Absolute Beginner Needs Advice!

[Terry McGee]

 

I can't believe that you've been to Safety Bay Terry… especially given the size of Australia! Thanks for all your comments.

Heh heh, it surprised me too. A previous girlfriend's parents had retired there from their farm at Narrogin and we visited them on the way back from seven months in the Celtic Isles. But we're talking mid-70's here - it's probably changed a bit!

 

I'm not really sure what an "abc file" is or an "abc reader", can you explain what they are as they do sound interesting? In particular, I like the "dirty brain" part, never heard that expression before!

 

 

Ah, this is a good thing to learn about. ..abc files are simple text files that describe a tune, e.g: here is the .abc file for Maggie in the Wood, a tune taught in the freeby section of the OIAM concertina course.

 

X:6652

T:Maggie in the Wood

R:Polka

Z:As played by the CHB

M:2/4

L:1/8

K:G

B/2A/2|"G"GD GA|"Em"Be eg/2e/2|"G"dB B/2A/2G/2A/2|"D"BA AB/2A/2|

"G"GD GA|"Em"Be eg/2e/2|"G"dB "D"AB/2A/2|"G"G3::e/2f/2|

gf "C"ed|"D"ef "G"g>e|dB B/2A/2G/2A/2|1 "D"BA Ae/2f/2|"G"gf "C"ed|

"D"ef "G"g>e|dB "D"AB/2A/2|"G"G3:|2

"D"BA AB/2A/2|"G"GD GA|"Em"Be eg/2e/2|"G"dB "D"AB/2A/2|"G"G3||

As you can see, it's not innately attractive. But it's compact, and requires no special technology to transmit or store.

An ABC reader converts that into nice looking notation, eg: (click on the image below to see full size)

but better still, it will also play it using any voice or at any speed you want. That makes learning and practicing the tune really easy.

Unfortunately, I don't believe I can load a sound file here for you to hear that (please someone correct me if I'm wrong!), but if you download a .abc reader and import this tune into it, you will be able to try it out. I'm using easyABC. It is easy, and it plays back chords.

The other great thing is that there are vast numbers of tunes (like >10,000) on the web, in almost any genre of folk music in .abc format. Never was it so easy to be a folkie....

(Heh heh, I recall the earnest discussions in the 1970's that we had passed "peak-folk" and were now on the downhill run. Ha!)

In particular, I like the "dirty brain" part, never heard that expression before!

 

I'll concede I made that up. It struck me as an appropriate opposite to the notion of brain-washing.

Terry

[HansiRowe]

Thanks for that Terry… I never knew that. I checked out the easyABC link and I will download it. I use a Mac and they do have an OSX version so I'll give it a go. Thinking of music… I still have some of my old sheet music for flute (or violin) and continuo, and some lovely 18th c. pieces that I will definitely have to try playing on the concertina. Even some of the scales and finger exercises could be very useful… once I know my way around those 20 buttons!

 

I just ordered on-line 3 books aimed at 20 buttoned concertinas… Absolute Beginners Concertina, La Concertina - Method, & Mel Bay's Deluxe Concertina, so hopefully, combined with The Irish Music Academy's on-line tuition and other YouTube videos, this will be enough to keep me going for a while!

 

One more thing that I wanted to ask… how does the very dry heat in Australia affect concertinas. I don't mean the direct sun, but just the heat in the house when it's 38 c -40 c outside? Does it affect the reeds in any way?

 

Thanks again and greetings from Safety Bay where we had 25 c today… it was beautiful! Cheers, John

[Tradewinds Ted]

The reeds are metal, so dry heat won't hurt them (wet salty air might) but dry heat can instead be hard on the wood that holds everything together, causing it to (potentially) shrink and allow the metal blocks that hold the reeds to loosen from where the are dovetailed into the wood. In the extreme, wood can dry and crack, as it could in any wooden instrument. So don't leave it in a hot car, and do try and avoid sudden changes in climate.

