frogspawn

Hi Selah I play a 55-button Crane duet. It has two octaves on the left and two octaves and a fourth on the right. The upper octave on the left is the same as the lower octave on the right, but I can't say I'm conscious of the crossover as such as I never play melodies across both ends. I play the melody only on the right. If the melody goes too low I move it up an octave. I treat the left as a source of chords. In other words, I play it like a melodeon! With two octaves on the left I can play many chords in two root positions, but that's a luxury. I tend to play the chords I find easiest to finger, but other players play them as high up as possible using inversions. If I had less buttons on the left I'd just use whatever was available. More advanced players may take a different attitude. Richard

Many thanks to varney, Dana and David for your suggestions. The initial lack of response made me wonder if people thought I was imagining it all! Anyway, I sent the 'tina to Mike Acott for an overhaul. There were a number of issues which needed attention, but I found out earlier today that it appears that the main problem I described was simply worn/compressed pads under the buttons. These were causing the levers to rise further than they should and, given the tight tollerances, to 'clack' against the inside of the ebony ends. What I could hear was this 'clack' and, I assume, some resulting resonance. In hindsight, what I should have done was to have pressed the buttons smartly while not squeezing the bellows. Then the fault might have been more obvious. In future I should also probably try to be less 'heavy-fingered'. Richard

As my regular 55-button Crane has been in concertina hospital, I have been forced to get to grips with my 70-button Crane for the first time. I accumulated a second machine for precisely this eventuality. Although a superior model, it is also heavier, bulkier and currently stiffer, but one of its most obvious differences is that the buttons are in chevron rather than arc layout. I can now confirm that moving from one layout to the other requires hardly any adjustment. The patterns look a lot different, but the actual deviation in the corresponding positions of the buttons seemed minimal. Perhaps, when I get the 55 back, I'll photo them both and superimpose the photos... I did find the left-hand chords difficult to find at first, but melody on the right-hand side was no problem.

The one on Dickinson belonged to a "brother musician" of the seller. A dealer bought it from him and then sold it in the auction. That doesn't seem to match with the 'family heirloom' provenance advanced by the current seller of the Ebay item. So is this really the same one?

I've only just started to sing and play with any success and only in private. I'm very consciouis indeed that my singing tends to accompany my playing rather than vice versa. One side effect of this is to forget to breathe properly. I need to reverse this and to make the whole process smoother. I will just keep at it, day after day, until the playing comes automatically and I can concentrate on the song. That's the plan, anyway. Richard

I'm now looking for a repairer in London or south-east England to take a look at my Crane. My orgininal problem (a bright tinkling quality to certain notes when played in succession) was explained in this thread. I now have a spring/pad/lever alignment problem as well, and the end screws are getting a bit loose. I hope these problems aren't too serious and that an expert will know what to do. I don't want to risk any further amateur tinkering. I'm looking for an experienced repairer, possibly in the south-east so I could deliver and collect the concertina, or, at any rate, a repairer who doesn't have too long a waiting list. Any suggestions please? Richard

The PVA didn't eliminate the tinkling quality and I now have two other problems! The B is sounding without being pressed although the spring and pad look to be making a reasonable fit, and the end screws are getting a bit loose... Enough of amateur tinkering. I'll have to find an expert. Richard

I've had another and closer look at the inside of the right-hand end and may have found the problem. I don't see any evidence that the reeds are snicking and the springs all appear to be in good condition. The pad on the C# is not as well alligned as it might be, but there's no general problem with the C# sounding without being pressed. I'm just getting the problem already described, i.e. a tinkling sound when playing C#, F# and B in succession (any order). I have noticed that the pad-board on the relevant edge appears to have suffered a crack or break historically, which has been repaired with glue. However, there is little or no sign of glue where the crack passes through the C#, F# and B holes which are contiguous. Although there is no general leakage when playing any of these notes in complete isolation from one another, the tinkling is quite obvious when playing them in sequence. Does this make sense? Has anyone else encountered anything like this? Would smearing some PVA along the crack do the job? I would be very grateful for any feedback. Richard

I have a note (low B, right-hand) which I've noticed is now accompanied by an inappropriate metallic ping. This sounds like it might be the first item listed in the troubleshooting list in David Elliott's Maintenance Manual, i.e. the tongue is catching the frame, but this never happens if the note is sounded alone. It typically happens when B is preceded by low F#, two buttons in fairly close proximity. For this reason, I only began to notice the problem in two particular tunes with this sequence, and even then it's taken me a while to work out exactly what was happening. I haven't tried every possible sequence of button, but I've noticed that C# followed by B has the same effect, though slightly less pronounced. I've also noticed that the problem is particularly pronounced if I alternate the C# and F# buttons. Is it a snicking problem on all three notes, or is something more complex occurring? Richard

