bandmate) - I knew I could get around on that because I played the guitar, and they're relatively cheap.

 

Then about 3 years ago, I stumbled across a used Bastari 30-key Anglo in a local music shop, for an irresistibly low price. I bought it on the spot and got completely hooked in just a few days. It's just so much fun! Like some others who have posted here, I found that my experience with the harmonica, which I've played on and off since I was about 10, gave me a head start on the Anglo. (Not only that, but playing the Anglo has helped to revive my interest in the harmonica.)

 

So, my thanks to whoever sold that under-used Bastari that was collecting dust in their closet - it was just what I needed to get going.

 

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was the lovely, lilting East Clare style of Mary MacNamara that drove me over the brink. Bob Tedrow very graciously put me in touch with someone looking to sell a 30 button "Tedrow Turbo Stagi" and I was on my way. Being a piper, it's a real treat to have an instrument that's so compact, maintenance free and impervious to changes in weather!

 

Regards,

Dick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the first really good folk song albums I ever acquired ( at age 14 I think) was "English Street Songs" by A.L. Lloyd, accompanied by Alf Edwards on English concertina. As I bought more LPs by Lloyd and Ewan MacColl, I got to hear a lot more of Edwards' great playing and thus acquired the bug.

 

After many years on the quest for an instrument, I managed to find a Lachenal student model, c. 1911. It had been retuned, almost, and had patched bellows, but it worked and served me well for a dozen years. I moved fromthat to a Bastari treble and then to a Trinity College English. Then two years ago, I found the Lachenal I am now playing and enjoying immensely -- Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...