EmzillaStomp

I discovered that playing in pitch blackness helps me pick up a tune faster! Anyone else learn any lessons from Hurricane Sandy?

I have seen a EC which was modified to have a strap before. Though I didn't play with it extensively, it seemed that the strap did not change the bellows movement very much, perhaps because it did not have the wooden block which anglos have at the wrist.

I don't know if this actually works since I have anosmia, but I've heard that baking soda will absorb tobacco odors. So maybe sprinkle a layer of baking soda in the bottom of the case, and then vacuum it out after a couple of days? As for holding the concertina, I've found it most comfortable to hold it on one knee, and only open the top of the bellows. Here's a video of someone else doing what I mean:

The anglo concertina is not a fully chromatic instrument. It is chromatic over two octaves of its range. The full range includes two more nearly complete diatonic octaves at the high and low end. I find it's easier for me to understand this kind of thing by looking at a chart, so here is a chart of how anglo buttons are arranged: http://www.concertina.net/ms_finger_layouts.html Something to think about here is that though two octaves are chromatic, some chords or polyphonic arrangements may not be possible due to the in-out nature of the instrument. I have also heard that though the middle octaves are technically chromatic, it is very difficult to play in certain keys. Sometimes Anglos have more than 30 buttons. Here's a 40 button layout to give you an idea of what the larger instruments are like: http://petertrimming.webs.com/Wheatstone%2040%20key%20CG%20Layout.pdf I literally just picked up the English concertina and I find it's layout to be very intuitive. At this early stage, reading music has helped me keep track of which notes are on which hand. Notes being surrounded by thirds and fifths makes a lot of sense to me. It hasn't taken me long to adjust to seconds being on the opposite hand. Sometimes when I am figuring out a song by ear, the correct note just falls in my hands, and I think that's because of the keyboard. I certainly haven't memorized all the keys yet. I think there are advantages to this keyboard, even if the layout seems funny at first. For example, lots of chords are really easy to make. Another thing is that it's easy to transpose into a number of keys. I expect if I practice, I will be able to "sight transpose" to C, G, D, A, E, F, Bb, and Eb reasonably easily. I think sight reading may be easier than on other keyboard instruments as well.

This is a pretty cool Ear Training program: http://www.miles.be/software/34-functional-ear-trainer-v2 It has a lot of options. You can decide to focus on a limited number of notes, or a full chromatic scale. It's also free As for playing a song by ear, I, like Johanna, have to really get a tune into my head to be able to do it. If I can't sing or hum it, I haven't listened to it enough

I did not know Leo, but I want to express my condolences to those who did. His contributions to this site were invaluable to me, as I am sure they were to many others. Rest in Peace.

Tom, This is perhaps more a linguistic than an acoustic question, but can the Bawu justifiably be termed a "free"-reed instrument? In my view, a free reed - whatever its nationality - has its set pitch, defined by the maker of the instrument, which is "free" from the influence of the player (apart from slight nuances, e.g. "bending"). The reed of the Bawu is no more free than that of the European clarinet, oboe or bagpipe, or the various Oriental shawms, and we call these simply "reed instruments". Even using the term "free reed" for metal tongues doesn't work in a European context. A Russian friend of mine has a sort of hornpipe with a metal tongue mounted in a metal mouthpiece, fitted to a wooden tube with six holes. The fingering is like that of the tin whistle, and the single reed yields the whole compass of the pipe. That would be a European equivalent of your Bawu, but I wouldn't call it a free-reed instrument. Cheers, John This doesn't match my definition of free reed. For me, a free reed describes the reed of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Traditional western reeds are either a single reed or a double reed. A single reed makes sound by beating against the mouth piece and a double reed makes sound by beating against a second reed. In a free reed, the reed isn't actually hitting anything, it's vibrating in a frame. In this manner, the reed of a Bawu is free.

I just want to make clear that I do not think any sellers are incompetent or trying to take advantage. Just, in some situations, especially involving used items, haggling is expected. I wanted to know if vintage concertinas is a situation where haggling is expected.

Thanks for the tips guys. I've never had to haggle before so hopefully I somehow manage this without being or rude in anyway!

Hi all I'm new to the world of concertinas. This site has been a huge resource, so thank you all! I was planning on getting a vintage concertina. But, I've never bought an instrument of any kind before and I'm not sure what to do. For example, if I get a vintage concertina from one of the big sellers, would I be expected to haggle? If I am expected to haggle, does anyone have any tips on that? Anything else to know about buying concertinas? I am planning to go through the button box, barleycorn concertinas, or similar so that don't accidentally get a "lemon" (probably not the right term for this situation).