 

Most importantly play it often! You'll not just enjoy yourself and get better, but your instrument will also come to life and sound better if it is played frequently, and if any problems start to develop, you'll notice them before they become serious.

[Terry McGee]

Yes, it's the wood you have to worry about, and in particular, wood constrained against movement. Flute heads are an example - 19th century flute heads were lined with metal and couldn't shrink in dry weather. Most such flutes made in cold dank London then brought to Australia or America have cracked heads.

In concertinas, the wooden panel that the pads close on is constrained against shrinking by the surrounding framework. The wood wants to shrink across the grain, but not along it, so you get a crack running along the grain typically in the middle of the board. The end panel is also constrained by the framework, and so a split may occur there too, although sometimes the joints in the framing give up instead. In both cases, the splits often take advantages of weak spots, eg through one or two pad holes, or the filigree work.

I guess there are two approaches possible - one is to keep the instrument humidified, the other is to hope for the best and have the instrument repaired if it cracks. Our makers and repairers might have some clearer advice.

Keep in mind that air conditioning usually makes things worse. If you have a 38º dry day, so that it's maybe 35%RH outside, in your air conditioned lounge room it will be a lot less. All that water that dribbles out of the air conditioner drain had to come from somewhere! So it might make sense to at least store the instrument in non-air-conditioned comfort.

From memory Safety Bay weather was much milder than Perth. I seem to remember visiting a certain Geoff Wooff when he lived in Perth and nearly dying! Thank God for the Albany Doctor!

Terry

[HansiRowe]

Thanks Ted… no, I'll definitely not be leaving the concertina in a hot car, it will probably never leave my house. I was just wondering because I have an old guitar that, during the summer and in spite of always keeping it in a moderate and constant temperature at home, develops a slight warp in the neck during summer and then straightens out again during winter. I will definitely try to keep the concertina in a coolish and moderate room throughout the summer, and rest assured, it will be played daily, and probably nightly too, and only at home.

 

Yes, I know only too well all about the negative affects of sudden temperature changes on wood. I used to live in Vienna and a couple of times a week travel to different locations to play in a recorder ensemble. I owned some beautiful, old recorders, some very delicate with ivory joint rings, and during the winter months instead of using a case I would travel with a couple of recorders tucked under my pullover with a feather ski-jacket over the top! This way, the recorders stayed warm and we cut down on warm breath being blown into a cold instrument and causing condensation and swelling of the blocks in the mouth piece, etc. Even so, we would still wait 20 minutes for the recorders to acclimatise before playing...

 

Anyway, much appreciate the advice and encouragement! Cheers, John

[HansiRowe]

From memory Safety Bay weather was much milder than Perth. I seem to remember visiting a certain Geoff Wooff when he lived in Perth and nearly dying! Thank God for the Albany Doctor!

 

Thanks Terry… yes, I've just replied to to Ted (above) about this problem. You're right, Safety Bay should be a little cooler than Perth. I used to live in Fremantle and the temperature difference was very noticeable, especially with the 'Freo doctor' blowing, and Safety Bay is further South as you know, so should be up to 10 degrees cooler than Perth. Mind you, when it's hot.. it's hot! I used to live up the hills where it's positively baking, so hopefully the sea breezes down here will help.

 

I have a little collection of 18th -19th c miniature portrait paintings and, when I first brought them to Australia from the UK I was very worried about cracking as some of them are painted on wafer-thin ivory or bone, but I've managed to keep them safe throughout some very hot summers here in Oz by being very careful about their location in the house, so hopefully, I can do the same for my Lachenal… I'll definitely be very careful about when and where I play it during those 40 c + days.

 

Hope all's well over there in Malua Bay… cheers, John

[JimLucas]

I'll definitely be very careful about when and where I play it during those 40 c + days.

Sounds like you're going to be careful enough for it not to matter, but I wonder at what temperature the glue begins to soften.

