Hi everyone!

What a neat place this is! Here's my story:

A couple days ago a friend gave me a concertina that had been laying around for years -- I think she thought it might be an interesting object d'art for house decoration. With the help of some of the information I found here I managed to make it playable (more on that later).

I am really charmed with the instrument and am delighted there seems to be such a vibrant community online -- I originally thought this would be the first subject too obscure for the internet --- apparently not.

So I'm starting to learn to play the thing and I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes. However, I am a little curious about the instrument itself -- I have a feeling this crowd will know the particulars.

It is a 30 key Bastari Anglo (and to think yesterday I couldn't spell concertina ). It seems to be EXACTLY the concertina pictured throughout the "Handbook for Anglo-Chromatic Concertina" by Roger Watson, including buttons, endplates,
9-fold bellows, etc. And, oh by the way, how coincidental is it that the obscure concertina I own is exactly the one pictured in the only instruction manual currently available in the state of Maryland? Is that a good omen or what?

Anyone have any comments on that instrument?

-- Mike

P.S. Having some musical background, I'm trying to learn to sightread as quickly as I can. Roger Watson's instruction book is very helpful in that, although there are not very many tunes, the suggested buttons/rows/push/pull is diagrammed right beside the standard notation -- this is very helpful. Anyone know of any more of this kind of thing available for download on the internet?

"The Anglo Concertina Demystified" is on it's way from Elderly. My impression is that this is one of the fistful of must-have instruction guides. Comments?

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the wonderful world of concertinas.

Depending on what kind of music you'd like to play I'll recommend some of my favorite resources.

If you want to concentrate on Irish music there is nothing like attending a Noel Hill camp. Great way to get a basic "system" from someone who has been playing and teaching for over 40 years.

The Bramich "Irish Concertina" tutor comes with a cd and has lots of great tunes.
Frank Edgely has a clear concise tutor that gives examples of ornamentation and has an accompanying cd.

If you want to head in a more English/Morris tradition concertina.net's own Alan Day has a tutorial cd and sheet music for the songs. The Bertram Levy book is useful along these lines.

If you find some favorite music on cd and you want help deciphering the tunes a computer download like "The Amazing Slow Downer" can slow the tunes up or down, change pitch, and give you a fighting chance at learning fast dance music.

I'll add that all the books and tutorials won't help a bit unless you play and practice.
A great motivation to do that is to find others that play the same kind of music that you wish to play. And if you can find a teacher or mentor who plays conccertina....
you will be miles ahead in having a guide on your way to playing a very fun and exciting instrument.

Best of luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Greg

Mike, where in Maryland are you?

The House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park should have more tutorials, and they have a squeezebox EXPERT on staff -- Wendy -- to answer any questions and even give lessons...although I personally found my one and only lesson with her too harsh and too much yelling for me as a rank beginner musician and rank beginner concertina player. But that's just me, she really does know her stuff.

Welcome aboard!

Hi Rhomylly,

Yes, that was the first place I thought of and I did make the trip. Surprisingly, they had just the one Anglo concertina book by Watson (which I bought). I was a little surprised because normally they stock everything, no matter how esoteric. I think they are supporting a big midwest festival right now and may have carted off much of their inventory temporarily. Was made aware of Wendy and picked up one of their instructional flyers. (Thanks )

Greg,

Thanks for the response. Don't quite know what flavor I'm pointed at yet. I keep forgetting that for an American, much of this music seems exotic, whereas it is a very real cultural tradition for many (most?) members of this forum.

Having spent much of a previous life on the bluegrass scene (5-string banjo, still another instrument ordinary people want you to keep in the case ) I had enough exposure to the Irish and Celtic influences to know that I enjoy them, but am still fairly clueless.

My half-baked sense of the Anglo concertina so far is:

(1) It is basically a harmonica in disguise (Well, 2 harmonica's, one in C and one in G)

(2) The diatonic nature makes it (like a harmonica) immediately rewarding because the accompanying chord is semi-automatic. You can almost immediately do little v-I ditties that make you feel good even before you can actually play it.

