New Member And New Concertina Owner

[Jeff Stallard]

I just thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. I've been playing music for about six years now (violin, tin whistle, bodhran, tenor banjo, mandolin, and tenor guitar), and during the last month, I've gotten an itch to learn the concertina. I dismissed it at first, because I first saw the anglos, and the diatonic nature didn't appeal to me (why spend all that money and NOT have the ability to play anything). AHA, but then I discovered the English concertina, and I was pretty much sold. After several hours of research into brands, fingerings, and pretty much anything I could get my hands on, I ordered a 48-button Stagi last night.

 

Reading the history of the concertina, I saw that it was used to play classical music, but that kind of died away. Is that still the case? I play all kinds of stuff, but I'm really intrigued with the classical aspect of the concertina. Do you see many classical players these days?

 

Oh, and what do you call someone who plays a concertina? ConcertinIST?

[Chris Timson]

I dismissed it at first, because I first saw the anglos, and the diatonic nature didn't appeal to me (why spend all that money and NOT have the ability to play anything).

 

Ooooh! What you said! And that from a man who actually admits to having played (played!) the bodhran and banjo! But never mind, we anglo players are known for our tolerance of the odd and outre, and we can wait until you learn wisdom.

 

As to your questions. There are a lot of classical players associated with the International Concertina Association. Hie you away to their web site, and don't forget to check out their library of music arranged for English concertina.

 

Personally I call a person who plays the concertina very, very fortunate.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

Oh, and what do you call someone who plays a concertina?  ConcertinIST?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wanna see how many hits you get if you do a site Search on the word "concertinist"?

[Greg Jowaisas]

Oh, and what do you call someone who plays a concertina?

 

Crazy!!!

 

Wim Wakker and the Concertina Connection (See "links" on the home page of this forum) can get you started on discovering some classical concertina. Alan Atlas has a book with a number of classical pieces and discussions of technique.

 

Welcome to a wonderful instrument and a great forum.

 

Greg

[Jeff Stallard]

And that from a man who actually admits to having played (played!) the bodhran and banjo!

 

 

I see their reputations have preceeded me. For the record, it's the irish tenor banjo, a distant cousin of the bluegrass behemoth. Also, I'm one of the enlightened bodhrani who understands that less is more.

 

Thanks for the information everyone!

[Stephen Chambers]

Reading the history of the concertina, I saw that it was used to play classical music, but that kind of died away.  Is that still the case?  I play all kinds of stuff, but I'm really intrigued with the classical aspect of the concertina.  Do you see many classical players these days?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello Jeff,

 

The greatest classical composer/virtuoso of the concertina was Giulio Regondi (1822 - 1872), indeed he "put the instrument on the map", and I would recommend you to listen to the recordings of his music by my friend Douglas Rogers on :

 

The Great Regondi Vol 1, Performed by the Giulio Regondi Guild, Bridge Records Inc., New York, BCD 9039, 1993.

 

And :

 

The Great Regondi Vol 2, Performed by the Giulio Regondi Guild, Bridge Records Inc., New York, BCD 9055, 1994.

 

These CDs also include some of Regondi's masterly guitar works and also songs by him.

 

And that from a man who actually admits to having played (played!) the bodhran and banjo!

For the record, it's the irish tenor banjo, a distant cousin of the bluegrass behemoth.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think "our Mark" might have something to say about that ("sounds like fightin' talk"), 'fact in the immortal words of the great Tom Lehrer "I ain't seen a good lynchin' in years !"

 

Also, I'm one of the enlightened bodhrani who understands that less is more.

I must confess to playing it myself sometimes ("My name is Stephen, and I play the bodhran ... "), only I do it the old way, using my middle finger for a beater, which produces a mellower sound than a stick. Mind you, somebody did once tell me that it was best-played "with the bone of an Englishman" , so I'm only doing as I was told (but this one is still attached !).

[Mark Evans]

Welcome Jeff, fellow banjoist? (there is now medication for that)

 

Stephen, unfortunately Jeff is correct. The bluegrass banjo has developed into a behemoth (oh, I rather like that). A common ancestor is at fault...the Jazz tenor banjo from which the behemoth was scavenged during the 1930's when down on their luck Jazz musicians pawned these instruments.

