16 replies to this topic

[duckln]

At sessions I've noticed that some guitar and madolin players use a foot rest to raise one leg.

If you play sitting, with the concertina resting on your right knee, would raising that knee 2-4 inches
help?

Giving more room for the left arm to swing, easier on the elbow, closer the
eyes and ears?

Has anyone tried it and have a preference?

[JimLucas]

... madolin ...

Wonderful typo!

If you play sitting, with the concertina resting on your right knee, would raising that knee 2-4 inches help?

Dunno. Why not briefly borrow a foot rest at the next session and see if it works for you? My own guess is that the effect may depend on the height of your seat.

[Larry Stout]

I tend to rest my concertina on my left knee. When I'm playing at home I often put my left foot on the rung of my chair; in sessions I tend to cross my legs to get the elevation. That would be awkward if I were playing a guitar or mandolin, but it works fine with a concertina. Allan Atlas's "Contemplating the Concertina" has pictures from a century or more of concertina playing-- one shows performers sitting flat lapped with the ends resting on different knees, five show the cross legged position, and the rest are standing.

[Mark Evans]

Has anyone tried it and have a preference?

There was a period of a few years when I'd put my foot up on top of the concertina case. Now I hoisted my knee up considerable further than four inches. Give it a shot with a foot rest and see. In the end I abbandoned the practice as it was uncomfortable and I was scratcing up my nice case. Being short legged, the type of chair I sit in is more important. Most chairs in the pub fit me very well. I wonder, are the dimensions perfectly suited to my Humpty-Dumpty body shape or are the libations involved moderating my perceptions ?

By the way, I remember we did a poll on the right verses left verses both knee thing and recall that the left knee seemed to rule the day. I'm a left knee man meself.

[duckln]

'JimLucas'
[ Dunno. Why not briefly borrow a foot rest at the next session and see if it works for you? My own guess is that the effect may depend on the height of your seat.
[/quote]

I bought one as a gift for my string son, he didn't like it and gave it back. Now I'll get it out of the box and give it a shot.

[duckln]

'Mark Evans'

[ Most chairs in the pub fit me very well. I wonder, are the dimensions perfectly suited to my Humpty-Dumpty body shape or are the libations involved moderating my perceptions ?]


When the session first started, there were dining chairs, w and w/o arms. Very awkward. Now we have a dozen or more stools, hard on the back sitting for 2 or more hours, but everyone prefers them, even a
lot of the customers.

They free up a lot of room for the players, and the customers can crowd more at a table. Good for business.

Libations is a good relaxer, it 'oils' to the knuckles and numbs the seat. 2 pints is about right for me.

[paperpunchr]

I play guitar and mad-olin :-) and find that for Guitar I need about a four inch lift under my right foot so my leg parallels the floor, otherwise the guitar keeps sliding down and away from me. Mandolin is so light that I just hold it up against my midsection...which is ample ;-).

Concertina, I don't rest on either knee most of the time...I just hold it, but I play anglo and the hand straps transport the weight well enough to my arms that I can play standing or sitting for long periods without resting the box.

And yes, I find that a couple of pints "sweetens the breath, slims the hips, and numbs the backside" as well as lubricating the vocal chords for pub-volume singing.

Edited by paperpunchr, 20 August 2007 - 03:22 PM.

[David Barnert]

For many years, standard technique for playing classical guitar involved a foot rest under the left foot. Nowadays, many serious classic guitarists use a cushion over the left knee or a brace contraption attached to the part of the guitar that would otherwise rest on the left knee to elevate it. Both achieve similar results: both feet flat on the floor, guitar in the position it would be in if there were a left foot rest.

[Dirge]

I play cross legged as often as not, especially on my smaller duet. Either knee up makes little difference, so I change about as comfort requires. That'll give you the extra height. Slouched in a sofa cross legged is good too, comfortably leaning into the right corner, something you couldn't do with a lot of instruments!

Wouldn't dream of carrying a footstool about; I'm unimpressed by people who need things like that to play. So there's no way my self-respect would allow me to take a sofa with me, even if I could afford the furniture removers.

[Mark Evans]

IWouldn't dream of carrying a footstool about; I'm unimpressed by people who need things like that to play. So there's no way my self-respect would allow me to take a sofa with me, even if I could afford the furniture removers.

Yer a tough customer lad.

A bluegrass buddy of mine has a very bad back and plays of all things the banjo! Heavy buggers they are. He has screwed a pipe fitting to the underside of the resonator to which he affixes a pipe that supports the weight of the instrument. On more than one occation I have watched audience members chuckle as he comes on stage with his band....until he rips through the first intro like one of ole Hobb's demons .