(3) My initial sense is that this seems like an awkward, terribly inappropriate instrument to be doing the Irish fast single-note stuff. I think if I were going to do fiddle tunes I'd just buy a fiddle and be done with it -- the fiddle is inherently so much smoother for that sort of thing. What I love about the concertina is the promise of being able to carry a melody line with some simultaneous chordal accompaniment, something you can't do very well with the fiddle or, say, the penny-whistle (which I assume has much the same repertoire.)

Anyway, I'm enjoying this new musical discovery. Hopefully I'll get more clueful as time goes by.

-- Mike

Mike,

For all of us that are forever working on technique to play reels up to speed, I say a hearty Amen! to your observations. It may be too late for some of us who are in love with the "Clare Co concertina sound" to rein in our pursuit of the "Irish dancing muse". But with your stated intrigue of melody with accompaniment you should pursue Alan Day's tutorial. Find one of Alan's postings and click on his name. That will take you to an information format where you can go to his home page. It is a wonderful site!

I think the Levy book will take you in some directions of interest.
You may find the recordings of John Kirkpatrick and John Roberts & Tony Barrand stimulating.

Regards, Greg

You might be surprised to learn how many of us didn't "grow up in the tradition", and how many of those who didn't learn concertina there.

I'm not sure when Stephen Mills' map was last updated, but you'll get some idea how many of us are in countries with no "native" concertina tradition.


I'm always amazed at the number of people who have experience in playing the harmonica!


Get some CD's of Irish (and "Irish") players -- the online mail-order catalog at The Button Box is a good place to start -- and you might change your mind.


It is, but some people think that Irish music on the concertina should not be smooth.

Now THAT's pretty neat!

Apparently my area (Maryland) is a hotbed of Anglo concertina players. I'll take a look outside to see if any are blocking the driveway.

Sounds like you should come join us at the Northeast Squeeze-In in western MA in mid September. There you'll find many types of music - Irish, English, Scottish, French Canadian, contradance stuff, classical, schmaltz, klezmer, Swedish, Cajun... all being played by scores of concertinaed people. Yes, there lots of accordions too - as well as fiddles, banjos. guitars, keyboards, basses, hammered dulcimers, bagpipes!!!.... But vastly, predominantly, squeezeboxes.

Things do vary considerably from year to year. Some years we have serious early music and classical, sometimes Bulgarian and Macedonian contingents. A couple years an accordion player coerced her entire bluegrass group to come up. All the workshops, concert, and dance are participant-led so things can be very impromptu. Sometimes people plan an entire year ahead to present some piece, lead a particular workshop or whatever. Of course there are a *few* planned parts, such as our infamous Limerick Contest....

This year I'm actually *planning* to do something in the concertina band workshop. Yes - I usually post the workshop and bring lots of part music (though Rachel usually "leads" it) - but this time I'm working with a composer to put his piece into a 6 part concertina band arrangement expressly for THIS event. He'll be there as well with his squeezebox (and other instruments which includes a field organ!).

Lots of fun - please check out the website. I hope you can make it. Maybe even carpool up with folks coming from your area?

>The Anglo Concertina Demystified" is on it's way from Elderly.
> My impression is that this is one of the fistful of must-have
> instruction guides.

For English-style, chord-and-melody playing, that and Alan Day's tutorial are the places to start, for sure.

Are you in the DC burbs? If so, you're welcome to come to our periodic jams, where we cover just about every musical style, from Irish to oldtime. Rocky Top on Anglo? Weird, but fun.

The squeeze in is also great. I went only once, in 1999, but hope to get there this year.

Alan Day responded quickly to my request and that too is on the way.



Yes, I'm near Columbia, Md. Thanks. I may indeed drop by, perhaps to kibitz at one of your gigs at Glen Echo Ballroom. I figure I'll need at least a couple days to learn the instrument before I dare attend any jams or retreats (that's a joke).

