Hearing recently of a C net member practicing for four to six hours a day which for a non professional or even semi professional is a lot of hours.I wondered what pushed me along to sit playing my concertina every day which I normally do in short bursts of fifteen minutes with a few hours break in between. For me it is new tunes,Tunes that get into my head and I have to learn them for however long it takes.A break for a few days and then onto the next tune.I rarely play tunes I already know unless I am getting ready for a gig and then it is to refresh my memory.In the early days I made the mistake of playing tunes or a tune I knew every time I practiced and I realised that I was wasting time.
What drives you to practice for hours and are you making full use of the time you are playing ?
Al

I play about one hour a day. But there are days I do not play at all, or days I will play two hours or (rarely) three.
I play new tunes. But I also rework old ones that I learned a few years ago. Because my abilities / technique has changed (for the better I hope) I can add to an old tune and make it more interesting than before.
In fact when I learn a tune I start learning the basic tune, and then there is a (more creative) process of what can be done with that tune and what ornamentations, chords, variations etc. I can apply to that tune. At the end I play the tune and have an array of possibilities to pick from as I feel inclined at that moment. At the beginning the possibilities are limited because your technique is limited. I have fun in using technique not for technique sake but to broaden my possibilities. I am now sweating on playing melody on two octaves at once (hard on the EC especially when you want to do it fast and smooth - a lot easier on the AC).

to be good. to stand out. to play incredible music. to sit among the elite and smile knowingly.

when you realize you only have one life, you also conclude you only have so much time, better to spend it being the best you can, even if your not aiming at virtuosity. With the modern digital age and mass information, the bar has risen beyond most players' vision: to make an impact in the musical world today you must be very good, or else you are passed up in a few mouse clicks.

ah that double edged sword of technology: the joy of drinking in the wisdom of the ages, the sadness of downloading a lifetime of work in seconds.

all you really have is the moment in your in.

Yer me too but without the poncey bits!

As to how; I do one big (hour plus at least) practice and work fairly steadily at new pieces; I always have several on the go. The final polish never seems to stop and I revisit learnt pieces regularly as I find I still improve on them as I move on. If I'm really not in the mood I experiment with trying to play blues or Fats Waller tunes or working out odd chord sequences or whatever; not so structured but still useful in my grand plan.

Life interrupts my practice rather than me; I could always play a bit more...

I've lost my hopes of becoming what I wanted, but in the meantime have become a music junkey. It has therapeutic influence on me (hope so), without practicing for an hour a day I'm ill. Has been ill throughout long weekend.

The sheer enjoyment of playing.

I don't play my concertina enough. I tend to pick up my flute first.

I would agree with "Tootler": the sheer enjoyment of playing and making music. . . . .for those who have experienced that enjoyment, there is nothing more worthwhile. . . . .unless it's sharing it with others...........allan

To Jim Lucas:
When I was recording my Bach Bouree, my 6 year old, instead of asking to play rhythm or stop, started to dance! Wow! I don't even know what to make of it.

The (slowly, slowly, very slowly) ability to get the wee beastie to make the sounds it's capable of. I was going to say, "the ability to get the harmonies I hear in my head to make their way to my fingers," but that's not quite right. It's more about discovering what the instrument can do, if I'm good enough to let it do it. Which I never will be, but that's what improvement's about, eh? It's not something that has a final destination.

Playing for dancers! I've been very fortunate this past year to be able to play within a small group for two English country dances per month (and two sessions per month as well). I can't say I practice every day (I don't), and I don't spend a lot of time on anything too frilly with accompaniment, as we change tunes every dance and I'm still learning from the several thousand tunes in the Barnes books that they use. Octave playing on anglo or straightforward EC, up to tempo with some great musicians who continually challenge me, while playing for some good dancers, that is what is fun for me.

I could probably be a much better player if I put my concertina history research and writing time into practicing time. But I like that side a lot too, and always find a bit of time for it. I dropped by a local university research library after work today, and found a few great little stories about minstrel anglo players in England...