My duet is destined mainly for song accompaniment (if and when I can crack that) because I am primarily a singer, not a musician. In the meantime I've been learning traditional dance tunes, mostly English but with a fair number of Irish. Some are obviously Irish and some have been so well absorbed into the English revival that many English players probably don't think of them as Irish. When playing tunes I play only the melody, but I don't add decorations because I have enough trouble getting all the notes in. I guess that dance tunes, whether Irish or English, would benefit from the bounce of an Anglo. You can fake this a little on a duet by playing more staccato but you can't fake the lack of volume which is a significant issue in sessions. Richard

I recently started taking my concertina to work where I play at the bottom of a back stairwell at lunchtime. The acoustics are very wet. Somebody from another company came down to see what the noise was. He is himself an accordion player but thought I was playing some sort of electronic instrument!

I can appreciate that accomplished players don't need lists and probably don't even need to learn tunes, but can play a tune instantly as soon as they've heard it. However, I think the notion of a repertoire is very important for unaccomplished players such as myself, and I'm glad to say that many sessions here in south-east England go out of their way to publish, either on the Internet or even in hard copy, collections of tunes popularly played. These may be the tunes that professional artists and recording stars actually avoid because they don't have any novelty, but they are the life blood of communal sessions, and the foundation for beginners to become involved. I don't see any problem with long lists (if you are accomplished enough to have one), but short lists or descriptions of genres covered would also be interesting. I have no agenda behind this other than to satisfy my own curiosity and to learn more about the range of interests in the concertina 'community'. Those who think it's pointless don't need to contribute. Richard

I've got a hard case but it's too big so the concertina is additionally padded with some bubblewrap. Maybe that's better than having a hard case that fits? When I'm travelling on trains or at festivals, however, I use a softcase with a shoulder strap because I'm paranoid about leaving it behind. Richard

To help steer this thread in a positive direction and to respond promptly to my own suggestion, I've just queried my database of tune scores with the following results. Richard Tunes I can play be ear: Aye Me; Bear Dance; Black Nag; Blaydon Races; Bonny Kate; Brighton Camp; Britches Full of Stitches; Curly-headed Ploughboy; Dorset Four Hand Reel; Egan's Polka; Flowers of Ashgill; Garry Owen; Harper's Frolic; Horses' Brawl; Jamie Allen; Keel Row; Maggie in the Wood; Man in the Moon; Portsmouth; Princess Royal ; Roddy McCorley (Sean South); Rogue's March; Salmon Tails Up the Water; Seven Stars; Soldiers Joy ; Speed the Plough; Star of the County Down; Tralee Gaol ; Trumpet Hornpipe; Winster Gallop. Tunes I can play with aural prompt: Boys of Wexford; Brothers in York; Double Lead Through; Herbert the Sherbert; Huntsman's Chorus ; Kelly the Boy from Killane; Michael Turner's Waltz; Plane Tree; Planxty Fanny Power; Rakes of Mallow; Sussex Bonny Breast Knot; Three Around Three. Tunes I can play from score: Blackthorn Stick; Bodmin Riding; Bonnie Dundee; Buttered Peas; Butterfly; Captain Lanoe's Quick March ; Centenary March; Cock of the North; Cotillion ; Dark Girl Dressed In Blue; Drops of Brandy; Fiery Clockface; Flowers of Edinburgh; From Night Till Morn; Golden Slippers; Haste to the Wedding; Hunt the Squirrel; I'll tell me Ma; Kesh (Jig); Monk's March ; New Rigged Ship; Old Rosin The Beau; Oscar Wood's Jig; Over The Hills; Oyster Girl; Planxty Irwin; Rakes of Kildare; Rattlin Bog; Redwing; Rochdale Coconut Dance; Rocky Road to Dublin; Shepherds Hey; Sherbourne Waltz; Strike The Bell; Uncle's Jig. Tunes I'm planning to learn: Ar Dro; Ashokan Farewell; Banish Misfortune; Barren Rocks of Aden; Bill Hall's No 1; Bill Hall's No 2; Boys of Oakhill; Dingle Regatta; Drowsy Maggie; Enrico; Fairy Dance; Fermoy Lasses; Flaxley Green Dance; Foxhunter's Jig; Garrick's Delight ; Hop Break; Irish Washerwoman; Johnny Micky Barry; Lark in the Morning; Linnane's Jig/Rollocking Boys Of Tanderagee; Maid Behind The Bar; Marmalade Polka; Merry Blacksmith; Morpeth Rant; Morrison's Jig; Nutting Girl; Off She Goes; Off To California; Padstow May Song; Queen's Jig; Ragtime Annie; Rakish Paddy; Saltarello; Scan Tester's No 1 Polka; Scan Tester's No 2 Polka; Silver Spear; Smash the Windows; St Anne's Reel; Steamboat Hornpipe ; Sweets of May; Tarantella ; Tekili; Tinner's Fancy; Tipsy Parson; Tripping Upstairs; Turkey Rhubarb; Walter Bulwer's No 1; Walter Bulwer's No 2; Westering Home; Wi' a Hundred Pipers ; Willow Express; Winster Processional; Wise Maid. (Edited for typo and spacing)

