Tradewinds Ted

Another useful option is to try the Amazing Slow Downer program. It allows play back of a CD at reduced speed without changing the pitch. I've only just started using it , but it seems like it is just the thing to give you a chance to learn a tune by ear at your own speed. Not a free download, but it seems like it will be worth it. Also allows some other options such adjusting the volume of various pitch ranges, which can be useful in trying to pick out one type of instrument from a full arrangement, or selecting a section and looping it over and over again, to give a chance at identifying and writing down notes.

I don't know anyone specific, but perhaps can offer some leads, which should be fun even if you don't find a teacher. Sea Shanties: Are you aware of the monthly Boston Area Sea Chantey and Maritime Sing at the USS Constitution Museum, normally free, and held at 2pm on third Sundays? I'm guessing you would enjoy that for its own sake (if you aren't going already) but you also might find someone there who does play concertina and would be willing to help. Next one is apparently 19 June 2016. And of course there is the Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival coming up 9 - 12 June 2106. Not really that far away, certainly enjoyable, and perhaps another good place to rub shoulders with possible leads in your quest for a teacher. Or at least to observe others performing, and learn that way. found both of these events, and links to more information listed on www.bostonsongsessions.org For a chantey session, most songs will be acapella and most participants prefer it that way (for a real shanty it is more authentic), but concertinas do show up occasionally. For stage performances, a singer with concertina accompaniment is far more likely. Dance tunes: As for dance tunes, the first real trick is to understand the feel of the dancing. There are some great contra-dances in the greater Boston area, and certainly worth going to a few, if it isn't something you are all ready familiar with. From my memories of 20 years ago, the Concord Scout House has frequent dances, and hosts some really great bands. The great dances with great bands is true of many other locations in the area, I only mention one to get you started. Now, very few of the bands will have a concertina, but that doesn't really matter, just get the feel of the musical style. Listen to the interaction between the fiddle melody, and the harmony/rhythm of the piano. (a likely combination) Then get yourself some sheet music or recordings (depending which way you learn best) and try some of the tunes you like best. Probably easiest to start with tunes that are in C, G or D or the relative minors Am, Em, Bm but the majority of contra dance tunes will be in those keys anyway. I would start by just concentrating on the melody line (often the fiddle part), but add in some of that rhythmic harmony occasionally, once the melodies start to become comfortable. Adding harmonies may require re-adjustment of the fingering on some melody notes, to allow the desired bellows direction for harmony chords. Lost of online sources for tunes. www.thesession.org is just one example. Good luck!

Definitely worth the drive. It should be fun! I've not been there, but would be well worth your while even if those listed are all that are available. Plan on allowing yourself time to try a variety of instruments, not just those you can afford. That can be very illuminating. You may find that a vintage instrument or their own instruments feel so good that they are worth the difficulty of going over budget. Or you may find that the Rochelle suits your needs for the moment. Or for that matter, if you find that nothing there is enjoyable to play, then you might save a bunch of money by learning that Anglo concertina doesn't suit you after all? Don't expect to play well at first try of course, but certainly for Anglo if you have a chance to sit down with the instruments and noodle about you'll likely know a lot more about what you want from trying them then you ever could by reasoning it out from afar. And if the cost keeps you to the Rochelle for now, remember that the Button Box (and separately the Concertina Connection) each offer a full credit on the purchase price of the Rochelle purchased from them if you upgrade to one of their own higher grade instruments. So that takes away some of the risk you've previously experienced with starting on a cheaper instrument. If after trying it and others at the shop, the Rochelle doesn't suit, but Anglo concertina does, then consider a 26 button vintage instrument. I assume you've already dismissed a 20 button instrument, so I'll not argue for it here, although I love mine, it is actually still my favorite. But with a 26 button, you'll have the notes for the vast majority of traditional tunes, and the few absent notes are rarely needed. You might find a good 26 button instrument for less than $1500, which is not within your $1000 budget, but then again not as high as the 30 button instruments either. Good luck!

Bill Crossland is a member here who does repairs and restorations. He is in Holmfirth, not far away.

In addition to visiting Chris Alger of Barleycorn music, another even more local option would be to stop in at Hobgoblin Music in Manchester, upstairs in Johnny's Roadhouse music 123 Oxford Rd. They won't have as much knowledge as Chris, but they will have several examples of each on hand you could try out. I see you ask about Gawsworth sessions. If you are interested in a singer's night, I believe Lymm folk club still meets on Thursdays, usually at the Spread Eagle.

If Bill Crossland is the one selling it, ask him about it. I've found him to be very knowledgeable, helpful, and trustworthy. My own un-informed guess is that the crack won't cause a problem. Has this been repaired/glued already?