[HansiRowe]

Thanks Jim… a good question! Well, I don't know how the early settlers in Australia managed the heat, with tin roofs, weatherboard walls, no air conditioning, or often camping out in the bush sitting around camp fires, etc. On the other hand, what about on board ships with all that salty air… the weather conditions must have played havoc with musical instruments. Thankfully, those extreme temperatures are only now and then, not every day…the summers are always hot here but most homes seem to manage to shield off a lot of the heat. I'm living in a house made from big lime-stone blocks about 200 meters from the ocean, it does have a tin roof but, with the sea breezes blowing through it might not be too bad. I have a small room under the stairs that's always cool, it will be a good place to store the concertina during the summer months… come to think of it, it might not be such a bad place for me to practice in as well! At least the neighbours won't hear me hitting all the wrong notes while I'm learning!!

 

By the way, are you in Denmark in Europe or down south in WA? Thanks again for your comment, cheers, John

[JimLucas]

By the way, are you in Denmark in Europe or down south in WA? Thanks again for your comment, cheers, John

I live in the country Denmark, across town from "Hamlet's" castle, though at the moment I am in Stockholm, Sweden, visiting a friend... who happens to be a fine anglo player.

[d.elliott]

I have been watching this thread for some time, I am more an English player, however I have a reasonable acquaintanceship with Anglo Instruments too. Clearly a 30k Anglo is more versatile than a 30k, However thousands of 20k were made, which tends to support the thought that they are versatile enough for most purposes. As some one has already commented, they do not loose value, and can be traded in for a later 30k, or can be used as a spare or second instrument. Then there are the 26k instruments which may have been mentioned; it might be worth your while looking at the typical accidental lay out for such an instrument and evaluate what added versatility you may get..

 

No one has commented on the reed tongue material, if you intend to 'play out' then you would probably be wiser to seek a 'steel reeded' concertina, not 'brass reeded' one. The Lachenal, Jones etc instruments, particularly the more basic models, could be either, and the low end brass reeded instruments were some times pretty dire. Some are also very good, but I would check before buying.

 

Dave

[HansiRowe]

I live in the country Denmark, across town from "Hamlet's" castle, though at the moment I am in Stockholm, Sweden, visiting a friend... who happens to be a fine anglo player.

Thanks Jim… then you have the opposite problem in Denmark of keeping your concertina warm during the cold, winter months.. ha ha! Anyway, hope you're enjoying Sweden...

No one has commented on the reed tongue material, if you intend to 'play out' then you would probably be wiser to seek a 'steel reeded' concertina, not 'brass reeded' one. The Lachenal, Jones etc instruments, particularly the more basic models, could be either, and the low end brass reeded instruments were some times pretty dire. Some are also very good, but I would check before buying.

Hi Dave… many thanks for your comments. Yes, luckily, I had heard about the brass reeds being inferior to steel, so I made sure that the Lachenal Anglo that I purchased does actually have steel. It was one of the requirements that I was looking for while trying to find a 20 buttoned Anglo. The more research that I do into the 20 buttoned Anglo concertinas the more I'm discovering just how much music can be played… in fact vast amounts and all types of music. I'm sure that when the time comes for me to step up to 30 buttons it will be because I want to try playing in new keys, and not because I feel that 20 buttons are somehow inadequate or inferior. There's a big difference… anyway, I'm over the moon about my little Lachenal and can't wait for it to arrive!

Thanks again for your advice, cheers, John

[HansiRowe]

By the way Dave… yesterday I ordered your book on maintenance!

