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A New Anglo Tutor from Bertram Levy


Bruce McCaskey

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I'm quite pleased to report that Bertram Levy has written a new tutor for the Anglo concertina. This one is targeted at the intermediate level player and its intent is to advance the player considerably by guiding them though a series of progressive exercises. Along the way one will learn a nice sampling of music and perhaps find an interest in developing a repertoire broader than they were previous playing. I've had a pre-publication look and I'm quite excited about it.

 

The tutor is titled "American Fiddle Styles for the Anglo Concertina" and I've written about it in more detail and posted that here. It should be available this summer.

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Good news. I started concertina playing Irish music in G and D on a C/G Anglo and didn't find his method very helpful but when I got stuck into harmonic style in C it was very useful and I look forwrd to the new book.

Has he done any CDs recently? I know he went off on the Bandoneon.

 

edited to say I've been on your web site Bruce which has some very interesting material Thanks smile.gif

Cheers

Mike

Edited by michael sam wild
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Bruce,

 

Bertram gave us a preview of his new methods at Palestine last year. It is amazingly different in approach than his last tutor, and shows many effects of his time studying the more classical bandonion (here we're talking "studying" as in a conservatory, which is how he has been learning bandonion in Argentina). As you mention, it is all about phrasing...he likes flowing phrases, so learning to play the instrument either all on the pull or all on the push is a necessary start to the technique. Once one can do both (as near as your instrument allows in each key), then the idea is that you can go effortlessly back and forth between fluid or bouncy, as called for by the occasion. It is very inventive, and as a method has a lot to commend it.

 

It does not have the emphasis on ornamentation of most revival Irish methods, nor a particular emphasis on chords like English styles, although neither is alien to what Bertram is doing. In manner of phrasing it is most similar, perhaps, to the way that some of the more modern South African Boers play...lots of uni-directional phrasing that indicates a refined, thorough mastery of the instrument. Here I'm thinking about players like Neels Mattheus or Nico van Rensburg, whose playing is so fluid as to begin to sound--at times--like a piano accordion, rather than the bounce of the more traditional Boer two row players. I think it is the degree of refinement in phrasing...the ability to carefully choose how a phrase will sound...that is what Bertram is after in this new effort. Great stuff. Being fairly different, it will take some effort to promote, and I hope he accompanies it with a concert tour.

 

Dan

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Has he done any CDs recently? I know he went off on the Bandoneon.

 

edited to say I've been on your web site Bruce which has some very interesting material Thanks smile.gif

Cheers

Mike

Thanks for the kind words Mike. I fear I've allowed some of the material on the site to become dated - like my comments on recorders - time and technology march on and it's been a few years since I wrote it. That said, I like to think much of the material on the site still has relevance. I originally started the site with the intent to share a personal perspective on my concertina experiences. As with many of us when we first started with the instrument, I was functionally isolated from others in the concertina world - didn't know anyone that played - and wasn't quite sure what to expect at the classes and workshops that I saw offered. I was hesitant to commit myself to a multi-day away-from-home experience without knowing a little more about the setting and expectations, so after attending the first set of classes I decided that I'd offer my thoughts and comments and hope that others feeling as I did might find them of interest. I've expanded a little since then, adding on related material that I want to share with others. That said, concertina.net has been my primary news source and link to others over the years though, so I'm grateful to Paul for its establishment.

 

If you're looking for concertina CD's, I don't know if any are in the works. On a little broader view, I recently acquired a copy of "A Henry Reed Reunion" which was released in 2002. Bertram plays banjo on that one and I purchased it part because some of the tunes on it are also exercises in the tutor and after learning them I wanted to hear more of this sort of music. As I said elsewhere, it's a new direction for me but I find I'm enjoying it.

 

As to touring, I don't know what Bertram's intent is. He really is an incredibly busy man, aside from his performances with Tangoheart (I'm looking forward to attending one this coming Saturday night), he's building a new wooden boat and he still divides his time between the US and Argentina too. I don't know what else he has going, but he doesn't strike me as the sort that has much time to sit and relax. I do know that he recently commented that he's thinking of offering some concertina workshops in the next year or so, perhaps he can work some performances in with that.

 

And Dan, regarding your comments, I don't have your depth of knowledge to be able to compare Bertram's concertina approach with the people you mention, but I find your words interesting and certainly agree with your description of Bertram's approach to the instrument. He makes it look quite easy when he plays, but when I talk with him about what he's doing, it's clear that nothing about it is incidental. He has a very comprehensive understanding of the instrument and its mechanics and he has put a lot of thought into how he plays it; his hand and finger positions, the buttons he selects, bellows motion and phrasing, and how it all comes together to give voice to the music. I thought that after almost seven years of playing Irish music on it I had the Anglo pretty well figured out (don't take that to mean that I think I'm a great player), but after a little time with Bertram's tutor I came to realize there was a lot I didn't know. And although it’s a mix of preparatory text and exercises, the education the tutor offers is really in the exercises.

