Sharon

Thank you Randy for the encouragement! My ukulele fiasco was a physical one - my fingers simply couldn't get into the right shapes and positions. I couldn't get them to play a single chord, cleanly, after a whole year before I gave it up. I have a reasonably good ear and a basic grasp of theory - I just don't work well with strings. So, I certainly intend to be giving the EC my all - I've always been diligent about devoting time for practice and I'm old enough and experienced enough to forbear any frustration before 'the penny drops', so to speak, when learning new things. Patience with oneself (usually) rewards. Sharon.

Thank you very much for the warm welcome. @Patrick: "I started with a Jackie and Martyn's YT lessons. It is a great beginning." Marvellous, looks like my understanding was right then - that's a relief! @Maki: "Keep at it and you'll probably exceed your expectations." I shall certainly be giving it my best shot! @Gary: "I cannot recommend the Frank Butler tutor too highly" Thank you very much for that - I've found and downloaded it. I also downloaded the scan of the Salvation Army book that a member kindly shared on this site. Plenty of materials for me to be going on with - between them they should be able to get through the ....er.....'natural resistance' that is,,,well,,,me! @Roger: I'm going to guess that the higher desirability, and hence prices, of the Anglos, is due to the popularity of specifically Irish music. It certainly does seem that's why many turn their gaze to the concertina in the first place, with a particular wish to focus on that style. For those of us who don't, the happy effect is we might save a few £ or $. Again, thank you all for the responses. Happy squeezings! Sharon.

Good evening ladies and gents. Just introducing myself to you now that I'm finally about to embark on my concertina adventure. As a complete beginner, I don't expect to be making any useful contributions to the forums for some time yet, but I'm very excited for this new challenge and I really want to tell people. You've drawn the short straw! The English system appeals to me, for it's logicality of layout and versatility as I'm not looking to become fluent in any particular musical style......in fact I'm not expecting to become very capable at all! That's not false modesty, btw, it's realism - piano lessons as a kid and years attempting to master the folk harp (along with a hopeless go at the ukulele which is best not talked about ) have taught me that my interest in music far outstrips my ability. What I'm hoping for (eventually) is a low-level proficiency just for my own enjoyment, and hopefully without driving my husband insane (again - ukulele!). He's being very brave about the impending ear-assault, even to the extent that he's ordered me the Jackie for Christmas. I've gathered from my researches that the Jackie is more 'cheap and cheerful' than 'cheap and nasty'. I hope I've interpreted that rightly. I shall begin by working from the tutor that comes with the Jackie, along with some YouTube tutorials I've found by a chap called Martyn (his YT channel is nytram1309), but if anyone can recommend other resources I'd be very grateful. Anyhoo, that's all for now. Sharon.