Jeff Jetton

So the real question is, if a "one-way airflow" system has already been thought up, why are we not using it? Not just in concertinas, but chromatic accordions too? There must be some fatal flaw. Maybe the response when changing bellows directions was too slow or loud or otherwise annoying?

I'm still new enough to this whole concertina thing that the phrase "solo duet concertina gig" sounds like an oxymoron at first. :-)

If not, FWIW, the Button Box often has used Rochelles for sale (due to their trade-in program, no doubt): http://www.buttonbox.com/concertinas-in-stock.html#anglo

True, although for a "beginner's" class I'm not too sure how much style would enter into the equation. I'm at the stage where I'm delighted at getting successfully through "Hot Cross Buns". Maybe some fingering choices, even at the basic level, are more idiomatic of one style than the other? In any case, I love the harmonic style too (great video there!) So that's all fine with me. I suspect my concertina journey will be similar to my piano accordion journey, where I wind up tasting from all parts of the musical buffet. (But, to both extend the metaphor and bring things back to my original question... I can only eat so much before I have to digest a bit.)

Good info, Ken, thanks! Are pages like the ones you linked part of the legendary "old site"? I wasn't able to find links to that sort of content on the site currently, but it look like it's hosted here somewhere based on the URL.

Thanks for all of the insights, folks! Sounds like I might not be in a spot in my development where I would really benefit from, say, the upcoming Noel Hill workshop outside of Cincy (and it's over my wife's birthday besides). Although it I'm sure I would enjoy the concertina camaraderie. There's always next year. So maybe shorter workshop might be more up my alley, to sort of test the waters. There's actually going to be a one-hour "beginner's concertina" class in the area next month with John Mock that sounds perfect. Trouble is, it's part of a day-long Irish Music workshop where you sign up (and pay for) for the whole day. The one concertina class is the only squeezebox class they have on the program, the rest of the classes are for instruments I don't really play. I've emailed the folks running it to see if I can get a class "a la carte". We'll see...

I see a lot here and elsewhere about concertina workshops (Noel Hill, etc.) that look interesting. And I had previously thought about attending some of the various workshop opportunities for other instruments I play (Django Camp, etc.) But in the end, I'm just not so sure what I'd get out of them. Isn't a week--or even an intensive weekend--simply a lot of material to process in a very short amount of time? Seems like it would be, to quote one my old instructors, "like drinking from a firehose". For all that time, money, and effort, and in the end, how much really "sticks"? I can't help but feel that I'd be better off spending the same amount on something like a series of private lessons over a longer course of time, with "space" in between to process/practice the things I learn and integrate them a bit into my playing. Sometimes you've got to let the concrete set before you build the next floor on top of it, ya know. So what are the experiences and general thoughts of those who go to these various workshops? I'm sure they're a lot of fun. But do they tend to be worth it from an instructional standpoint? How much do you really take back home with you? Thanks!

I was about to ask "what the heck is a circassien circle dance?" but this might have answered my question...

Greg & Bill, Thanks for the posts and discussion about the Noel Hill camp and others. (That actually brings up a question I have, but it's better suited for a different section of this forum...)

Yeah, no doubt that an English concertina would've been a far smoother transition for me. But "smooth" wasn't a requirement. :-) I specifically went for the Anglo because it is different. I've never played a push-pull free reed and figured it was time. It is frustrating! And wonderful too. I can feel my musical synapses furiously rewiring every time I practice. But that's the whole point.

Well I'll lobby hard here for "Scotch Cap" then. Mostly because it's the only one I think I could manage to eventually play by the end of April. :-)

Thanks for the advice, Bill! You're correct that I'm mainly interested in playing ITM on it, but that's mostly because that's the only sort of music I've ever heard anyone play on it before! :-) I suspect my musical horizons will broaden the more I get into it.

Thanks, Kay! I had actually looked at that site earlier and thought the book looked interesting. Glad to hear a solid endorsement, and the context of where it might best "fit" in the spectrum of tutor books is good to know!

Mike -- Good point. Thanks! Lakeman -- Well that's pretty cool! If you get the chance you'll have to shake his hand for me. (Or offer him a few choice curse words on my behalf. I suspect that, as I work through his book, I'll have both sentiments in roughly equal measure!) :-)

Thanks for the replies and the welcomes, all! Got the Rochelle yesterday. Looks pretty good, sounds pretty good... even smells good (that "new concertina smell"?) The method book that comes with it seems really well done too, which is a nice touch. But boy, playing this thing is going to take some getting used to. :-) I know you all are used to it by now, but imagine being handed a guitar that plays a different chord on the down-strum than on the up-strum. Or a violin with strings that play different notes depending on whether you're playing an upbow or downbow. Madness, I say... madness! But I can already slowly clam my way through the C and D major scales, and "Twinkle, Twinkle" is coming along okay. We shall see...

Hello folks! Newbie here. Well, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a concertina from The Button Box. Ordered a Rochelle, which I understand is a reasonably decent beginner's model with which to test the concertina waters. I've got the Bramich book & CD coming in the same shipment. UPS says it's "out for delivery" today! (I've been following the shipment online for the past several days--it frustratingly has been sitting here at the Nashville hub all weekend. Maybe it's a good omen that it was waiting for St. Patrick's Day to arrive?) I come from a piano accordion background (thus the Gravatar) and have long wanted to give a diatonic instrument a try. I figured that something like a button accordion might have just enough similarities to throw off my piano accordion playing, but that a concertina might be "different enough" for my brain to think of as a fundamentally separate instrument. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see! Oh, and the fact that a starter concertina seems to be about half as expensive as a starter B/C button accordion also helped steer me in the concertina direction too. :-) Anyway, just thought I'd introduce myself and share my excitement with people who can relate. Any advice/support is welcome. Thanks!