[Dana Johnson]

I'll skip over what other people have said All speak with experience and we each have our own. As a teacher as well as maker and player, I've had three students who started with Rochelles. I've played them and would pick one over a Stagi anyday of the week.. They are basically well made instruments as opposed to the Stagi which is not. The long term drawback of the Rochelle for Irish music is the large size which requires more effort than a smaller ended concertina. This translates into slowness which is not a problem for a beginner especially since the large size gives you a little more air to work with. If you have a slow session anywhere around you'll be able to keep up once you have some tunes well enough practiced. The great thing about the Rochelle is you get a halfway decent concertina for a low price, who's main limitations are just speed and volume. as a beginner, session playing is hard anyway. Concertinas put out most of their sound sideways away from your ears and towards everyone else's. Since it takes a while to be sure you are playing what you think you are playing when you can't hear yourself ( hint: sit in a corner if you can to get the reflected sound ) having a less loud concertina isn't a drawback. By having 30 buttons (Or 26 if you are lucky enough to find one that you can afford ) you will be able to play in D which is a very common key for ITM. there are a lot of great G tunes, but I would never want to be without my D repertoir which aare some of my favorites of all time. C# is not generally a throwaway note in D tunes. No more than F# in G tunes. I knew a very good concertina player from Ireland who didn't play in A at all, ( possibly being related to a Flute player, she grew up without that less flute friendly key, but Fllutes don't have a corner on the repertoir any more than concertinas or melodeons do ( there are a lot of D tunes in the Melodeon repertoir ) Fiddles figure pretty strongly in ITM and they play in A quite a lot. What yyou won't find in ITM is a lot of C tunes. They certainly are present, as are A minor tunes. or whatever Dorian applies to those notes, but aa Rochelle won't limit what you can learn as much as how fast you can play it. a good vintage 20 button can be a vastly better playing instrument. ( there are plenty of bad ones around that don't play much better than the Rochelle ) but if you want to play ITM, you are going to want to upgrade after a while anyway even if it is to a decent hybrid, and you might as well have learned to play in D. 20 buttons have their place, but I don't think it is as a transitional instrument. If you can see your way to a better hybrid to start with, you will go a lot farther with an instrument that is easier and more rewarding to play. If you are just seeing if you might like playing a concertina, a Rochelle might encourage you, If you really like ITM, and the sound of the concertina, save your pennies and start with a good hybrid. You'll probably get one anyway on the way to a really good instrument, and your practicing will progress faster and more enjoyably for a much longer time. Good Hybrids generally fall down in dynamic expression rather than speed and have good actions. Many people are quite happy with them. Most sound a lot better than the Rochelle.

[HansiRowe]

Thanks very much Dana for that very thorough explanation… it's difficult to say at the moment in what direction my concertina playing will lead me. I'm one of those people who, once I start something, become passionate, sometimes to the extreme, and throw everything into it! Being British and having gown up watching Morris dancers, listening to a lot of folk, and having a few uncles who played, I have always loved the concertina, even though I have devoted my few musical skills to other instruments. I think the time is now right for me to start learning the concertina, and I have no doubt in my mind that I will quickly become totally addicted. I have mentioned earlier in this thread that, in spite of loving ITM, I would like to play music from other sources too… I like a wide variety of music, not just traditional. I think I will be very happy with a 20 buttoned concertina, especially as I've chosen an old instrument, which may turn out to have a few faults or not be as easy as a modern instrument to play… call me crazy but I like things to feel right, I would even admit that this feeling, for me, outweighs the convenience of a modern instrument with maybe easier functions and up to date technology.

 

I struggled for years playing an original, baroque, one keyed flute that was warped and had the odd crack here and there. I could have bought a beautiful, modern copy that would have been in tune, etc. instead I struggled with cross-fingering and half-shaded notes, but… it was just so wonderful to be playing on that old flute, with its history and character and original sound. I guess what I'm trying to say is, for me, an original instrument with maybe a few limitations is preferable to a modern instrument that can do everything.

 

I will, no doubt, in a year or two be moving up to 30 buttons but, there's no doubt in my mind now that it will have to be an original instrument, it's just a 'feeling' thing and certainly not a criticism of modern instruments in any way… maybe it's the price one pays for being a silly romantic!

 

Thanks again Dana, cheers, John

[d.elliott]

By the way Dave… yesterday I ordered your book on maintenance!

