SO what is the best way to learn. Should I concentrate on doing scales, or chords or just try to learn a tune? (when I was learning the guitar I manly just learnt a tune from tabs)
(I've been following a lovely youtube video so far but its difficult to get to a computer with the net where I can sit there and play the concertina.)
Which is best for learning the above book, DVD?

A good thing to do as a learner would be to get over to Kilve in Somerset for the weekend of 17th to 19th of October where West Country Concertina Players are running their residential beginner's/intermediate weekend. You'll get a weekend of tuition and help from other concertina enthusiasts. Lots of the more experienced players will be there as well as newcomers and you can pick their brains as well as hear them play. Contact details are on the new website at www.wccp.co.uk

There is no one best way to learn: it depends on many factors including the kind of person you are today.

Some ways are better than others and the ones involving other players (not necessarily concertina players) are better than sitting at home with any kind of teaching aid.

John Adey is right that Kilve would be good. I went there for the first time in March. They are a very friendly and encouraging bunch. May go back in October although it is a long way for me. Essex may not be that much closer than Durham.

Roger

Sounds nice but its quite far to travel. Are these quite regular throughout the year? (I might be able to combine it with a holiday.)


It would be at least a 3 hour train journey.

I would learn scales and chords,and also play tunes.
you can use certain tunes to practice scales,or arpeggios[broken chords]
if you allocate an hour a day,why not spend half an hour practising tunes and the other half practising scales and chords.after all tunes are only notes of the scale.

Oh, come on! 3 hours train journey is far for you? To where you can see other concertinas, and sign for a beginner's class, and talk to others directly and ask gazillion questions and have them answered?
Do you want to learn or you want to waste your time?

Mischa: It's not necessarily the travelling time that makes a person think twice about a long train journey - it's the cost of the fare too.

LDT: There are almost certainly other anglo players living relatively close to you who could give you some tips. I suggest you contact Katie Howson of the East Anglian Traditonal Music Trust:
email: info@eatmt.fsnet.co.uk
http://www.eatmt.org.uk/
or else see her (and others) at the TMD in Stowmarket on 30th August.
She may be able to put you in touch with (relatively) local players. No apologies for batting on about it again, it's a great organisation!

I'm finding the later in the day I practice the easier I find it. Is this odd?

There is not best way to learn.
It all comes down to listening to a lot of music and playing a lot.

A good way not to learn is to spend hours a day on the net....

I confess to the latter, to my dismay.

Not necessarily. Just as we all learn differently, I guess we all practice differently.

I gather from one or two of your posts that you seem to favour learning "by ear". What you might end up doing, is listening to music during the day (just to please Alan, I'm currently listening to English International), and practising the concertina during the evenings. I try to absorb music, and hope that what I like "sticks" somewhere in the brain, and comes out when I play the concertina. So; it could be argued that much of my practising is done without touching the concertina .... like whistling a tune as I walk down the road (and getting odd looks!).

Anyway; you are probably a year or two away from achieving the above, but it might be worth listening to pieces, which you are learning, during the day (assuming that you have recordings, to imprint them in your mind), before attempting to practice the same pieces in the evening. Also; I favour working on two or three pieces simultaneously. If one piece is not working out, you can always drop it in favour of another which is coming along better.

Peter.

Yup, I'll stand with that and agree that for me being around other musicians at some point early in the process was very helpful.

Also, to be honest I played other instruments. They translated in some way or other...of that I am convinced.

Somewhere (think it was on concertina.net but I cannot locate it) I read a discussion on the most productive ratio of listening to actual practice when learning a tune.

The view expressed by people I have great regard for was that ten to one would be about right.

Time of day is also very personal, but remember the state-dependent learning effect (that which is learned whilst drunk is best recalled whilst drunk). Once you have got somewhere with a tune, try to play it at different times, in different rooms and watching the buses go past the window.

Happy practicing, Roger

Wait for this in March It's closer and you'll have time to get better.

http://www.eatmt.org.uk/melodeons_in_mid_s..._&_more.htm
Not that it helps, but I'll be there.

Think you've just missed this one

http://www.eatmt.org.uk/traditional_music_day.htm

Chas

Oh I went to the traditional music day



every other instruments I've tried to learn I've given up on...so that is kind of a disadvantage.

Interesting, what other instruments have you tried and why did you give up?
It may be time to analyze it and make some predictions, then counteract them with clever practice routine, so you don't repeat this again (and again...)
I, for example, started by taking Piano accordion lessons, while wanting to play Bandoneon, thinking it's a Button accordion. Then I located Diatonic button accordion, took it for two weeks and learned to play it better, then in 4 months of PA lessons. But it didn't teach me, so I found a teacher for CBA and spent 5 years learning it. At no avail. So I quit and returned back to diatonic accordion, thinking it's too late to start Bandoneon. In the meanwhile I decided to bite the bullet and buy expencive English, because of it's perceived simplicity of keyboard. Bought Morse Albion and learned to rather advanced level only to find it's tuned too high and it's a bit too slow, so I traded it to a nice Lachenal Tenor in F, that is even slower, but it's tone is much much better. All the while I long for a Bandoneon, but am afraid of it's difficulty to learn. Have been eyeing Geuns' Hybrid, but it's chinese origin and reeds, supplied by the same manufacturer that makes reeds for Rochelle/Jackie don't make it appealing.
Tried harmonica, Ukulele and have nice Hohner Club, that I would like to trade for 3 row chromatic Saltarelle.
I'm stubborn and it doesn't serve me well. I always think: "OK, I'll give it a little bit more trial, then call it a day or keep forever", but ending up adding time to my trial. So I keep on learning English, while really longing for a nice Bandoneon, while been best at strings.
Hopeless case.
What's your ailment?

I've always learnt instruments in the past that have been chosen by other people.
Recorder in infants school....I can't stand the sound.
Keyboard/piano at senior school....never got any help from the so called teacher who spent most of her time messing about (i.e. haveing chair races) with the other music teacher.
Lead guitar...my brother tried to show me but my fingers wouldn't reach and the strings hurt.
Bass Guitar...I bought that because I once managed to play along for a whole song but that was because someone shouted the chord changes at me. Once I had to practice on my own. the Twang-twang-twang of the bass guitar on its own was very boring.
Penny whistle....When I tried to play it more than 15 minutes at a time I almost had a asthma attack.
And now I'm on to the concertina.



figured out why its better in the evening...less distractions and noise. I tried practicing in the afternoon yesterday and it was way too noisy. Plus some idiot decided to randomly rev his engine outside for no apparent reason.