So, which Anglo Concertina is most .... 'Scottish Tunes all in A' .... friendly?

Or, have you got to go down the road taken by the likes of Norman Chalmers & Simon Thoumire, if you want to play Ye Olde Heedrum Hodrum & get yourself an English Concertina?

Cheers
Dick

hi ptarmigan IMO this isbest,accidental row,ec,a bflat,c#eflat,a g, g#bflat,rightc#eflat,a g ,g#b flat,c#eflat.a f. one of the lachenal layouts[they can occasionally vary].

When I started in the 1970s, the only players I heard or knew about played English concertina.
So it was natural that that was the type of concertina to play.
Besides, there's a whole range of keys for Scottish music.
There are many good Scottish fiddle tunes in Bb.

yeah, I am working on a couple of Hills hornpipes in bflat, great fun,and meggys foot in b flat, on my english,still I know that bflat can be played on a 30 key anglo even if alot of it is in the same direction.,although two notes of the octave scale will be on the push.,possibly three if you wish to use the d push note on the left hand g row,and the d note push g row in the higher octave

Hi Dick,

I see that you currently have a Jeffries layout 26 key C/G. Playing in "A" on a C/G is one option, but I guess that you would need a 30 key, or 38 key C/G to make life easier.

Do you play in "D" on the C/G? If so, then a 30 key G/D might be the answer. Using the "D" fingering from a C/G would give you "A" on the G/D.

However, with my limited knowledge of Scottish music, I don't know how either of the above suggestions would "feel" on the concertina.

Regards,
Peter.

I used to play a lot of Northumbrian and Scottish tunes in A, F & Bb on a 32-key C/G anglo, but found they got a lot easier on a 36-key; the most important notes you need in both directions are both lower & upper A, C# above middle C, lower and upper Bb and lower F; pretty well everything else can be accommodated by neat bellows changing.
Interestingly with my 39-key Dipper the action's so good that I hardly use the push F or lower Bb, and find I'm fitting more and more within a standard C/G layout, by using bellows changes more. A lot of Scots tunes in the flat keys fit neatly on the 3rd row of a C/G, and there are comfortable patterns for the standard chords in A if you're vamping the odd time through a tune at a dance or in a session (instead of melody rather than accompanying it as you can in C, D or G.

I've no idea how all this compares with a G/D though, sorry.

Pippa

Thanks for that Pippa.

However, ..... TOO LATE!

I'm afraid to say, I've already gone down that road & got myself a beautiful old Wheatstone English Concertina?

I must say too, that although it is a huge challenge after an Anglo, I'm enjoying the different feel to the music that comes from it.

As for G/D, I'm about to send off my Ab/Eb Lachenal & have it tidied up & retuned to G/D, so I'm really looking forward to
yet another new musical experience with that little machine, when it comes home.

The bottom line is ... I simply could not afford to move up to a 39 keyed Jeffries, so I'm just making the most of the 26 buttons I have & accepting that there are always going to be tunes that are never going to comfortable &/or easy to play on it.

Cheers
Dick