That particular tune has one awkward note for a 20 button. I assume you have a C/g instrument. If you play the tune in the key of C, the main tune starts on C. Everything works except for the 2nd note in the ninth measure (2nd line of the song) There you need a G# and you just don't have it. in the last line there an F# needed, but you can get that from the g row. If you try it in other keys, you run into more missing notes. I tried the same tune some time ago and ran into the same thing. There are ways to deal with this. One is simply to ignore the problem and play the wrong note! sounds silly I know, but pipers sometimes resort to this, for the same reason. Another (better) option If you are planning to play as an accompaniment to singing, is not to play the melody line, but play available notes from the applicable chords, And of course you can try a different tune. Music hall and show tunes like this sometimes have jazzy bits that can be a struggle on a 20 button, but there are a wealth of folk melodies that fit beautifully. If you want something so familiar that you can sound it out by ear, try Christmas carols. Out of season at the moment, of course though, whereas baseball is about to start.

Better than what? I believe the reference is a comparison of selling on ebay, vs. advertising here on concertina.net If you want, you can list an instrument for sale here in the Buy & Sell forum. If it sells, then a small donation to this website is expected. Of course you can do both - list it elsewhere, and also list it here, with a link to ebay or elsewhere. If you do that and the buyer indicates that they found out about it here, the donation to this site is still expected. Listing an instrument here is probably a good idea, since everyone here has at least some interest in concertinas. With this post you are already part way there. It is possible that someone could be interested enough in this thread to contact you with an offer after all! But a more formal offer for sale here would be a clearer signal that you are ready to sell. Yet a Stagi isn't the high end of the concertina world, so the long time players here won't be likely to buy it, you'll be waiting for a buyer who is interested enough to have found this site, but doesn't yet have a starter instrument. So an ebay listing might sell it faster than just a listing here. I have no idea what the Swedish site might be like. By the way, I'm not at all experienced selling things either, just trying to help explain the previous post you were asking about.

Partial chords are often plenty. The melody provides one note, so choose one other note in the chord for the harmony, that fits with the required bellows direction. One way to choose is to create a nice harmonic line, but it isn't necessary to provide a harmony note for every melody note either. For melody notes where there is a choice of buttons you may want to adjust your choice to more readily allow a harmony note, I find that for a 20 button the suggested fingering in G. Coovers book wouldn't be my first choice. (but therefore it is valuable to me for learning alternate fingerings!) Full chords can be reserved for emphasis at the end of the tune, when the melody is most likely on the tonic note anyway, and the full chord can be easily played.

Wolf, Your are of course correct that one instrument is not a whole band, but I don't really think that anybody is saying that it is. The idea of the discussion is that solo playing which includes polyphony, harmony, rhythm elements sufficient to stand in for a band is distinctly different than other types of solo playing, and it is certainly different than playing as part of a band. Certainly dancers feel the difference between someone playing a melodic line, vs someone playing the same melody with additional rhythmic detail to give the dance some drive. While it is true that the latter is really still a solo performance with a fuller arrangement, I think that the description "able to stand in for a band" is a quick yet useful way illustrate the difference. Sorry no links to any specific examples. Just thinking of David Kaynor leading a Scandinavian dance workshop, both calling and playing fiddle (while dancing!) many years ago. The fiddle was probably not even very polyphonic really, but his playing style clearly showed the rhythm and emphasis of the dance movements in a way that suggested the playing of a whole band rather than just the melodic line.

Although I expect you may have already had a look, I see that the Music Room in Cleckheaton lists three Lachenal English 48 button concertinas within your range. Two are right at your price point, and one considerably less. All are wooden, not metal ended, but if you are in South Yorks that mustn't be far to travel and you could try all three (as well some more expensive instruments) to see if they suit your need. www.themusicroom-online.co.uk

If you are still looking for a suitable key, I found appropriate keys at a clock & antique furniture repair supply house. It turns out that clock repair suppliers are referred to as "horological services" which was new information for me, anyway. The particular supplier I found was www.restoration-materials.co.uk in Bury, Lancashire, which was quite local for me at the time. I found keys blanks to fit two different Lachenal cases for instruments I had at the time, each with working locks. Mine actually had keys, and I just wanted duplicates to insure against loss (this greatly simplifies the process of course!) The appropriate blanks were of different sizes, so even though the locks are quite simple, don't assume that all will be the same. But the one of the blanks worked without any grinding to fit, even though it was simpler than the already simple shape of the existing key! (I've since sold that instrument, and hope the new owner appreciates the extra key) I still haven't bothered to grind the extra key to fit the lock for the instrument I do have, which is pretty silly of me, considering how easy it would be, and that I've put that key blank on the keychain with my house and car key which I use every day!

