Teriodin

I have a reasonable beginner's instrument and probably wouldn't have noticed it's minor 'defects' if I wasn't familiar with my grandfather's button accordion. It does the job. It allows me to learn. It's very similar to the Wren/Trinity College starter instruments, although provided by another supplier. When you're only spending a few hundred pounds, you have to take what's available. I understand about the niche status of the instrument and supply/demand, so not shocked at the market at all. Upgrading is going to be a challenge, since decent instruments seem to be over the thousand pounds mark, up to five thousand for the Carrolls with a 3 year waiting list. If I have to stick with this one, then that's what I'll do. I'm not afraid of taking things apart and fixing them myself if needed. At my current, fumbling playing ability, it'll be months before I have a chance of pushing the concertina to the limits anyway and I'm not intending making a living from playing it.

I have a cheap learners' concertina and it will do for at least a year, at a guess, while I learn to play. I was wondering what the qualities are which define a 'good' concertina. Things I have noticed on the beginner instrument: The reeds are difficult to play quietly. The reeds don't respond well to small movements of the bellows The buttons are not 'even' in their movement depth Some of the buttons were 'sticking' and needed to be worked loose by repetitive pushing/releasing (prising back out with thumbnail on occasion) for about 15 minutes. The Buttons are plastic. Concertina seems bulky compared to the expensive Carroll anglo-30 as played by Edel Fox (Although her layout does not match my Wheatstone layout exactly) I suspect it may be a 'hybrid' instrument using Accordion reeds to keep the price down, but that's guesswork. Would anyone care to list the positive attributes of a 'decent quality' and even a 'top quality' instrument?

I'm having fun with it. Started playing across the rows last night, picking tunes mainly in G and D from my sheet music books and just playing them by sight-reading and working out the fingering as I go. It's always fun when I find one I know without realising I knew it, not recognising it by name. You know, when you start playing the melody notes and then your brain goes "Oh - it's THAT one!" I'm actually finding that the 'Concertina Notation' in the book is off-putting and slows me down, so I transcribed the tunes into EasyABC and use that as my sheet music. Very addictive instrument - everyone else in the house must be sick of the sound of it by now

The Wikipedia article on the subject goes into a lot more detail about it, including historical and modern definitions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(music)

I'm interested mainly in Scottish and Irish melody/jig/reel/air tunes, rather than 'oom-pah-pah' style music. Would be happy to learn Morris tunes from England if they're fun to play (Monck's March, for instance) Don't aim to perform on stage any more, but it's fun to sit and play 'around the campfire' with other musicians. I have the "Easy Anglo 1-2-3" book at the moment, which starts you out on the C row, then advances to playing across the C and G rows, before finally adding the accidentals. I have a good sheet music collection, so finding tunes to play has not been a problem so far. (On a side note: while 'Twinkle Twinkle' may be a nice tune for a recorder, 'Drunken Sailor' feels like it was actually written on a concertina. Maybe the tutors should start with that one? *chuckles* )

I got my Anglo 30 today and, just out of habit, picked up a tutorial book. I read the start carefully about where the notes were, how to hold it, what the straps were for, etc., then found the same sort of 'Recorder for beginners' tunes I remember from 45 years ago at school *chuckles* I'm guessing other musicians skip all these starting tunes too. Ran up and down the scales for 10 minutes, then played some tunes I know by ear. I'm currently only using the C row while I get to grips with the bellows action on tunes like Irish Washerwoman. Is that a sensible way forward, or is it viable to just skip to the 30 button section? (Easy Anglo 1 2 3 book) (I already play Clarinet, Flute, Guitar, EWI, etc.)

It's not so much a crossover as the fact that Morris troupes perform at many SteamPunk events up here. I've seen coconutters perform, as well as clog-morris/cloggers and the stick beaters. The whole SteamPunk thing is quite fluid and encompassing. Any tradition that can be traced back to the reign of Queen Victoria seems to be very well received. Steam engines, steam carriages, time machines, barges, dray horses, etc., everything that links to that bygone age, whether real or imagined or nostalgic, tends to be on display. I'm guessing that they just invite more Morris along to perform than other groups do. I agree - it is a performance and I would not dream of just 'dropping in'. I just enjoyed the combination of the concertina/melodeon tunes with the dance and would be happy to offer my services if I ever got good enough. *chuckles* Thank you all for the links and information - I shall check the internet post-haste.

I'd love to get more involved with the Morris troupes I see at SteamPunk events in the UK. I'm getting a Concertina to learn on shortly and wondered if there's a sort of set-list that is used commonly by Morris troupes that can be learnt for travelling around and maybe joining in. Does anyone have any experience with English Morris Dance tunes?

The only French one I can find is for the Anglo (looking at the cover). https://www.amazon.fr/Partition-Concertina-diatonique-par-limage/dp/B0002DVNMO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486484883&sr=1-1&keywords=concertina

Morris and Concertina is very well received among UK 'SteamPunk' groups. (A sort of sci-fi Victoriana community. Lots of dressing up and weird technology but a very 19th century feel to a lot of it.) I'm sure if you turn up to an event in the Summer they'd ply you with tea and gin. *winks*