Sorry if this has been mentioned elsewhere but Free Reed have recently re-mastered Alistair's 1970s LP album Concertina Workshop. On the sleeve notes (and the website) it states that the companion book is "now available on-line". They don't seem to sell it and no web page link is given, they don't have a contact email address and the telephone is unmanned at present as they are away. A Google search proved fruitless. Can anyone throw any light on this?

Pete.

Well, you used to be able to buy an authorized photocopy of the book from the Button Box in the U.S. Maybe Rich Morse can tell us if it is still available?

Ken

Would it have been authorised by Alistair Anderson himself?

I have a copy of the book but would not photocopy it without express permission from AA!

Regards

- John Wild

Yes, it's official, on the up and up, from Andy's Front Hall, which was the original publisher, at least here in the States. Rich M. and company are much to wise (and too official) to do things any other way - I know them well enough to be sure of that.

Ken

I've had the exact same experience. Can anyone provide the link?

Michael

Michael,

I'm not sure if "The missing link" (a.k.a. Neil Wayne) will be attending Eigse Mrs. Crotty this year, though he's been at the last few, so I'll ask him if I see him in the week...

I don't know about that site but The Button Box carries the book though I see that it's currently "out of stock". I'll talk to our staff tomorrow to find out when they're due back.

-- Rich --

Some years ago, Alistair Anderson appeared at my local folk club. Afterwards, I asked him about his tutor book. He told me that it was long out of print and he had no plans to have it reprinted but that if I wanted a copy, I could obtain a photocopy from his secretary. All I had to do, was contact her, explain my request and she would send me one, which I thought was very nice of him. Shortly afterwards, I discovered that a friend of mine had an original copy of the book which he was prepared to lend me, so I didn't bother to take Alistair up on his kind offer. In the meantime, I have managed to obtain an original copy of the tutor and the original LP, as a set, both in v.g.c. on Ebay for £20.00!

Chris

Our shipment of AA's book is due in by the end of this week. We usually have it in stock though were recently cleaned out by a person from the UK that wanted 7 of them!

-- Rich --

John,
I asked Alistair about this some years ago at Kilve. He was happy for it to be copied since it was out of print.

It's annoying that the CD states that the book is available on line and promises to give a link... and then doesn't.

I spoke to Neil about it this evening, and he assures me it's being scanned and will be available soon.

Thanks Stephen, I'm really looking forward to having a go at the arrangements.

The Concertina Workshop book in .pdf format is now available for download

Mega fantastic! Thanks. I bought the CD, but I was looking for the book for months now.

waw, seems to be a very promising tutor for self teaching purpose! I guess Michel will be much faster than me studying it ... See you soon, Michel

Dirk, Flanders, Belgium

Wow, that is so fantastic! Feels like xmas today!

Having a copy of the book at last is great; but it's not the best scan I've seen, and the print is a little small for my tired old eyes. So now it's in the public domain I'm going to abc the tunes as I go along. I've picked a particularly hard one to start off with but it's so good I just had to have a go!

Please feel free to add your own transcriptions, it will save me some work.

X:1
T: The Fairy Queen
C:Trad
S:Alistair Anderson "The Concertina Workshop"
Z: Peter Dunk, November 2008
Q:1/4=160
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:D
A2 | (3ded ec d2 AG | FDFA dAFA | (3GAG BG E2 ef | gec(({d}e) d)cBA |
(3ded ec d2 AG | FDFA dAFA | (3GAG BG E2 ef | gece d2 :|
A2 | df (3fgf gece | da^ga baga | fdAF G2 ef | ge (3efe ge (3efe |
df (3fgf gfga | ba^ga baga | fdAF G2 ef | gece d2 :|

I was planning to put them in midi format so that one can listen to them, put the tunes one each in .pdf format and search for the chords...

The abc file will give you both midi and .pdf, just copy and paste the text into the Tune-O-Tron converter then click 'Submit'.

Pete.

Joe Burke's Hornpipe.

X:1
T:Joe Burke's Hornpipe
Z: Peter Dunk December 2008
S: Alistair Anderson's Concertina Workshop
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
R:Hornpipe
K:G
(3DEF | G>AG>E D>"R2"G," R3"B,>"R1"D | G>FG>A B>dg>f | e>dc>B {AB}A2 G>A | B>AG>F E2 (3DEF |
G>AG>E D>G,B,>D | G>FG>A B>dg>f | e>dc>B A2 G>A | B>GG>F G2 :|
Bc | d>^cd>e d>BG>D | G>Bd>^c d>Bg>f | e>fg>e d>BG>A | B>AA>^G A>DE>F |
G>AG>E D>G,B,>D | G>FG>A B>dg>f | e>dc>B {AB}A2 G>A | B>GG>F G2 :|

The version above was written so that a midi playback would give a better idea of how it sounds although that is a pretty inaccurate version of the true hornpipe rhythm too. If you want the dots printed as it is in the book use this version of the abc.

X:1
T:Joe Burke's Hornpipe
Z: Peter Dunk December 2008
S: Alistair Anderson's Concertina Workshop
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=140
K:G
(3DEF | GAGE D"R2"G," R3"B,"R1"D | GFGA Bdgf | edcB {AB}A2 GA | BAGF E2 (3DEF |
GAGE DG,B,D | GFGA Bdgf | edcB A2 GA | BGGF G2 :|
Bc | d^cde dBGD | GBd^c dBgf | efge dBGA | BAA^G ADEF |
GAGE DG,B,D | GFGA Bdgf | edcB {AB}A2 GA | BGGF G2 :|

ummm,.. those two versions sound exactly the same as midi. (to my tin ear)

When I open either midi file as dots in a midi-to-dot program, they ARE exactly the same. Either will superimpose precisely over the other when printed on tracing paper.

Well the first version should play (and print) as lots of dotted quavers followed by semiquavers. The second version is all quavers and sounds very different. Is it possible you managed paste the same version twice into the converter by mistake?

Pete.

Tried it again, even rebooting between uses of the tune-o-tron.
The written music is obviously different, but the midi is exactly the same. Both midi files open into dots (and sound) exactly as the first version posted. (dotted quaver & semi-quaver, rather than two quavers)

The tune-o-tron has always done this for me. I love it!

Some of the ABC player software will "swing" a tune if you have it specified as a hornpipe with the R:Hornpipe.
try taking this line out and see if it gets played without the dotted rhythmn.

Chris
ps from memory, Alastair Anderson plays this one (Joe Burkes almost straight ie undotted