 

A number of fellers like Earl Scruggs (actually quite an artist) got ahold of them at the right or wrong time (depending on one's point of view) and a plague was released on the face of the earth.

 

My dear Sunflower is a weapon and I don't trust her alone with Tina. They live across the room from one another and Sunflower rides to gigs in the (translation for UK) boot, while Tina rides in the passenger's seat secured by an adjustable strap.

 

Jeff, welcome to a lovely world. I think you will be suprised by all the different types of music played on our magical instrument and by the unique minds that have gathered around this site. A bodhran player? Kinda like a bluegrass ba....well you know .

Edited February 16, 2005 by Mark Evans

[Animaterra]

Welcome, Jeff! I'm a fairly recent anglo player myself, with English tendencies...

It's good to have you willing to be open about your other, er, vices. We're mostly pretty accepting here.

 

Me, I mostly sing and lead songs (thanks to CNetter Helen for naming that emoticon as the Singer!). I hope to get better at accompanying myself on the 'tina, but for now it's my other means of musical enjoyment.

 

I hope you find this place to be a friendly and informative cyber community!

[Jeff Stallard]

I do it the old way, using my middle finger for a beater, which produces a lower sound than a stick.

 

Yeah, I do that same thing, except I use the index finger. The sound is much better suited to small groups. If I need to add a little more energy, I use both the index and middle fingers. It gives a slightly louder sound, and adds a subtle double-hit sound, like two bodhran playing in sync.

[Jeff Stallard]

I think you will be suprised by all the different types of music played on our magical instrument

 

My mind is already swimming with ideas. Just this morning I was playing "La Bella Notte" and "Le Waltz de Junes Filles" on the mandolin and thought, "Wow, that would sound incredible on the conertina!!" There's so much I want to play on it, it's going to be frustrating taking the time to let my fingers memorize the keyboard (buttonboard?) layout.

[JimLucas]

...like two bodhran playing in sync.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oxymoron?

[JimLucas]

...the keyboard (buttonboard?)...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, we call them "buttons", but Wheatstone called them "keys", and we still use the term "keyboard". The name isn't solely about resembling piano "keys", as you should realize any time you unlock your door.

[Steven]

I think you will be suprised by all the different types of music played on our magical instrument

 

My mind is already swimming with ideas. Just this morning I was playing "La Bella Notte" and "Le Waltz de Junes Filles" on the mandolin and thought, "Wow, that would sound incredible on the conertina!!" There's so much I want to play on it, it's going to be frustrating taking the time to let my fingers memorize the keyboard (buttonboard?) layout.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"Le Valse de Junes Filles" (Waltz of the Little Girls) is a favorite of mine to play on my English concertina. For some reason, I find it much easier than on my flute or whistle, and I like the sound a lot.

 

There is a group of EC players here in the Philadelphia area who get together usually about once a month. We play all sorts of stuff, including Sousa marches, folk tunes from all over the place (we have a nice one from South Africa), a little bit of classical, "The Entertainer," whatever. Mostly things we can find with several parts, because we play in harmony. We often get about 6 people at our gatherings, so it's a nice little group. Those of you who were at the NESI last September saw several of the members playing in the concert (led by Rachel Hall), although I was not able to come. Many of us also play for English country dancing (when we're not actually dancing).

 

Steven

[Stephen Chambers]

Stephen, unfortunately Jeff is correct.  The bluegrass banjo has developed into a behemoth (oh, I rather like that).  A common ancestor is at fault...the Jazz tenor banjo from which the behemoth was scavenged during the 1930's when down on their luck Jazz musicians pawned these instruments...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

... and they got bought up by Irish musicians who renamed them "the Irish tenor banjo" !

 

A number of fellers like Earl Scruggs (actually quite an artist) got ahold of them at the right or wrong time (depending on one's point of view) and a plague was released on the face of the earth.

Well Earl got hold of one of the very few original Gibson 5-strings, and a rather upmarket Grenada version at that, but don't try and blame all those unfortunate donor tenors that got cut off at the neck, and "hot-rodded" to make bluegrass banjos over the years, they couldn't help what was done to them, poor things !

 

Just think how different things might have been if Earl had played an open-back Tubaphone with gut strings instead !