Dan

You are right Dan there is nothing better than playing for dancers and those new to our type of dance.Watching little tots dancing with their parents with huge smiles and laughter. Students at Colleges, School Kids at Schools really enjoying themselves,it cannot get better. I remember clearly a dance we did for a large school in Horsham Sussex where there were two events on at the same time a Disco and our Country Dance. Early on in the evening we had a job getting a set together and the disco was heaving,gradually however a few started to get bored with it and drifted over to us,I think initially more for a laugh than a dance.We gradually got them on the floor with fairly simple, but energetic dances(one of the advantages of a good caller).The more we got, the more it grew until the whole evening turned around, we had about two hundred youngsters dancing.A fantastic evening with them screaming for more after each dance.It is evenings like those that make you realise what concertina playing is all about.
Al

Age .. it's catching up. So many tunes, so much music .. so little time!!!

Another dance player here. But while I play several instruments for dances, I reserve my concertina playing for my personal enjoyment, and entertaining family and friends. It's the instrument of choice for me for relaxation.

Spoken like a true Antipodean!

I find playing the concertina in good sessions the most fun I know, state of dress irrelevant. Close behind, and something we haven't done for a while but want to get back to, is being applauded for a good performance of a song (sometimes accompanied on concertinas). Does the ego a world of good, but you do have to practice, because getting it badly wrong in front of an audience is quite demoralising.

My partner Anne has just won a place to read music at Bath Spa University from September, and one of the features of the course is frequent sessions of playing in front of other students followed by constructive criticism. Talk about motivation! She's spending several hours every day practicing her two main instruments (voice and concertina) to bring herself up to the standard she imagines that all these 18 year olds will be at when she starts.

I'm going to have to start practicing hard just to keep in sight of her

Chris

Having spent much of the last couple of days at The Sage, Gateshead watching final year performances by students on the folk degree course at Newcastle, I can understand how Anne feels. She should not worry though: youth brings something to music but experience brings something else, particularly to song.

Best of luck to both of you in this new enterprise! Roger

Because I need to, for myself....that is until 4 years back performing in an elder care center an ancient dear lady toddled up afterward, looked straight into my eyes and said "Thank you. My mother played the concertina. She had black hair and green eyes and I loved to listen as she played in the kitchen." Whew, shakes me up just remembering it.

I try to play every day because of all the too many instruments I've tried, this one feels right for me. Even though my tendons in my bass hand are sore most of the time these days.

I have told myself from day one that I want to learn to play the instrument, not just the tunes, so I am developing my repertoire slowly. But hopefully I'm playing the dozen or so tunes I know more musically than I was.

Me, I'm facinated by the darned thing. I am reminded of the song about the "wonderful toy" that Peter Paul and Mary used to sing. The instrument is beautiful to look at, gives the feeling of a living breathing thing in the hands (I love the feeling of controlling the column of air), and, joy of joys, it makes the most wonderful sounds when treated nicely.

I like that it is dead simple to learn, yet almost infinitely complex to play well. It is as though it is a house with many rooms, each more richly furnished than the last. There does not appear to be any limitation to the styles that it can be put to.

And, thanks to the Ladies and Gentlemen here on c-net, I know much more about the culture of the areas where the concertina is played.

You just can't lose!

Cant keep my hands off of it!

A new tune will bring frantic practice sessions for days on end until it's in the fingers. Problem is that it doesn't often stay in the brain and I can't remember what I was trying to learn until I hear it on a cd again . Then out comes the box again for another go. It takes a long time to get a tune to stay in the memory box.

Chas

Dogs die. People leave. My concertina shall live forever...

Interesting Chas, tunes follow certain patterns,the really difficult pieces need a jog to the memory, but to forget so quickly seems a bit strange.Sessions consist of tunes being played that you remember from years back and although it takes a few minutes to jog your memory they come flooding back.You must have a problem with this.
Al

Al, that's the difference between the natural, perhaps even gifted musicians and the rest of us. It's so much harder to make it stick in the first place and then a few months down the line it's gone again. I'm best at playing the most recently practiced pieces - which is why I'm dead meat in a session!

First observation is that your tunes may be so similar, it's hard to make them memorable, but once you start playing one, you may merge into another, or make a tune up on a fly.
Second observation is that if a tune has no words, it may make little sense, and is difficult to remember as it has no application. It's like many classical pieces, just your arpeggios up and down, no real composition, just filling in. It is very difficult to memorize, as any others will do just
as nicely.
And third observation is that many tune names are so arbitrary, they make total mess in your memory instead of ordering things. Like "Irish Washerwoman". Is that a song about Irish Washerwoman? Is the music reminiscent of the washing, or has any indication it's about a woman? What if I'll call it English Ironman?
There you go. After 10 similar tunes there is no need to remember them, as any sequence of notes will work.

