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CaryK

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Everything posted by CaryK

  1. Really enjoyed that, Alan. Always liked that tune.
  2. LDT, kind of like Christmas in August, isn't it? Congratulations on your upgrade. You're going to love the difference.
  3. I begin learning a tune usually from the sheet music. But I can attest that tombilly's method works . . . at least for me . . . . at least sometimes. I have surprised myself, when trying to play a tune for the first time, stored only in my head, that my fingers went to the right buttons about 75% of the time. If you'd have told me 4 years ago, when I was starting out, I would have bet you I'd never develop that ability. I come from anything but a musical background. While this is still a nascent ability, I can tell it is slowly improving and becoming more consistent. I imagine it comes from the aggregated experience of playing and that nothing can teach this method expect the aggregated experience of playing. So play a lot, listen a lot, and be patient with yourself too.
  4. So it is not likely to be worth $200? Hmmm, not likely. Maybe half that.
  5. This has been my experience as well; and the more versions of a tune you get to hear from the same musician, or other musicians, the greater the variations you'll have to draw on for adding ornamentation. I usually try to learn the tune first, as that, I find, is difficult enough. I then add ornamentation used by others I've heard or based on what just sounds right. Unfortunately, my repertoire of ornaments is still rather limited.
  6. While not as experienced or educated a listener of Irish music as many on this forum, airs are perhaps my favorite type of ITM. I love reels, jigs, hornpipes, slides, and polkas but a well-played air cuts right to my emotional heart. The best recording of an air, which I've heard to date is Noel Hill's version of "Lament for Limerick" on Anglo International CD#3. I get choked up when listening to it and the historical event of the siege and capitulation of Limerick are not even part of my inherited cultural makeup. Not much music chokes me up, but that is one beautiful composition, played with such power and feeling that it really pulls me in emotionally. That, I guess, is what all music should do. It may not be to every one's taste, but it sure grabs me. That being said, I would love it if someone could direct me to a recording with concertina playing Carolan's "Farewell to Music." I've attempted it and have the notes down, but it lacks totally in feeling as I play it. Its another beautiful composition I would like to hear down well on the Anglo.
  7. Work mostly at playing ITM, but have worked on and gotten to a "satisfactory" level on tunes from other musical traditions. Most recent ones would be: Panis Angelicus (melody version by Louis Lambillotte) Someone to Watch Over Me (G. Gershwin) Goodnight, Irene ( H. Ledbetter aka Leadbelly) Ashokan Farewell (J. Unger) Battle Cry of Freedom (U.S. Civil War Tune) Waltzing Matilda
  8. I would include for consideration, John Mock, who is a member of this forum. John plays anglo, in addition to guitar, and is a fine composer. However, I don't know if John's studio work or concert appearances as an anglo player comprise the primary source of his income or if his compositions and cd sales do. John might weigh in if interested. I would describe his anglo-playing genres as orchestral treatment of irish or broader celtic (please no fights about that term here) traditional music and country.
  9. I find that as I become more experienced with the Anglo, learning variations of how to play a tune does become easier. But when I was new, just a couple of years ago, it was a different matter. I attended Noel's workshop having learned all my fingerings from a copy of a well known tutor, which I used for about a year before going to Noel's class. I think it took me the better part of the week with Noel and intensive (sometimes frustrating) effort to finally unlearn my previous default button selections and start to adopt his. Well worth the effort though. Now, with more knowledge of and experience with my instrument, it is easier (though still not always easy) to pick up a new way to phrase a familiar tune, a new ornamentation to add, or play around with the rhythm in a different way. Noel's own method takes account of this too as he teaches more button alternatives to the beginner's default positions as your experience increases. However, I don't know if the ability to add variations increases linearly with experience. I imagine if I had played a tune a certain way for 20 years, it might make it more difficult to adopt a significant change in technique. Not there yet, just speculating.
  10. Very nice tunes and arrangements. You guys are quite talented.
  11. Not a blogger. WHY?: 1. I already spend most of my work day on a computer (making maps and working with geologic data). 2. I spend a fair portion of my lunch break reading what's new on this forum. 3. At home I spend maybe another 30-minutes to an hour a day answering emails, looking at You-tube concertina videos, checking world and local news on the internet 4. Rest of my awake time spent with lovely wife, children, fixing things, reading, yard work & gardening, & playing my concertina (not necessarily in that order). 5. Because of all of the above, no time for or real interest in blogging, twittering, or facebooking (to coin a new verb). Definitely would need a 30 hour day to add more tech-activities into my life. New tech can be fun, but it doesn't always make life simpler.
  12. Ashokan Farewell (in D) is also a good tune for giving a work out to the lower end of your concertina with the pinkie and ring finger.
  13. But it doesn't have CD. As an absolute beginner myself I wouldn't find a book without CD or DVD very helpful. In fact, in these supermultimedia days, I can't imagine why any music tutor book wouldn't have accompanying audio or visual. Wow... I must be very old fashioned... I love books, I don't own a DVD player (nor tv), and only have a CD player in my car (which I drive as little as possible)...it wouldn't enter my furry head to wonder if a learner's book on c'tina includes a CD or DVD. I'm not very multi-media oriented. I just read the book, and look at the pictures and somehow that works. Even computers totally amaze me. I guess I need to join the 21st Century... Priscilla Priscella, It sounds like you are doing fine in whatever century you've currently established yourself. New technologies are mainly pretty cool, but much can be said in praise of non-technological simplicity too. Glad you are enjoying your concertina so much. That's how I felt, and still feel, when I started.