I assumed "ruining a melody line...." was completely intentional; a kindred sense of humor. I've never met Jody, or heard him play, but narrowly missed a couple of opportunities to do so in the past, and based on his participation here you would do well to seek him out, even if just for an occasional lesson. I agree with the idea that early lessons can point you in the right direction, but I also agree that it is great to figure things out on your own, and develop your own style. So an occasional lesson can be much better value than anything regular, if the instructor is willing to work that way. As for written exercises, many of the tunes in G. Coover's books have tab for more notes than just the melody line shown in standard notation. Personally I don't like to read tab, and would strongly prefer to see those notes written in notation instead, but I admit it does provide information on which button is intended when there are alternatives that the notation wouldn't make clear. So this is a resource you already have a start on. Bertram Levy's books are another good resource, although if you do use tab, his system is slightly different, as I recall.

Drowns out her ELECTRIC guitar? Simple solution - get her a guitar amp that goes up to eleven! Seriously though, I've also been told that the sound of the concertina can be quite piercing. Even playing in another room is not really enough, as the sound apparently cuts through. I don't want to fuss changing the feel of the instrument with baffles though, and the concertina muffs you describe seem like they would be awkward at best, and of limited effectiveness. To really muffle sound requires mass. I've toyed with the idea of a "soundproof" booth to sit in, but anything that would really work well enough appears to be both expensive and heavy. Of course you could get one for your wife's guitar practice instead? Best option so far has been to negotiate for practice time. If you've really been putting up with an electric guitar player in the house, then I say you are already "owed" many hours, so the negotiation should be easy! (Negotiation within the family never is though!) Even hearing the best player practice can get annoying since effective practice means some repetition, and particular attention to the parts that need the most work. Often, the real issue isn't that the instrument is so loud, but that the person hearing you practice doesn't know when it will stop so they dread having you start. So agreeing to a set amount of time, and sticking to it may help. (It is never enough time, of course, but better than an argument.) Perhaps practicing at the same time, as far away as the confines of the house will permit?

Suspect no one has seen a "real" clown on a unicycle?! I know for certain that I saw clowns on unicycles (and some of the unicycles were exceedingly tall!) when we went to the Barnum & Bailey and Ringling Bros. Circus back around 1970 when I was a child. I doubt I saw any with a real concertina, but reasonably sure there was some sort of squeezebox prop, with very extended bellows.

There was a recent thread about this in "Forum Questions,..." titled "How do I paste text from a MS Word file?" Apparently the problem only occurs with the Internet Explorer browser, other browsers work fine. I'd copy the link to that thread here, but I can't.

Now I'm curious. When I looked at the pictures, I thought the adjustment would be forward and back, as in closer or further from the buttons?

30 button seems to be the most common, but actually a 26 button C/g is more than enough in most sessions. The 20 button C/g is great in C and G major, A and E minor and the related modes, but it doesn't have the C# that is so very necessary to play the many D major tunes encountered in many Irish sessions. I bring along a D whistle for that very reason, and the covers most tunes that my 20 button concertina won't play. (or would if I could keep up!) The example tune looks like it would work fine on a 26 button C/g (although I've not tried it) and it would certainly work on a 30 button instrument, as mentioned already.

