wolfhound Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Hello all, Last year I was overcome by an overwhelming desire to learn to play a concertina which resulted in a several month online search for information. Just arrived today is my 30 Button Anglo by Stagi, tweaked by The Button Box (great folks ! great service!). I had it shipped to my office and the people around me are wondering what in the world I am killing. At any rate, I am determined to learn to play this and play it well. Having made that pronouncement, can anyone recommend a good book for teaching me the ins and outs of this instrument? I have a couple of books now, one is a MelBay publication which I find so-so. If there are any players around Hilliard, OH, I would like to hear from you. Thanking you, David N. VanMeter Hilliard, OH USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Caffrey Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 David, the book (+ CD) that really helped me take off was the Frank Edgley tutorial - this is focused on Irish tunes but even if Irish music isn't your goal this learning package will give you plenty of playable tunes to get your fingers used to the layout. But.... I started with a Stagi and remember that I couldn't play the G row because the hand rests were too close to the buttons - maybe the Button Box adjusted them for you - you really need to be able to play the G row to play Frank's style (which is easy to learn and adaptable to most Irish tunes) Good Luck! Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 ...can anyone recommend a good book for teaching me the ins and outs of this instrument? Thank you for the pun, whether or not you intended it. The first question we should always ask is, "What sort(s) of music do you intend to play on it?" If the answer is "song accompaniment", then the tutors for "Irish" style will be of limited use, though there's a far better selection for playing Irish style than for other styles. For other styles, Bertram Levy's book is the best I know of. The Button Box should be able to help with any of the above. Also for more-than-"Irish" is the tutor by Concertina.net member Alan Day. For more information on that, contact him directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Hi. Last year I was overcome by an overwhelming desire to learn to play a concertina I know the feeling, which is why I started sqeezing about a month ago... I had it shipped to my office and the people around me are wondering what in the world I am killing. So do my neighbours can anyone recommend a good book for teaching me the ins and outs of this instrument? I'm following the Bertram Levy tutorial at the moment, and can recommend it. For more info as to tutorials look here: Learning to play the Anglo Concertina Apart from the Bertram Levy's tutorial, Alan Day has been so kind as to send me his tutorial. I haven't started on it yet, though. I also ordered Frank Edgleys tutorial as well as the MadForTrad CD-ROM Tutorial, as these have been recommended. "The Irish Concertina: A Tutor for the Anglo Concertina in the Irish Style" by Mick Bramich contains a number of tunes, but my impression is that it is not much of a tutor. I hope this helps.... Charlotte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 "The Irish Concertina: A Tutor for the Anglo Concertina in the Irish Style" by Mick Bramich contains a number of tunes, but my impression is that it is not much of a tutor. I would say that the usefulness of the Brambich book will depend alot on what you are looking for. It places alot of emphasis on scales, essentially showing you one or more ways to play the common keys on the concertina. It also has decent coverage of chords. What the Brambich book will not do is teach you how to ornament a tune. What I would really recommend is the Nial Valley Mad for Trad Cd Rom. With all due respects to Frank Edgley's Wonderful tutor (Frank does cover ornaments), at least for me, nothing replaces being able to actually see the ornament performed. -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klaus guhl Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 A good tutor too is John Williams DVD "Learning the Irish". I started with Bertram Levy, followed by John Williams, now it´s Niall and then it will be Dan Worrall´s Kimber book, but that´s not a tutor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Day Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 If you are interested in playing Irish music do not even consider my tutor.It is an introduction to English style playing only. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfhound Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 ...can anyone recommend a good book for teaching me the ins and outs of this instrument? Thank you for the pun, whether or not you intended it. The first question we should always ask is, "What sort(s) of music do you intend to play on it?" If the answer is "song accompaniment", then the tutors for "Irish" style will be of limited use, though there's a far better selection for playing Irish style than for other styles. For other styles, Bertram Levy's book is the best I know of. The Button Box should be able to help with any of the above. Also for more-than-"Irish" is the tutor by Concertina.net member Alan Day. For more information on that, contact him directly. I have a preference for Scottish/Irish but my real goal is to figure out a way to play the blues. A man can dream. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 If you are interested in playing Irish music do not even consider my tutor.It is an introduction to English style playing only. If you're interested only in playing the "melody-only" "Irish" style on the anglo, Alan's tutor won't teach it to you. On the other hand, even if that is all you want to learn, his tutor still isn't likely to harm either you or your ability to play. And if you want to play Irish tunes, but aren't prejudiced against playing chords along with the melody (why should only guitars and bouzoukis be allowed to do that?), then you might greatly enjoy his tutor. And of course, if Irish tunes aren't your only desire, then definitely check out his tutor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I have a preference for Scottish/Irish but my real goal is to figure out a way to play the blues. A man can dream. Not an impossible dream; buy the Anglo International CD and listen to the really cool version of "St. James