 

Two wishes for you then:

 

1. you find it interesting and informative

2. you never need it

 

Dave

[MatthewVanitas]

Dana has some really good points for people wanting to get into more formal ITM, but the way John describes it I'd think that limiting himself to C and G keys, or even transposing D tunes to C and playing them through, could work fine. If he's playing just on his own he can do a given melody in whatever key, and if he has an accompanying friend they can play different chords, or capo, or choose a different key tinwhistle. So definitely to be in a pub session lacking a C# would be a hassle, but for playing solo or with friends, not so much even for many ITM tunes if you transpose.

 

Can play D tunes in C, kick it Clare-style.

 

Really looking forward to seeing what music you squeeze out of that Lachenal, John. Having a variety of players with a variety of styles, spread all over the world, is what makes this board so fascinating.

Edited September 7, 2014 by MatthewVanitas

[Dana Johnson]

I don't consider you crazy at all. "Original" instruments carry with them a bit of the age they were made in. For concertinas that can include a level of artistry in machinery that has been left by the side of the road. I find the character and sensibility of that era of fretwork very pleasing to behold. There are plenty of great old instruments. Buy one of those eventually. There were plenty of bad ones too. "Once good" instruments can usually be brought back to great playing shape with decent repair. Bad ones tend to stay bad. The main difficulty with "original" instruments, and the reason us modern makers exist at all, is because with the resurgence in popularity, the really good old concertinas are mostly in the hands of people who consider themselves lucky to have found one and won't part with it. When I bought my first quite good Jeffries, I paid $2600 US for it. Ten years later similar quality instruments were selling for 2-3 times as much, and the few makers in existence had 7 year waiting lists. Prices are not so steep since the crash of 2008, but the days of a reasonably priced good Jeffries,Crabb or Wheatstone are gone. If Ireland gets back on it's feet again, you can expect the prices to go back up again. There just aren't many good old concertinas to go around, not to mention the new dangers of importing or exporting instruments that may have banned woods in them, or have bone buttons mistaken for ivory. On a recent shipment to France, I had to submit a list of all the materials used because "concertinas" are on their watch list for instruments that may contain banned materials. A year earlier though I had no such difficulties shipping to Australia.

Whatever the case, have a lot of fun with your concertina. They are great to play.

Dana

[HansiRowe]

"Two wishes for you then: 1. you find it interesting and informative 2. you never need it"

Ha ha… thanks Dave, me too! As I know absolutely nothing about the inner workings of a concertina, I'm hoping that your book, apart from helping me with the odd minor problem, will also teach me about the general structure and layout of a concertina and the way in which all the buttons, springs, valves, pads, bellows, etc. all come together to make up such a wonderful instrument. Your book has been highly recommended and I'm looking forward to its arrival...

Thanks again Dana for the info and advice… I feel honoured to have so many experts helping me take those first shaky steps into the world of concertinas. Yes, I have to admit that I'm hoping that my Lachenal will turn out to be one of the good ones and not have too many faults, as in wear & tear, but, as you say, an instrument that was once good can usually be brought back into shape, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

"not to mention the new dangers of importing or exporting instruments that may have banned woods in them, or have bone buttons mistaken for ivory."

Yes, Australia is very strict about the import of wood, bone, ivory, etc. but usually more in some form of natural state and from certain countries. When you think of all the people moving to Australia and bringing in container loads of wooden furniture and items, most times it's not a problem at all. I have travelled backwards and forwards between the UK and Australia many times with various guitars and recorders made from a variety of different woods and customs are not even the slightest bit interested in them. However, I think I'm more worried about someone along the way opening up and inspecting the concertina without using the air-valve or pressing one of the keys. I'm hoping that they don't force the bellows open and closed to take a look once it arrives in Australia...

By the way Dana, you mentioned that you are a maker… do you have a photo of one of your instruments, I would love to see it?

Many thanks again, cheers, John