I know of a few music sessions a bit outside of Manchester but certainly in Southwest Lancashire: www.chorleytradmusicsessions.org.uk Hold a "slow and steady" learning session (with "dots" if you want them) on 1st Saturday afternoons 2-5 pm at the Eaves Green Community Centre, just south of the Centre of Chorley. usually several concertina players there, both Anglo and English, and several melodeons, and various whistles, mandolins and what have you. Very welcoming to a starting player. And a break for biscuits and tea halfway through too! And then on the 2nd Sunday afternoon noon-3pm they have a pub session at the Crown, in Worthington. This is usually a small group, and so it often gets bumped during the summer if the regulars are off at festivals, so worth checking the website before you go, or getting on the e-mail list, to receive a last minute confirmation. But again, several of the same people, so very welcoming to a starting player, although the expectation is that you will be playing from memory/by ear. Then in Edgworth, (just north of Bolton) there is a regular singer's night held the 1st Friday evening, 8-11 pm at The Barlow, which is a community centre next to the cricket club. Mostly songs rather than a tune session, but usually there will be several tunes as well, and if you want to lead something it would be welcome. We made some great friends there! (miss them dearly) The club also host concerts on the 3rd Friday of the month. In addition they also hold a folk music festival the 2nd weekend in October, which is ridiculously inexpensive for the quality of the performances! Although everything is now held at the Barlow in Edgworth, the group met in Bromley Cross in years past, so the web site is www.bromleycrossfolkclub.org.uk Even if you don't feel up to offering a tune at the singers night, the calibre of the concerts there is excellent. Also sessions in Edgworth at the Black Bull, on 1st and 3rd Monday nights. One is a tune session, and the other a singing session, although I don't recall which is which. Never actually went to these, as I had a bit of a drive, and I had too early a start at work the next day during the week. Then in Ramsbottom there is a singer's night, or concerts on Wednesday nights, at the Irwell Works Brewery. That started up about a year ago, which means it was just as we left, so I can't say what it is like, but the fellow who was setting it up is a good friend. www.irwellworksbrewery.co.uk And a regular singer's night, (and concerts) on Thursdays in Lymm, just into Chesire. I'm sure I'm missing many others folk clubs I never knew about. So while I'm aware not aware of a concertina group exactly, there are several opportunities in the area to link up with others and play, and that does include a few concertina players in the mix.

Wish I could be there! I miss you guys! Edit: For everybody else: If you possibly can, I urge you to go hear them!

Just keeping the house at or below 20 deg C worked fine in England, where average conditions outside tend to be +5 C and 90% relative humidity in winter, which puts the inside humidity at 20 C to about 35%. Daily activities such as showering and cooking drive the inside humidity a bit higher, so 45% isn't difficult to achieve without help. But where I am now the outside conditions in winter average -10 C and 75% relative humidity in winter, which puts the the inside conditions at 20 C in the range of only 10% relative humidity. Again, daily activities will run the indoor humidity a bit higher, but I regularly measured near 20% last January and February. Forced air heating doesn't help either! The dry air causes skin and nasal passages to dry out, not just wood insturments. So I run a humidifier in one bedroom of the house, where my instruments are kept. Just about time to start running that again. I also keep a cup of water inside the cabinet of the piano.

I have wondered about the possible negative effect of playing "air concertina" and yet I do find it useful for sorting out and reinforcing preferred finger patterns, so I feel that for me the net effect is helpful. It certainly doesn't replace practice time with the instrument though, only supplements it.

I actually do keep sheet music on my nightstand for tunes I am trying to learn. I'll sometimes hum through a tune softly to myself, but usually just think about the tune as I read the music, rather than humming audibly. And yes, I do a kind of "air concertina" sometimes as well. I play Anglo, so draw notes are simulated by a slight lift or backing away of the hand as a finger moves in. Somehow I manage to hold the printed paper up with my left thumb while the rest of my fingers are busy "playing" the air concertina as I lie in bed. I was doing that while working out a preferred fingering for a waltz just last night! It really works best if I have the tune in my head firmly enough that I don't have any doubt about how it "should" sound, and I can just use the sheet music as a reminder of just exactly which notes I'm trying to work on to get the fingering steady. But I'd never thought about it as a special technique, just a natural way to keep working on the tune quietly, when actual play isn't possible. I've done the same for other instruments over the years, most notably piano, because pianos just aren't all that portable, and aren't always close at hand. As an unexpected result even now when first reading through a new tune, such as when scanning through a tune book for interesting tunes to learn, if I don't have an instrument in hand I've discovered my right hand sort of playing the melody on the "air piano" as I try to sound out the tune in my head. Usually a rather inaccurate simulation of how I might play it, but at least the rhythm and general directon of the melody will be represented. I'd still consider myself a relative beginning player on concertina, but I'm pretty good at sight reading. I think that "air practice" has helped with that, although that hasn't been my deliberate goal.

I've been reading a series on how the brain works with respect to practice and learning to play music that may be interesting. The author specifically targets playing the banjo, and markets lessons for that, but the blog really has very little to do with the banjo, and is all about how the mind works and how we learn music. httP://clawhammerbanjo.net/the-immutable-laws-of-brainjo-the-art-and-science-of-effective-practice/

Perhaps I should let Jody answer, but as he is travelling and might be slower to respond, I'll hazard a guess: Based on the listed schedule - Stockport tonight for 2 November, then Reading for Sunday 8 November, and all later engagements also South (from my former Lancs. perspective) I would wager a visit to Lymm would be sometime in the next few days. Most likely would be this Thursday 5 November (Bonfire night!) because the Lymm Folk Club meet at 8:30 pm for a Singers Night, upstairs at the Spread Eagle in Lymm Centre. Great folks there, by the way!