Infirmary." Jim "an aging South Side Chicago boy" besser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Stallard Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 (edited) Hilliard eh? Well shoot, that's only about 20 minutes from me (Gahanna). First Greg stopped by when he came through town, then you...Columbus is swiftly becoming a concertina MECCA!! Unfortunately, I can't really help you since I don't play the anglo at all. If you're interested in getting involved with a beginner session, one just started up toward Delaware. There are five of us so far. If you just want to get together and talk shop, let me know. I can try to convert you to English. Edited February 2, 2006 by Jeff Stallard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 And if you want to play Irish tunes, but aren't prejudiced against playing chords along with the melody (why should only guitars and bouzoukis be allowed to do that?), then you might greatly enjoy his tutor. There is no reason in the world that the Concertina should not be used to provide some chords, but keep in mind that the chords should accent the melody, not dominate it. There are already too many guitar and bouzouki players who don't seem to understand that (whats worse some don't even understand that if more than one is playing, they should all be consistent in their rhytem even if they can't manage to all play the same chords). In general, the concertina players who do play chords tend to use the chords fairly sparingly, maybe a couple chords per 8 bars. If you try to chord every part of a tune with the concertina, I doubt you will be welcome in many Irish Sessions. -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 And if you want to play Irish tunes, but aren't prejudiced against playing chords along with the melody (why should only guitars and bouzoukis be allowed to do that?), then you might greatly enjoy his tutor. ... If you try to chord every part of a tune with the concertina, I doubt you will be welcome in many Irish Sessions. Hey, I said music. I didn't say anything about sessions. I often play Irish music just by myself, or -- like last night -- with a few friends. Not to say that there's anything wrong with sessions, just that they're not the entirety of the musical universe. (Come to think of it, how many commercial recordings of Irish music are of "sessions"?) I thought I would let wolfhound decide when, where, and how to play, since I was already implying the possibility of bucking the Irish concertina "mainstream". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Day Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Jim you often talk of Paul Davis who lived at Worthing ,he was a master at the art of chording Irish Music.It is a shame he was never recorded. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Coles Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I have not heard of your town. Is it anywhere near Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania? Ken (who is near Pittsburgh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I have not heard of your town. Is it anywhere near Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania? Not really. Hilliard, OH is slightly NW of Columbus. By the way, if you're not familiar with MapQuest, you should be. It's a very useful resource. In fact, for the fun of it, I just used it to locate my address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 And if you want to play Irish tunes, but aren't prejudiced against playing chords along with the melody (why should only guitars and bouzoukis be allowed to do that?), then you might greatly enjoy his tutor. ... If you try to chord every part of a tune with the concertina, I doubt you will be welcome in many Irish Sessions. Hey, I said music. I didn't say anything about sessions. I often play Irish music just by myself, or -- like last night -- with a few friends. Not to say that there's anything wrong with sessions, just that they're not the entirety of the musical universe. (Come to think of it, how many commercial recordings of Irish music are of "sessions"?) I thought I would let wolfhound decide when, where, and how to play, since I was already implying the possibility of bucking the Irish concertina "mainstream". Well in some respect playing with a few friends is a session . That being said, I am still suspicious of playing too many chords on the concertina in Irish Music. The Chords could well end up dominating the melody. The basic problem, at least as far as I can see is that it is not very easy (or possible even) to play the melody note louder than the chord notes . If the melody isn't clear, you might be playing an Irish tune, but I am not sure what you are doing would be Irish Music . -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfhound Posted February 3, 2006 Author Share Posted February 3, 2006 And if you want to play Irish tunes, but aren't prejudiced against playing chords along with the melody (why should only guitars and bouzoukis be allowed to do that?), then you might greatly enjoy his tutor. ... If you try to chord every part of a tune with the concertina, I doubt you will be welcome in many Irish Sessions. Hey, I said music. I didn't say anything about sessions. I often play Irish music just by myself, or -- like last night -- with a few friends. Not to say that there's anything wrong with sessions, just that they're not the entirety of the musical universe. (Come to think of it, how many commercial recordings of Irish music are of "sessions"?) I thought I would let wolfhound decide when, where, and how to play, since I was already implying the possibility of bucking the Irish concertina "mainstream". Well in some respect playing with a few friends is a session . That being said, I am still suspicious of playing too many chords on the concertina in Irish Music. The Chords could well end up dominating the melody. The basic problem, at least as far as I can see is that it is not very easy (or possible even) to play the melody note louder than the chord notes . If the melody isn't clear, you might be playing an Irish tune, but I am not sure what you are doing would be Irish Music . -- Bill From the green newbie.... Just to put my skills into perspective I just spent an hour practicing and can now play scales in C and G and part of a simple song. This is fun. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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