Is the difference that I learn by ear and have to ram the tune into my brain and those that use dots do not ? When I played the trumpet I could not play a tune unless the dots were in front of me. I do not think that a person who remembers tunes is necessarily a gifted musician.I bet if one of the old dance tunes came on the radio you will remember it. It is just how you approach the playing of them. It is the same for remembering words for plays ,monologues etc,many will say they just cannot do it ,but tell them a good joke and they will be telling it to others the next day.
Al

Good timing is a different matter.Good timing is what separates the naturally gifted musicians,footballers,tennis players etc.
You can play the correct notes in the right order , but if they are not necessarily at the write time then you have a major problem.
Al
2 AM is not a good time.

For me it makes a big difference how I first learn a tune. If I learn it initially by ear it tends to stick after only a few plays, whereas if I learn from the dots I never seem to be able to ween myself off having the music in front of me, however often I play it. If I know I am going to have to play a dot-learned tune without music I have to have a practice session when I refer to the music only as a reminder then look away to play - it's like learning the tune all over again but this time by ear.

Ray

If you can sing (or lilt or hum) the musical piece, no matter if it is a song, march, or dance music, than it is in your head and you should be able to play it. Of course sometimes you will have the difficulty of finding the tune in your head but it will be there (if you find a first sequence of notes you will find the tune). But these are two different things!
I must know hundreds of Irish and Breton tunes that I can play. And than there is also many other non traditional music in my head too. These range from children songs, pop, rock, pieces of classical music (hard to remember a whole concerto, but easy to rember the themes), to even commercial tv jingles. These I should be able to play as well (the difficult ones slowly, the easy ones reasonably fast). This is why some people tend to listen a lot to a piece before actually playing it.
The problem with sheet music is that you do not have to memorize it in order to play the notes right, so apparently you don't (I do not read myself). A good memory can serve a musician well and gives certain advantages. But it is only one aspect of a good musician and not the most important. You can make great music without a great memory.

And my driving force to play concertina: beautiful instrument, in every aspect (like the ideal woman...- before I get remarks - forget the word instrument and emphasize on beautiful and every aspect). Furthermore being a flute player initially, for me it adds the following: no need to blow it and keep your embouchure (its a lot easier to get a good sound of it, and the bellow technique is also easier). And it allows you to play double notes and chords. And then there is the music (but that is not only concertina related) wheter you play alone, with a partner, a session or a performance. When thing work OK it is pure bliss (of course one has its off days/moments too ).

In a session. Easy Peasy.

It's remembering part of the new tune to get it started thats the problem. Sometimes I remember the "B" part then it all comes back to me.

They get in the head eventually. Just takes time that's all.

Chas

Yes, to remember a tune, sometimes the best idea is to try the B music (or chorus, as appropriate) first.

As a Morris dancer, I sometimes have to visualise the steps of the chorus to remind myself of the B music so that the B music can remind me of the A music!

If you're struggling to remember a tune, is it because you think of it in terms of a sequence of notes (or buttons) rather than as a coherent piece of music? I think in terms of rhythms, chords, and phrases, rather than notes.

My problem, as a fairly new Anglo player is if I haven't practised a tune for a while, I tend to forget which of the various alternative fingerings works best, and I sometimes end up with my fingers in a knot.

The most difficult is linking two tunes or more together for session or band playing.Playing one tune and trying to remember the next when you are leading a band for dancing can be a bit panicky. A lot of sessions vary most seem to like two A,s and two B,s then change to the next tune .The George is a bit different, playing the tune sometimes six or more times through before changing.Will Duke in session usually plays Two A,s two B,s the same for the next tune ,then goes back to the first playing one A and then one B of each tune.I just cannot get used to this system and have to wait for a reminder before joining back in.
I personally prefer playing the tune for longer and normally do so ,It took be a bit by surprise when everyone stopped playing at Bradfield the last time I was there after two times through and I kept going. Nobody yawned so I carried on.I shall try and get there for the Friday session so I may break the Northern Rules once again.
BOO HISS
Al

I think changing the tune after 2A 2B suggests boredom with the tune - in which case, why play it at all? This idea of thinking about what comes NEXT before finishing what we're doing NOW is a modern disease.

