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Turloughsgirl

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Posts posted by Turloughsgirl

  1. The first time I heard the Concertina was at a Harp Festival where Grainne Hambly and Billy Jackson, Masters of the Celtic Harp, were performing. Grainne was playing the Concertina, and that was when I knew I would have to learn how to play this sweet sounding instrument.

     

    I am so thankful for Concertina.net, all the wonderful people I am meeting who are graciously offering their kind comments, suggestions, and insights!

  2. Welcome to the world of Irish-style concertina playing!

     

    If you aim to play Irish dance tunes with other musicians, you'll want to achieve some fluency in the keys of D and A, which are decidedly not "home keys" for a C/G Anglo. So playing "across the rows" in one way or another is pretty much a given. And in fact Noel Hill, probably the most influential living teacher of the Irish style, is the quintessential across-the-rows player.

     

    That said, some older players (and some younger players who emulate them) preserve an approach influenced by the old German two-row instruments, and incorporate much more straightforward up-and-down-the-C-and-G-rows playing into their styles. This often involves transposing D tunes (say) a whole step down (listen, for example, to many of Mary MacNamara's settings). It's also possible, however, to play in D (and even in A) this way: if I see and hear what he's doing correctly, Chris Droney's wonderful bouncy rhythm seems to derive in part from playing as much of a given tune as possible up and down the G row, visiting the other rows only when necessary.

     

    Still, playing across the rows is indeed the preferred approach for most Irish musicians nowadays, and I encourage my students to learn the necessary scales, weird, wandering and counterintuitive as they are, almost from day one. Mick Bramich's "The Irish Concertina" is a good starting point: his diagrams and explanations are quite lucid, and I like his selection of tunes for practicing them.

     

    There's no single Right Way to go about this; I'm constantly working out new fingering alternatives for old chestnuts that I've known for years. But playing across the rows, whether you use Noel Hill's carefully developed patterns or some other variation, will most likely be a big part of the personal style you eventually develop. In any case, good luck with it: you've embarked on a long, strange trip!

     

    Bob Michel

    Near Philly

  3. Today I had my first Concertina lesson and purchased a used Rochelle 30b. I felt like I had entered Accordion Heaven, when I opened the door to this amazing little shop/studio whose walls were beautifully decorated with all styles and colors of any type of Accordion you can imagine! This brought back some very fond memories, as I had a cousin who played Accordion and we would dance around the kitchen on Sundays to polka music. Little did I know that one day I would be leaning to play a relative of the Accordion. Good times are coming!!

    I had an hour long lesson with Jodi, who is an excellent teacher and learned "Twinkle, Twinkle," and "This Old Man." I found that the Concertina wasn't as difficult to learn as I thought it may have been. I remember learning "Twinkle, Twinkle." on the harp, and I can say that it was much easier to learn this time!





  4. John,

    Thank you so much for the encouraging words! So you are on to me; yes my forum name after Ireland's greatest composer and harpist; (in my opinion of course). He traveled Ireland for 50 years from one end to the other composing his music and performing his tunes. What an exciting life to live; wish I could quit my job and travel in his footsteps!

    So you have played some of his tunes on the Anglo- that is great! I hope to learn some of them myself, after I graduate from learning "Twinkle, twinkle," or whatever they teach you first on the concertina. I remember playing that first on celtic harp, and then when I was able to play "Greensleeves," I thought I was a real pro.

    Love this website. I am meeting people from all over the world!

    Blessing to All!

  5. Thank you! I hope I will be as passionate about playing concertina as I am about harp. I didn't begin harp until I was almost 30, and had to learn to read music. It was my determination and passion for the instrument that enabled me to play and to keep going. I consider myself a young senior citizen now, and as long as my brain and hands are functioning, I will continue to play!

  6. Thank you Wolf! Woooohooooo, I am so excited, I have scheduled my first concertina lesson for this Friday! Please wish me luck. I attended a workshop once at a Harp Festival and found the concertina to be a somewhat mind boggling instrument, but I guess if I've learned to play the harp, I can learn concertina as well!

  7. Bob and Roger,

    It's encouraging to hear there are some "friendly" irish sessions. After reading Barry Foy's Field Guide to the Irish Music Session, you would think that such a thing is non-existent. I know of a session in my area with a group who are are all professionals, including a celtic harpist, who have made several recordings. Although I messaged them, I don't expect to be part of that group, as I am an advanced intermediate harpist and do not play professionally. Bob, thanks for the advice, I definitely would not play anything loudly, a session that starts out "friendly," may quickly become "unfriendly," if I were to try that and may get thrown out all together with concertina in hand:)

    Roger, I remember hearing Derek Bell with the Chieftains, and he was an excellent harpist. I think the challenge with playing celtic harp in sessions is liking and learning to play jigs and reels, which is not something I would typically choose to play. So, I plan to get started on concertina and visit as many local sessions as I can to just listen and enjoy some good pub food.

    I'm so glad I found this site, it has been a wonderful blessing!

  8. Thank you blue eyed sailor and Bruce. Bruce, how long do you think it would take before I would be ready to join in with a concertina? I realize it depends on how much time is spent with lessons and practicing, but, I thinking it may take me a couple of years. I plan to just visit as many sessions as I can in the meantime. Thanks!

  9. Hello!

    Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me. I currently play a celtic harp, but have wanted to play in Irish sessions for quite some time. Since the harp seems to be rarely used in sessions and I have been interested in concertina for awhile, I'm thinking of giving it a try. I understand the Anglo is the concertina of choice for Irish music.

    So I have many questions. Is it difficult to join in or find sessions where a concertina would fit in? I realize I will give myself at least a year or more to learn the instrument before even considering a session. Next, would a 30 button be a better choice over the 20, and is there plenty of music available out there to learn on a 30? There is a shop in my area that offers lessons and currently has a Silvetta 20 button, however, I saw and heard a Scarlatti 20 on you tube that sounded pretty decent. I haven't seen many 30 button, but am thinking that it might be wise to invest in one over 20.

    Any thoughts of advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Thank you!

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