  14. O my goodness...I'm so sorry to be the author of so much confusion! I was praising this book by Frank Converse under the C'net heading "Teaching and Learning", and then here on "Tunes" I was saying how much I like the song, "She Went Through the Fair", but you're absolutely right, the latter is not in the former. It is in "Absolute Beginners Concertina" by Bramich which the friend who generously lent me a concertina to practice on, gave me as well. I find this book more difficult, but it probably teaches you more in the way of music theory. It does however have the wonderful tune "She Went Through the Fair"! For that alone, it is well worth it, in my humble opinion. Sorry it took me so long to reply! Priscilla Not a problem. Your original message got me to look for the sheet music elsewhere and I found it at thesession.org. I'd heard this sung on various CDs and always liked the music.
  15. This is an interesting discussion and it's got me wondering how to apply it to one of my concertinas. This concertina has a left hand pull D, which works fine when playing rapidly or with a lot of force, but when playing quietly or slowly, its voice can be muted compared to adjacent reeds, then suddenly it hiccups; that is, it seems to cross a threshold of pressure (or time of exposure to pressure) and then the reed in staccato-like fashion kicks into a normal volume. Is this a result of this particular reed being set too low or too high? Also, I'm a bit confused in the discussion, between speed of reed response and playing pressure. Alan Day said, in kicking off this thread, "Reeds set low in the reed base definitely have a nicer sweeter tone and requires very little pressure to get them to play. I find that this low setting however is much slower in response to higher setting ie. a definite gap." This seems counter-intuitive to me; if a reed requires little pressure to get it to play (as a result of a low setting), then why does this result in a much slower response, as mentioned above? What concept am I failing to understand? Thanks.
  16. I've heard of him through Harold Herrington, who speaks highly of him. I have never seen or heard his concertinas though, which I think are accordion-reeded. I understand that Mr. O'Shaughnessy is not one who seeks public limelight and that is why he is "under the radar." I'd love to know more about his work though and if anyone has played his concertinas.
  17. If you're not too shy about it, you may want to open the box up by removing the outer perimeter of screws on one end (those at each corner of the hexagon) and gently lifting up the end piece. You might find a lable or information within that would give you a clue to the origins of this concertina. Replace the screws in the same holes they came from. Try it on the other side as well. Good luck. You've an interesting little box there and it may turn out to be from a little known branch of the Anglo-German concertina family.
  18. Hi Priscilla, I have this book as well. I hadn't used it lately, but when I saw your post I thought I'd look it up since I like that tune as well. Problem is, my copy of this tutor doesn't have a piece by this name ("She moved through the fair"). The copywrite on mine is 1981. Do you have a different edition of the same Frank Converse tutor?
  19. "Suck" is not a word I use in the context of musical instruments (except harmonicas ). My experience of one well played-in Stagi and one new Rochelle may run counter to the experience of people who've played a dozen of each. (But I'll stick to my broadsword as far as the appearance of the Rochelle is concerned ) Cheers, John Have owned both a Stagi and a Rochelle. Neither is a "perfect" instrument. But, for overall playability I much preferred the Stagi (maybe I had a better than average one) over the Rochelle (maybe I had a poorer than average one). Rochelle had a better sound, perhaps. But, I'll not draw my broadsword to defend the Rochelle's appearance.
  20. I would agree with Daniel's assessment of the Stagi's air button. I found its placement wasn't the problem, but the extension of the hand rest below the air button and the height of that extension was a problem. When playing for a long time the side of my thumb would get sore pressing against that extension while using the air button. Other than that I found the Stagi much easier to play than the Rochelle, though I somewhat preferred the Rochelle's sound. Stagi also a more visually appealing instrument IMO. Anyway, good luck with your decision, I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever you buy.
  21. Newbe, I would not turn up your nose at a new or used 30 button Stagi either. Italian-made. More expensive than a Rochelle, but in my own opinion they play better and are much less expensive than new or used Tedrows, Edgleys, Morse's etc. Then again, Stagis are not in the same category as these hand made, better quality hybrids. A used or new Stagi from the Button Box will have been tuned correctly and checked out thoroughly so you can be sure it is playbable when you get it. I would not buy a Stagi that didn't come from Button Box. They do stand behind what they sell. Anyway, its another alternative not mentioned previously on this thread.
  22. I recall Noel Hill saying that when Charles Wheatstone invented the concertina, he was intentionally creating an instrument that would be in the same harmonic range in an orchestra as the violin. Now that you bring it up, I recall Noel saying something like that a couple of years ago also. That would certainly explain why they blend so well as to make it difficult to pick out the concertina. David Boveri's points made previously in this thread are probably correct as well. I suspect with more exposure to fiddle-concertina pieces and careful listening, I will get better at picking out the separate instruments.
  23. I guess I would describe it as hearing the notes created by the back and forth draw of the bow. Sounds totally different than the concertina being played. The fiddle seems to stand out when the two instruments play, to my ears, but can seldom hear when the concertina is playing. Even on a video, when I can see the concertina being played I have a hard time picking it out of this twosome; Nothing wrong with the sound except I 'm sometimes disappointed not to hear the concertina alongside the fiddle. Again, may be something peculiar to me.
  24. I love the sound also, but I would love it more if I could distinguish the instruments separately. It is "difficult to tease them apart."
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