Most listeners thrive on what they recognise. Music involves patterns and repetition and the listener's enjoyment comes in part from the recognition of those patterns and then appreciating any deviation from the expected.

A friend lent me some Martin Hayes CDs (Irish fiddler) and Hayes plays the same tune through several times, slowly enough for you to appreciate the architecture of the tune. The differences each time through the tune are subtle, as if he keeps finding something new that he had not noticed before. How different from the utilitarian foot tapping monotony of off the shelf high speed diddly diddly music.

Yesterday I was at Thaxted for the Morris Ring Meeting. At the end of the late show, a lone fiddler plays the Abbot's Bromley horn dance tune time after time at a stately pace - probably 20 times in a row - and it never gets boring, it just grows more haunting.

I think this is a practice associated with Lewes and its environs for some reason.

Most English sessions seem wedded to three times through the tune, which can be quite useful if you don't feel up to yelling "change" and playing at the same time. Personally, I like the French approach of playing the tune lots of times through so you can really get into it.

My sig block used to read, "if a tune's worth playing, it's worth playing LOTS". I think that's a philosophy you could live your life by.

Chris

You've had some good signatures, Chris. However, I think you might have run into problems with the current one, since all the money spent might leave you with fewer concertinas at 2008 prices.

Regards,
Peter.

Why do I play?

As I sit here reading what has been written before me I gladly wipe away tears of joy and a bit of emotional knowing and been there. I am married to a wonderful lady who is one of those blessed persons, who plays multiple instruments of different families and can pick a new one in way too fast time. I struggle and proudly so as playing with my wife and having the kids dance or join in some fashion (the son will strum a Mandolin if it is held for him and will also play a harmonica a bit).

Working on getting better as playing with others or for the enjoyment of many is just something that brings a deep welling of happiness within. My wife plays Violin at our local Church (the concertina is not accepted by one of the priests though the head of music would love it, politics ). She also has picked up the EC and I am repairing a brass reeded Lachenal that we could afford for her to play; as she plays a Chinese nightmare at present (in less than six months of playing she is already working on chords). Than again for her music and instruments are something that she has always done and hopefully will always do.

Myself practice is the time to get things right and start the road with a piece of music to see what can be done. One simple piece we are working with right now is "Wandering Stranger", a very simple piece that has some very interesting variation that can be worked into the piece.

Having dealt with cancer and things that I will not wish on my enemies, life is and it is meant for living. For me and mine music is part of how we enjoy living and on give thanks back for everything we have been given. It heals, sometime it tears as it does so; but it helps heal.

All this wandering thoughts above is why I play/practice and to a lesser and greater extent my wonder wife does as well.

Michael

I have often wondered how some players can motivate themselves to practice when it appears to lead nowhere.They do not play in a band,or in public they just sit down and play for the sheer joy of making music and progressing to their own satisfaction.These questions have been answered here.
I wish you every success Michael, a very moving posting and on behalf of the rest of us I would like you to prove that the Priest who hates concertinas ideas are misplaced.
Al

The thing, with music, is that you are never quite sure where it will lead.

I like to think that whilst I have reached a standard whereby I could be earning money from my music (well; I did in the past!), I don't have to be out chasing the money just to justify playing the instruments. So; I no longer play in a band (our agent offered us more work than we wished to undertake), I have never been a regular session player (although I've played in many festival sessions). I feel more relaxed about sitting at home, working on one or two things, when the mood takes me, and aiming for "performance" standard. I can then think about projects which might be fun to do, should the right circumstances fall into place.

A couple of days ago I might have had a "smart" response to this posting, since the BBC had advertised for musicians for a project filmed today. Sounded like "fun to do", at short notice, but, guess what? Yes; they already had enough musicians. Still; I'm on their list for a future occasion, if needed.

I must give a plug for C.net, too. Being a member, here, has enabled me to meet some very special friends who, otherwise, I would probably never have met. That would have been my loss, and I think theirs too!

Regards,
Peter.