-- Mike

After 3 days of fairly intensive practice, have added another half-baked sense:

(4) This thing is potentially carpal-tunnel city. I will need to read some of the excellent articles here on position, etc., to keep from getting into bad habits early.) Wrists hurt more than any previous instrument or computer mouse, etc...

Actually, come to think of it, I'm not aware of the etymology of the word "concertina" -- wonder if it's a mongrelization of the phrase "carpaltunnelcity."

Currently listening to Scottish Dance on BBC Radio Scotland in the background -- been feeling very international these last few days.

-- Mike

Mike, I envy you being that close to Glen Echo. I left the DC area almost 5 years ago, and Glen Echo is one of the parts I miss the most!

My immediate reaction to reading this is:
1 You don't have to hold the ends of the instrument parallel to each other. Try keeping your forearms and hands in a straight line, it won't harm the bellows if they're bent !
2 How tight are the wrist straps, could they be loosened a little?
But, yes, read up on the ergonomic articles, too ...
Samantha

Thanks, Samantha.

I loosened the straps some and that seemed to help. I think much of this is just general hand tension in the early learning process -- tenaciously holding that last note until I find the next, etc.

Thanks again, will keep y'all posted. This may be a new career. How much money can I make as a professional concertinist?

-- Mike

>I loosened the straps some and that seemed to help.

As a tendonitis sufferer, I can offer one piece of advice: stretch. LEarn the basic wrist/arm/elbow stretches, do them before and after playing and in the middle, if you're practicing a lot. Buy a "Wrist Wand," available here: http://www.wristwand.com/.

I learned this stuff the hard way.

> How much money can I make as a professiona
>l concertinist?

Don't quit your day job.

Mike:

Wait, you could be blocking my driveway in Ellicott City!

Have you been in touch with Philippe Varlet at <http://go.to/celticgrooves>? A great nearby source for CDs.
Jack

I made $30 once...and $1 busking another time...

Just learned a new word...

Sorry, in my youth I hung out with too many British and Canadian morris dancers and musicians (and read waaay too many British and Canadian-based authors). And in my wild 20's-early 30's I was quite the Renaissance Faire rat. I forget, sometimes, that I tend to use words and phrases that not every American uses.

Which, when combined with my Kentucky accent that only surfaces when I get tired or angry, makes conversation with me very interesting sometimes

Suffice to say, as a street musician, I am in no danger of quitting my day job any time soon

How about Scottish? "Busk and go, bonnie lassie."

As I am not a real fan of the word "sorry" I had a look at Guru-net and I found this description:

busk (bŭsk)
intr.v., busked, busk·ing, busks.
To play music or perform entertainment in a public place, usually while soliciting money.

[Earlier, to be an itinerant performer, probably from busk, to go about seeking, cruise as a pirate, perhaps from obsolete French busquer, to prowl, from Italian buscare, to prowl, or Spanish buscar, to seek, from Old Spanish boscar.]

So in my opinion (although Dutch {for which I am NOT sorry}) there's nothing to say sorry about

>Suffice to say, as a street musician, I am in no danger of
> quitting my day job any time soon

As muso for Morris dance group, I've learned that "busking" really entails cadging enough money from passersby to buy beer.

And when I've gone busking with band mates, we do pretty well, but instantly blow it on food and drink. One way or the other, I've actually made hundreds of dollars busking -- but not a penny has ever made it home.

I wonder if INternal Revenue considers beer a business expense.

Well, since all your revenue winds up internal, I think they should consider their job well done.

Yep. But like so many other words, it has more than one meaning, so here's the definition for the reference I made:
... To prepare; to make ready; to array; to dress. [Scot. & Old Eng.]

Well, I relaxed a little after noting the $1 amount, but I'll have to admit I made certain to look it up before responding.......

-- Mike

Son of a gun. Theo is selling my instrument here:

http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1389