[allan atlas]

FOLKS: if you look at the frontispiece illustration in the victorian tutor by Chidley, you'll see a depiction of a well-dressed man and woman playing the english concertina. . . .the man plays standing, and uses a neck strap to help support the instrument . . .the woman sits and does in fact have one foot on a little stool. . . . .

there is a similar depiction in the tutor by Joseph Warren. . . .but there the woman's dress does not permit us to see if her foot is raised or not. . . .

both illustrations are reproduced in my own CONTEMPLATING THE CONCERTINA, to which Larry refered.............allan

Edited by allan atlas, 22 August 2007 - 05:01 PM.

[ragtimer]

My Stagi 46-key Hayden Duet is pretty much impossible to playing standing, so I always sit on something. I cross one leg over the other and rest the left side of the box on my thigh. When that position gets tiring I reverse hte legs, tho this requires shift the box farther right to put the LH end over my right thigh.

In either position there's a tendency for the bellows to rub over the lap -- bad for the bellows corners, and it can muss up your pants.

I too, like to recline back ina sofa and play, tho it throws the hands out of positiona nd leads to sloppy playing (especially if I doze off

Here;s a question: Is it possible to play in an armchair? I mean, if the only thing in the room to sit in/on is an armchair, is there any way you can play sitting in it, short of turning it upside down (the chair, not the tina) and sitting inside the chair's legs?
--Mike K.

[Dirge]

Is it possible to play in an armchair? I mean, if the only thing in the room to sit in/on is an armchair, is there any way you can play sitting in it, short of turning it upside down (the chair, not the tina) and sitting inside the chair's legs?
--Mike K.

I sit cross legged on an arm usually, Mike, but now you've asked I suspect if you did the slob thing of sitting cross ways, one arm of the chair under your knees, back against the other arm it might work. Sounds splendidly decadent, I shall have to try it.

[Mark Evans]

Here;s a question: Is it possible to play in an armchair?
--Mike K.

Short response...yes. Mostly for me no. The arm rests seem to encounter my elbows at just the wrong place that kicks in the carple tunnel and me hands go numb.

I did have an ancient rocking chair found at a junk shop that was made for a short corpulent fellow like me. He must have had short legs as well for it fit like ...a glove. The arm rests were low and I could sit on my porch of an evening and rock away playing. That rocking produced a very pleasant off-beat very well suited to a lively reel.

The legs on the right side had dry rot however. First time the rocker gave way on that side was quite the event. I fixed it many times before it gave way on the wrong person and was "encouraged" to put it out on trash day .

[JimLucas]

...an ancient rocking chair found at a junk shop that was made for a short corpulent fellow like me. He must have had short legs as well for it fit like ...a glove. The arm rests were low and I could sit on my porch of an evening and rock away playing. That rocking produced a very pleasant off-beat very well suited to a lively reel.

The legs on the right side had dry rot however. ... I fixed it many times before it gave way on the wrong person and was "encouraged" to put it out on trash day .

You should have made a copy of it... all except the dry rot.

[JimLucas]

Here;s a question: Is it possible to play in an armchair? I mean, if the only thing in the room to sit in/on is an armchair, is there any way you can play sitting in it, short of turning it upside down (the chair, not the tina) and sitting inside the chair's legs?

For me, yeah, but I don't normally rest the concertina on my leg(s), even when sitting. So it's not that difficult for me to lift my arms, or extend them slightly, or do whatever else is needed to avoid bumping into the chair's arms. Of course, it's more comfortable when I have more freedom of movement, but the awkwardness of avoiding the chair's arms sinks below the conscious level after a few seconds.

[bellowbelle]

Since getting my foot bass, which I like to play with my concertina, I like to sit on a bar stool that makes things perfect for my feet reaching the bass. Thus, I'm not even able to rest my concertina on my legs -- which is something I've not really wanted to do, anyway.

As for those old armchairs.....I had an antique Victorian rocker with arms, and I just put it outside recently with a 'Free' sign. It's gone! (Sorry, great-grandma... ) My house is small and it just kept getting shoved around here and there, with no one really using it.

I did consider, for a moment, that since I do like some of those old Victorian-era songs, I may wish to hang onto a Victorian-era chair, but.... meh.

Kind of on a bittersweet note...my cat, Teacup, did like that chair, and also my concertina playing. I could hardly ever play without her running to me and climbing all over me. That's the cat that was recently quarantined, and then put to sleep. (I had no other choice. She'd attacked me, but that was only part of the problem...anyway, she did NOT have rabies, etc..)

Anyway, I always sit on the barstool now, to play, even if I'm not actually playing the foot bass. I'd thought I'd NEVER get to the point of being able to play without resting my concertina on a knee, but, it's amazing how easy it is to do, now that I have the foot bass.

And I do miss my cat, but...I still have another cat, who is in fact more even-tempered, so that helps!

Update way later (11/22/07)....edit added here:
Well, it seems that I do in fact manage to rest my concertina on a leg, even when using the tall bar stool with the foot bass. I still would prefer not to, but, I have caught myself 'resting' a few times. So...just wanted to correct that info here!

Edited by bellowbelle, 22 November 2007 - 07:16 PM.