 

Regards,

 

Bruce

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  • 1 month later...

I'm quite pleased to report that Bertram Levy has written a new tutor for the Anglo concertina. This one is targeted at the intermediate level player and its intent is to advance the player considerably by guiding them though a series of progressive exercises. Along the way one will learn a nice sampling of music and perhaps find an interest in developing a repertoire broader than they were previous playing. I've had a pre-publication look and I'm quite excited about it.

 

The tutor is titled "American Fiddle Styles for the Anglo Concertina" and I've written about it in more detail and posted that here. It should be available this summer.

Thanks for the heads up Bruce. His first tutor was excellent so I'm really looking forward to this one. Can't wait until it comes out.

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  • 1 year later...

By coincidence of timing to your question, I spoke with Bertram yesterday and it sounds like the tutor will likely be available sometime in August. I'll post more detail on this in a few weeks.

Edited by Bruce McCaskey
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I had the pleasure of spending several hours with Bertram yesterday. I'm happy to report that I've held a copy of the completed tutor in my hands, in fact he graciously presented me with a copy. It'll be a few weeks before it'll be available to the public but that will happen soon.

 

I have to acknowledge that I'm perhaps biased because I was permitted access to the tutor's material in advance of its formal publication, but I'm very impressed with what Bertram has put into this new tutor. He has come up with an effective format to teach his methodology through the precise notation of carefully selected musical exercises and he has included considerable insight as to the considerations behind his approach to playing music on the Anglo. I've worked with much of the tutor's material in recent months and can tell you that I feel this is a very significant work. I've played Irish cross-row style for years and will likely continue to use that system for much of the Irish music I play, but Bertram has shown me an entirely different approach to the buttons that lends itself to a broad spectrum of other music. I'm sampling other genres now and finding the concertina surprisingly receptive.

 

Betram also permitted me to record video of him playing some of the exercise material from the new tutor and I'll be posting that on Youtube when I get time.

Edited by Bruce McCaskey
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  • 1 month later...

I'm looking forward to it Bruce. Please let us know when and how to obtain a copy. I've been very involved with another project and activities for a good few months so it will give me the impetus to get back into the Anglo. I've been focussing on Irish reels on the C/G so it might be interesting to see how the 'fluid style ' informs that sort of music.

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I exchanged emails with Bertram just a couple of days ago and he tells me he thinks he'll have the tutor available for sale in about two weeks. He's setting up a new website and I think you will be able to place orders for it there, at least initially, though it's my understanding that the tutor will be offered through other outlets in the near future. I've put together a video I recorded last month of Bertram playing some of the material from the tutor, and I'm waiting for him to view it and give me the OK to make it available to the public. I'll post a note when the tutor is officially available.

 

Edited to add: Bertram has elected to wait on public presentation of that video for now, but has plans to offer video on his own website in the future.

Edited by Bruce McCaskey
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I'm pleased to be able to pass on the following:

 

Announcement of Publication of

“American Fiddle Styles For the Anglo Concertina”

Thirty Studies in the Art of Phrasing

Bertram Levy

An advanced course in the Anglo concertina for serious concertina players of all idioms and styles. Drawing on the author’s lifetime of experience with the Anglo concertina, it combines a traditional approach to the instrument with a new and expanded vision derived from many years of intensive study of the bandoneon in Argentina. Using a backdrop of American fiddle music as the teaching medium, the potential of the Anglo concertina’s layout is fully explored. In addition to offering a detailed and insightful perspective on the partnership of bellows, buttons and fingering, elements of lyrical phrasing, techniques for rhythmic dynamic and examples of the use of chords and counterpoint in harmony are presented as the student learns the subtleties of accessing the full capabilities of the instrument.

 

For more information and ordering, visit
.

 

Please note that the referenced website is new and still under construction with some sections undeveloped or in draft status at the moment, but in response to the inquiries about the tutor the related section is functional and available now for those that are interested in knowing more about it.

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The site currently offers the choice of ordering and paying via PayPal or to order and pay by check via the mail system. The tutor will also be available from the Button Box and other sources in the near future. I know the PayPal route works because I placed the first order for the tutor though that route to test the process.

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The site currently offers the choice of ordering and paying via PayPal or to order and pay by check via the mail system.

 

 

But I doubt he would have been very pleased with a cheque in euros.

 

Just spend another 15 minutes to close this bloody paypal account but I suceeded !

 

 

 

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