New concertina (rochelle!) arriving tomorrow i think!
what does everyone think i should learn to play first?

Mary had a little lamb, Twinkle little star, or Three blind mices.

Or if you're adventurous the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth.

First song I learned was Amazing Grace (in D), simple melody, and now I've added to it so it's a more complex arrangement, but the bare bones melody was a great place to start.

The old Pete Seeger tune, This Land Is Your Land, is a good beginner's piece. I think it only uses 4 or 5 pitches in the entire song. Again, once you've mastered it, you can add harmony.

To train my fingers on where the upper register buttons were (since they don't occur in scores as often as the lower pitches), I learned scales.

peace & blessings,
Miss Betsy

Woody Guthrie. Credit where it is due please! :-)

lol! Interestingly tho a simple melody line of that was one of the first things i learnt on mandolin...





My concertina is a G/C; will i be able to play in D easily? One thing i want to learn is the beautiful old tune that was used for the hymn be thou my vision
(aka Lord of all hopefulness)

That tune ("The Banks of the Bann": http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5832) does sound great on an Anglo!

I know that General Booth famously asked "Why should the Devil have all the best tunes", but "To Be a Pilgrim" certainly pinched from "Our Captain Cried All Hands" and I guess there must be plenty of other examples.

I've heard "John Barleycorn" sung to the tune usually associated with "We Plough the Fields and Scatter", but that may be a borrowing in the other direction?

D isn't a problem at all on a thirty button. On the other hand, I play amazing grace in g.

Alan

Not quite as easy as C or G, initially, but certainly worth attempting.

Many players who wish to play "English" music in an "English" style (primarily melody on the right hand, chords etc. on the left hand) opt for a G/D instrument, since many tunes are in G, D or a combination of both. By choosing a C/G, you will learn how to play in D for those tunes which demand it, so will stretch your ability.

So; in my book, a good choice! Also; if you wish to play in an Irish style, then C/G is almost "standard issue".

Regards,
Peter.

PS - in terms of what you play, initially ..... if you learn "by ear", then I would suggest a tune, or song melody, which you already know. That way, you will only deal with the variable of learning it on a new instrument.

Hi
I play 'english' so please excuse the possible stupidity of the question - 'if you're learning to play by ear, does it matter what key the instruments tuned in?' surely it only becomes an issue if you want to play with others in a different key. When you reach the stage of being capable of playing with others, the odds are that you're going to want a better concertina anyway- resolve it then.
chris (happy to be an 'english' player not needing to worry about this issue ) good luck with your new concertina

lots of helpful advice from everyone!
Thank you all
i certainly intend to learn by ear (but i will need the books for chords; i can read music as i play guitar and mandolin, but apart from picking out single line melodies i'm happy to admit my limitations as far as working out anything more complex, chords with sevenths and augmentations etc)

so what were the first tunes you all learnt?

Hi. I'm a beginner myself, and I also posed that question here. Lots of useful replies. I've also put the stuff I found and things people recommended me online:

Easy EC tunes

Have fun. In what part of the world are you living? I'm from Belgium.

Hi Michelv! thanks for the links. my concertina is an anglo, rather than english, but it looks like an interesting site anyway, and im sure the tunes are applicable provided the key isn't beyond my little box! (g/c)

i live in london. But i have some belgian relatives...

Nah, you won't - just experiment with dabbing down 2 or 3 keys on the left hand side that correspond to the ones you're playing on the right hand side and you'll find that the chords appear as if by magic! Or perhaps that's influenced by the fact that I came to the Anglo via the melodeon...

I think my first tune was Star of the County Down, in G.

Enjoy!

I'd second this. I found chord charts a bit pointless, and also restricting. Especially when one of the joys of the Anglo is big, open chords and the kind of unusual voicings you just can't get using melodeon basses (which to came to the Anglo via, as well).

I think the first tune I worked out properly was Greenland whale fisheries, then I had a bit of an excursion into Christmas carols.

I appear to have killed the thread.

What I should, of course, have posted is "One of the joys of the Anglo is playing reels at 200 mph."

Blow the Man Down. Real concertina song, and the first one that I used alternate keys on (with my Rochelle). Expecting my Tedrow baritone in about a week.

NNY

Hi,
You mean the tune "Slane", as it'S called in the hymn books?

It's not quite identical to "The Banks of the Bann" that someone cited here. "Slane" is more strictly (though not absolutely) pentatonic, and simpler, more grand. A lovely tune to play solo on the Anglo - but a boy-o to harmonise, like most pentatonic tunes. A very good tune to learn alternate fingerings with!

Cheers,
John

Suggestion to any Anglo newcomer. Resist the temptation to allow the little (4th) fingers to shirk their share of responsibility. Choose tunes/exercises which will encourage the little fingers (invariably the weakest fingers) to gain strength & control to hopefully match that of the others. Presumsbly applies to many other musical instruments ?

Good suggestion, Road. As an "English style" Anglo player, my left little finger does a lot of reaching for low notes for chords. Luckily, I've been playing the guitar for 30-odd years, so it's had a lot of use already.

My first tune was "Blow The Man Down" it's fairly simple and a classic sea shanty. "Waltzing Matilda" will get your left hand involved on one note for a start. "It's Amore" makes good practice for the left hand as well. Also, try "Danny Boy" you can't get more classic than that and it takes you up and down the keys a good bit. But try not to cry into your instrument, it voids the warranty.
There was a time, 60s or 70s I think, when you had to learn "Greensleeves" or you were stoned...with rocks.
If you're learning by ear, the more keys you contact during practice, the quicker you'll pick up other tunes, at least it seems that way to me.
Most of all, make it something you like to hear cause you'll be hearing it a lot.
Good luck!

Thank you everyone!
I love your profile picture drbones, where'd you find it??

I image googled "concertina pirate".

This post edited because I don't have a clue what I'm doing.