CaryK

I play and own an Edgley and a Herrington. Each has different characteristics. Like them both very much. Haven't played the others.

Former secondary education teacher (Earth Science/General Science) (4 yrs). Have taught as adjunct instructor at college level (Geology, Environmental Science). Currently an adjunct college instructor preparing to teach a semester of Ecology. Full time job is as a geologist however.

You are about 30 minutes south of Dana Johnson, maker of Kensington Concertinas. Dana has made reference in the past to having students. Don't know if he's still doing that or not, but you could contact him through his website http://www.kensingtonconcertinas.com/. Best of luck.

Button Box has a G-D Stagi model for $770 new. They are the only dealer I'd recommend buying a Stagi from as they "bring them up to specs" before they let them leave the shop. See the link http://www.buttonbox.com/instruments-in-stock.html

I concur with Randy about IU. I also spent a number of years living in Bloomington, first as an undergraduate, then several years later as a graduate student. Great and diverse school of music and strong fine arts community there.. Many art and music festivals in the area especially next door in Brown County. Best of luck in finding your musical soul mates there.

And remember, Rochelle purchase price can be applied to an upgrade, which you'll eventually want if you stick with the concertina, from most if not all of the businesses selling them. The Excalibur looks very similar to a Hohner D40, which is a very frustrating and poor instrument. Comparing the Excalibur description to the Rochelle, I'd recommend the Rochelle hands down. When you are ready to upgrade you can get a model with a wooden finish rather than an black lacquer look if you are so inclined. Good luck.

And I think you've succeeded admirably. The joy on the musicians & dancers faces and in the faces of the "accidental audience" is unmistakable. What a great way to bring music and dance into someone's day when they weren't expecting such a lift. Hope there is a Mission 6 in the works. Well done!

Can't help you with your dilemma regarding how many buttons to order as I've only played 20 and 30b concertinas. However, just wanted to offer you congratulations that your wait is nearly over. I'm sure the next 4 months will seem to go by slowly. What are you playing in the meantime?

That's an interesting site. I did a little test which involved pressing the "T" tempo key while humming a tune to myself. I was suprised to find that while I thought I was keeping a steady beat of about 112 BPM the tempo measured by the software varied from about 108-116. Don't know if this is real, that is, am I unable to keep a precise BPM for more than a bar or two; or, does this reflect varying connection speeds every few seconds between my keyboard and the website? I'd like to see others try this and let us know if they get the same results. In my case, I suspect its that I am a very imperfect human metronome, and that slight variations in BPM are due to my own inability to robotically keep the beat. I would make a very poor drummer I suspect.

Pretty similar, new ones, on eBay are listed at $197. Just search under "Stagi concertina". Yours being older and having some wear, should probably fetch $80-$125. Just my opinion, of course.

Also congratulations, Frank. I'm the proud owner of one of your few A/E models.

Just finished our 4th of July supper; Hot dogs and onion rings. Not recommended for everyday fare, but certainly delicious. I am fortunate to live near Buffalo, NY, where the hot dog and kielbasa (not to mention fried bologna) reign supreme. So many varieties of hot dogs here. It is literally hot dog heaven. Now to get in a little practice on the concertina before the fireworks begin.

You Dipper mays be worth at least $8000, I wouldn't argue with that at all. The lack of offers approaching that figure may just be a function of the poor economic conditions at this time.

I have had very nice results using Brasso cleaning compound on my metal ends. Its available in hardware stores in the US. Seems to work gently and takes very little effort to remove tarnish and hand oil discoloration.

I had attended the MidWest session in 2006 and met you there the night of the evening session for area players. Also attended East Durham in 2008. Both weeks were first rate. Had hoped to get back to MidWest this year, but personal obligations will prevent me from doing so. Will try to get there in 2011 if possible. Best wishes for another enjoyable workshop for you.

I liked that very much.

This isn't the forum for your personal political ravings. And when you do stray off the track, please get your facts right. The US military budget for 2010 is about 19% (not 55%) of total U.S. budget (including all current war expenditures). And with respect to military spending being the kingpin of the US economy, in 2010 the military spending will be just 4.8% of the total GDP; and its forecast to be less than 4% after 2012. That's less than one nickel out of every dollar of all goods and services being produced in this country. A valid argument can be made by some that this is still too much military spending, but there are more appropriate forums on the internet on which this can be discussed. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/pdf/summary.pdf

Sorry, I incorrectly edited my remarks and ended up making a duplicate second posting. See below.

Just to complicate things a little more . . . how the "clarity" or "color" of the tone is perceived can vary with the room in which the same concertina is played. I've noticed this in my own home and I believe others have remarked on this in the past. I don't fully understand the cause of this, but it seems to be true nonetheless.

I think this quote is the most succinct version of the wisest approach to learning the Anglo I've read in a long time. Start with a well-thought out system based on sound principles, master that (to a sufficient degree) and branch out from there based on the concepts enumerated above.

That was interesting link! Only in America eh? Does Dan Worrall know about them , any concertinas used by the musicians? Mike This is a bit of thread drift, but I grew up in northern Indiana about 40 miles from Benton Harbor, Michigan where the House of David was located. When I was small, 6 or 7, our Mom took me and my six siblings up there to spend the day at their amusement park. This would have been around 1957 or 58. I clearly remember seeing a number of well-whiskered old gentlemen setting on the porch of a large stone house and younger fellows with long beards running some of the rides. I believe we spent time at their baseball stadium and riding a miniature train around the grounds. The pictures at the link above stirred a really nice memory for me. Hadn't thought about the House of David in years and was unaware of their musical legacy. I do remember hearing that they fielded a great baseball team.

Be nice if u could kindly list the URLs you have found with harmonica tab. tks Just Google "harmonica tabs" and you'll get lots of sites. But like the concertina, you'll find there are several tablature systems folks use. Some are harmonica tablature annotated onto standard notation sheet music and other examples involve variations of symbols and numbers to indicate which hole to draw or blow to get the appropriate note. Sometimes the appropriate note isn't even shown, just the hole number and whether to blow or draw. No magic with tablature. It can help you learn where notes are at first, but ultimately you don't want to depend on tablature, because then you'll need to "notate" all your lyrics or sheet music with it. Better I think to learn standard notation as soon as possible and use your ear to memorize the tune starting from that.

Wow. Looks like a pair of band cymbals with bellows.

No musical antecedents that I am aware of . . .and hence no musical intruments passed down to me, gov.

Must have been a boa. This is a squeeze box after all.