 

... I use the index finger ... If I need to add a little more energy, I use both the index and middle fingers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find that my hand feels better balanced if I use my middle finger, but I sometimes use both the index and middle fingers too.

 

A bodhran player?  Kinda like a bluegrass ba....well you know

Q: What's the definition of a banjo ?

 

A: A bodhran on a stick !

[Mark Evans]

Bodhran on a stick on steroids!

 

I was fortunate to own a Gibson top tension with original 5 string neck (1936). While not as accepted as the bluegrass motherload standard Granada, it was a beautiful banjo (if you like Art Deco) with a deep-throated tone. Graduate school and the arrogance of a young singer caused me to sell my 1921 Wheatstone Aeola (the Stone) and the Gibson. The foolishness of youth.

 

The Stone hurt my soul more over the years by it's absence, but the Gibson... Thought I got a good price at the time (didn't), but today the prices! Obscene. I'd be able to settle my growing lust for concertinas were I to have it in me mitts today.

 

Well, had Earl played the Tubaphone we'd live in a gentler bluegrass world. Today banjo players out number all other bluegrass instrumentalist 10-1. The focus seems to be just about volume. Walking into a jam and seeing 6 or 7 cats all bangin' the bejeezus out of these weapons is a daunting sight. I sometimes feel like Rip Van Winkle who after being asleep for 20 years wakes to find himself in Bluegrass Hell . Salva me!

Edited February 17, 2005 by Mark Evans

[Chris Timson]

I must confess to playing it myself sometimes ("My name is Stephen, and I play the bodhran ...  "), only I do it the old way, using my middle finger for a beater, which produces a mellower sound than a stick.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Remember showing me how to play the bodhran (with a stick) in the cafe area of C# House back in the mid-70's ?

 

The style you describe is much the same as the English style of playing the beer tray.

 

[Well, we call them "buttons", but Wheatstone called them "keys", and we still use the term "keyboard". 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If my memory serves me correctly, CW called them "studs" in the patent. In the early days of the Concertina FAQ I was taken to task for not using the word, but I explained that it seemed to me it might be open to misinterpretation in the States ...

 

Chris

[Mark Evans]

Question for Bodhrani (I rather like that too):

 

When did folks start using the tuneable heads? Back in the day, I don't recall ever running into a member of your clan sportin' such a technical beastie. Fair enough I was mostly in an "altered state" but was payin' attention...honest!

 

In these parts it seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

Edited February 17, 2005 by Mark Evans

[Stephen Chambers]

Q: What's the definition of a banjo ?

 

A: A bodhran on a stick ! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

By the way, that is not at all far-fetched when it comes to primitive banjos, indeed it is literally true in the case of a friend of mine, in London, who builds tackhead fretless banjos using a 12" bodhran for the pot, and several early banjo makers started off making tambourines.

 

Then again, in the 1920's several drum makers (Gretsch, Leedy, Ludwig, Slingerland) turned to building banjos.

 

I was fortunate to own a Gibson top tension with original 5 string neck (1936) . . . Thought I got a good price at the time (didn't), but today the prices!  Obscene.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So presumably that had an original flathead tone ring, as well as an original 5-string neck ? WOW !

 

Serious money indeed these days !

 

Question for Bodhrani (I rather like that too)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Though it may be technically correct in Irish, I find the term rather artificial (unless you speak fluent Irish) and have never heard it used in Ireland. As far as I can make out, the name "bodhran" is of relatively recent invention (less than 50 years old), and I prefer to use the original name "tambourine".

 

When did folks start using the tuneable heads?

On classical and military tambourines they go back 200 years. On bodhrans they go back to the 1970's when Ted Furey (father of Finbar & Eddie) made some rather crude ones, but they have become really popular only in the last 10 years.

 

Remember showing me how to play the bodhran (with a stick) in the cafe area of C# House back in the mid-70's ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gosh, that's an awful long time ago , was I wearing flares ? (Were you ?)

 

That must have been before I went to Gurteen, in South Sligo, and encountered the old "playing with the hand" style. I gave up playing with a stick then, and couldn't even use one now.

 

The style you describe is much the same as the English style of playing the beer tray.

In fact it is very much like the traditional English style of playing the tambourine, but a beer tray might suffice in an emergency.