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Anglos I Can't Afford


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I'm posting this on behalf of someone who doesn't want to sign up for only one post. I'll forward any replies to him.

Basically, the poster is asking "where can I find a cheap, playable Anglo?".

 

Originally posted on melodeon.net.

 

Roger

 

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So I have recently had a bit of a pipe dream about getting a nice cheap anglo 20 key concertina, inspired by looking at

diminutive melodeons I can't afford. I was envisaging something rugged and inexpensive for camping so I'm not risking

my pokerwork (my only box) and therefore my busking livelihood. Something I can carry freely, but doesn't leave me

out of puff like a harmonica does, something to help release my inner Snufkin. Despite the fact I'm fairly certain I can't

afford one in the near future, I did a little research, (in other words, I googled things,) and I'm left with a few questions.

1) I was shocked, astonished, startled and amazed to see 20 key new anglos on ebay for a mere £130 or so. I can't

seriously believe an instrument for that money is playable, but it did leave me wondering, is the difference between

decent and shoddy instruments more or less profound on concertina, compared to melodeon? Certainly the chap here,

, seems to know what he's doing, playing a £200 Scarlatti, but then

again if their melodeons are anything to go by, it seems like a foolish purchase. Is there perhaps a sturdy, basic equivalent

of the pokerwork in the concertina world?

2) I got a quick squeeze on an anglo my grandfather was repairing recently, and had a bit of fun, despite how broken it

was. The thing was however, it was only after the first twenty minutes or so that I found out I had been playing it upside

down, something I only realised when I discovered the air button. As a melodeon player, and an English one at that, playing

mainly in the lower octave, this upside down layout seemed to make more sense to me. The notes were where I wanted

them, under my right hand's fingers, and in an octave I understood. My question is then, are there any players who play

'upside down', potentially with a moved air button? Or would I simply have to swallow my pride and just relearn tunes in

the top octave?

3) Being a D/G pokerwork player I'm very used to moving onto D row in the lower octave to get the E not present on the

G row. When I tried this on the knackered anglo though, I discovered the G row (it was a G/C) to be tuned higher than the

C row, making the A sound understandably odd in context. This lead me to wonder why the G under the left hand on the

C row on pull isn't an A? It'd certainly make my job easier, converting from a pokerwork, although I'm sure there is an

obvious and rational explanation.

Edited by lachenal74693
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My answer to questions 2 and 3 would be 'concertinas and melodeons are entirely different instruments. They look a little bit similar and they've both got buttons and bellows, but they're really no more alike that guitar and banjo. Don't try to make one into the other; pick the one you want to play and learn it. If what you actually want is a tiny melodeon, then that's what you want, not a concertina.'

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1) The sturdy basic Anglo is the Rochelle. That is only available as a 30 button, and it is priced higher than the Scarlatti. I have a friend that bought a 30 button Scarlatti about 3 years ago, and he seemed happy with it, but I moved away 2 years ago, and haven't had a recent report on whether that is still true. I can't comment on the 20 button version. You might get lucky.

 

2) Why not just get used to using the left hand for part of the melody? The concertina is different than a melodeon anyway, so it needs to be played differently. Often the melody is best placed so that it crosses onto both sides, using both rows, so that most of the notes are available under the first two fingers of each hand. But if you want the melody in the lower register, then use more of the left hand. I frequently do that myself. Another option would be to find a baritone concertina (and octave lower) so that the right hand would be in lower register, (and left hand in a very low register) but that makes it impossible to find an inexpensive instrument. Turning the Anglo concertina upside down would make it even more unlike the melodeon anyway, since the direction of the notes on the right hand would be reversed vertically. And of course there is the issue of the air button placement. I don't know anyone who plays the Anglo upside down. I do know a left handed player who has chosen to play the melodeon upside down however, so the melody buttons are on the left side, and chords on the right.

 

3) That low G on the pull at the bottom of the C row is useful because it offers the dominant G chord on the lowest three buttons on the pull, while with those same three buttons you get a deep partial tonic C chord on the push. That offers a relatively easy way to provide most of the chords on an a tune in C. By comparison, the lowest button on the G row can be a D which is analogous to the G on the C row you asked about, but it can also be an A which may be the missing note you were looking for.

 

Really though - Wayman is right. If you want the instrument to be a small melodeon, then get that instead. It will likely be less expensive for a good quality instrument. If you want to play concertina, that is great! Get it and enjoy it! But it isn't the same instrument.

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My answer to questions 2 and 3 would be 'concertinas and melodeons are entirely different instruments. They look a little bit similar and they've both got buttons and bellows, but they're really no more alike that guitar and banjo. Don't try to make one into the other; pick the one you want to play and learn it. If what you actually want is a tiny melodeon, then that's what you want, not a concertina.'

 

 

1) The sturdy basic Anglo is the Rochelle. That is only available as a 30 button, and it is priced higher than the Scarlatti. I have a friend that bought a 30 button Scarlatti about 3 years ago, and he seemed happy with it, but I moved away 2 years ago, and haven't had a recent report on whether that is still true. I can't comment on the 20 button version. You might get lucky.

 

2) Why not just get used to using the left hand for part of the melody? The concertina is different than a melodeon anyway, so it needs to be played differently. Often the melody is best placed so that it crosses onto both sides, using both rows, so that most of the notes are available under the first two fingers of each hand. But if you want the melody in the lower register, then use more of the left hand. I frequently do that myself. Another option would be to find a baritone concertina (and octave lower) so that the right hand would be in lower register, (and left hand in a very low register) but that makes it impossible to find an inexpensive instrument. Turning the Anglo concertina upside down would make it even more unlike the melodeon anyway, since the direction of the notes on the right hand would be reversed vertically. And of course there is the issue of the air button placement. I don't know anyone who plays the Anglo upside down. I do know a left handed player who has chosen to play the melodeon upside down however, so the melody buttons are on the left side, and chords on the right.

 

3) That low G on the pull at the bottom of the C row is useful because it offers the dominant G chord on the lowest three buttons on the pull, while with those same three buttons you get a deep partial tonic C chord on the push. That offers a relatively easy way to provide most of the chords on an a tune in C. By comparison, the lowest button on the G row can be a D which is analogous to the G on the C row you asked about, but it can also be an A which may be the missing note you were looking for.

 

Really though - Wayman is right. If you want the instrument to be a small melodeon, then get that instead. It will likely be less expensive for a good quality instrument. If you want to play concertina, that is great! Get it and enjoy it! But it isn't the same instrument.

 

 

well answered. I can second these.

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But if you learn to play the melodeon along the row in the upper octave, you're going to end up with the same in/out relationships as the RH of an anglo? Granted any cross row relationships are going to be different, but I would have thought for any good melodeon player it would easy enough to learn? Switching between the two would certainly keep the brain young and supple :-)

 

Adrian

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