crism

Thanks, Dan. My primary goal is not to be ostracized by the group with which I’m playing, who are very much in the modern-old-time fashion. I myself am an originalist whenever I can be, but I recognize the limitations to that approach. Your style notes are very much appreciated. Likewise, Geoff, your points are very useful about distinguishing between different ranges. One of the reasons I like playing the tenor instead of the treble is the ability to drop into a pseudo-bass role for tunes I don’t really know, but you’ve helped me make more concrete in my mind the effect of changing registers.

Thanks for that pointer, ceemonster; I’ll add that to my shopping list. Mine is a Stagi, Italian-made, probably mid-1990s. I bought it used (and refurbished) at the Button Box in 2009. It has a few minor issues, and the volume of different keys is a little uneven, but it’s a decent beginner box. I would love to upgrade to a Morse at some point. (You can see mine if you squint really hard at my profile pic.)

Thanks, Jody! I did enjoy (and am enjoying) Poor Little Liza Jane. I had been working on “Angeline the Baker” while living in the Stephen Foster neighborhood; neat to learn he wrote the song. I’ll look at Paul & Jody, too. I have been trying to emulate the fiddle; for the English concertina, it seems a better fit than the harmonica or banjo. The English system lends itself well to the open fifths and other fiddle self-harmonies. So far the other musicians seem to be putting up with me pretty well, so we’ll see how it goes. (-:

Thanks, Gary and Kurt! I know Mark Gilston; unfortunately, while I can find plenty of examples of his concertina playing and of his old-timey playing, I can’t find any examples of him playing old-timey tunes on a concertina. Any pointers? Jody Kruskal definitely proves it’s possible; Just ordered his Poor Little Liza Jane; are there any recordings anyone would particularly recommend? His brother Tom was also recommended to me. Will think about Old Palestine… I’m only living in the South for one year, so it might make sense to do this year.

I’ve been playing tenor English concertina for about three and a half years. I’m comfortable with Irish tunes, but recently fell in with a group that’s half Irish stuff and half old-timey music. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of old-timey concertina or even accordion stuff out there, so I’m trying to cast a wide net for any style resources: anyone have pointers to any recordings of old-time stuff with concertina playing along? Thanks in advance!