I think it would be very interesting to compare repertoires. We could each just post a list here...Judgements need not be made. Richard

I wouldn't! I'm still on the anglo system, but if I could get a 21-b, the 21st button would be press Bb/draw low F in the left hand. I use the equivalent button on the Bandoneon a lot. If it could be 22-b, the press C#/draw Eb on the right would be fine. What would others like to have on a 21st and 22nd button? Cheers, John I didn't mean to start one of those Anglo 'alternative button' threads but I suppose it's inevitable. I should have mentioned that the one I saw was described to me as a G/D not a C/G, and if I had a G/D 20-button Anglo as opposed to a C/G I wouldn't be too bothered what the extra button was as it could cope with most of the English tunes I play, but since you ask I would want an F natural so I could play in C and modes thereof (i.e. D Dorian, G Mixolydian and A Aeolian). Richard

I saw and heard one of these on a stall recently at Tenterden. Nice tone and remarkable volume for such a handy size. I see their standard 'Traveller' model is C/G with a C#/Eb accidental. Interesting. If I wasn't committed to another system I'd want one... Richard

I've booked the B&B and very much look forward to seeing another Crane in action. I have both the CDs and enjoy them immensely. Richard

My first concertina was a 20 button C/G bought on Ebay just to see if I liked the idea of playing a concertina. It was very limiting and lacked bellows power, but it was very light. I was waiting for a decent 30 (or even 26) button Anglo when a Crane came along and I changed course... I guess a 20 button G/D might have been OK for English dance music. Do they exist? Richard

Time for a reappraisal... I don't like messing with screws on an antique machine, but as a (slowly) developing player I've found that hand-strap tightness needs to be reviewed periodically, especially as I play standing-up with the 'tina held in mid-air. After a couple of years of just playing tunes on the right hand only, I'm now very keen to work some songs up to performance level, and this is going to involve bringing in the left hand in one way or another. Despite my earlier optimistic concept of relatively loose straps, I have found the ends 'twisting around' once I tried to do something more extensive on the left and especially when I trying to reach the outer left column. I needed more anchorage so decided to tighten the left-hand strap while leaving the right one looser. This seems to make sense if only because there are more buttons on the right requiring greater reach, but I'd be interested to hear from other Crane players as to relative left-right tightness. Of course, if you rest the 'tina on a knee, then maybe you anchor the right rather than the left. (Another aspect of playing in the air is that I pull/squeeze the bellows symetrically rather than by moving one end.) Any comments? Richard

I think John is spot on. I made a number of previous attempts to learn to read music in relation to different instruments, but it's only been with the Crane that I finally cracked this. I don't learn new tunes from the score alone. I listen to recordings (real or digital), especially to get the timing. And my aim is to memorise the tunes - I'd never play from a score in public. I regarded this new ability as a huge breakthrough and step forward, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts. I now think I'm missing out on training my ear. If I could pick up tunes better by ear I think I'd be better able to play tunes in sessions which I haven't heard or played before, or even just find the right key. Richard

My 'other' concertina, a 70 button Wheatstone Crane Aeola, has a B and a Bb below Middle C on the right-hand. This is where I would really like a complete extra row. Most of my repertoire (traditional English/Irish dances/songs) fits neatly on the right if in the Key of D with D as the lowest note (authentic) or in the Key of G if the lowest note lies below the tonic (plagal), but there are times when I would like to go lower on the right and that's more important to me personally than what's available on the left (or even on the top row of the right). Richard

Just received a bogus PM which, via an apparent anti-bot form, takes you to some Russian web site. Sent in the name of 'justrakop'. Definitely to be avoided.

This is all down to the dark depths of personal psychology and motivation and I think it's difficult to control consciously/rationally. It's also a very personal thing and I reckon it has more to do with the person than with the instrument or even with music in general. Maintaining motivation has been a problem area for me since I accumulated my first musical instrument about 40 years ago. I love music. I crave it. I would love to be good at it. But practising in isolation can be boring, frustrating and discouraging. The prospect of the end result (which in my case is the ability to play with others in the folk scene) has made me pursue the concertina more than I have previously pursued any other instrument. This is all down to the fact that, for the last few years, I have been involved in that scene with the prospect of weekly activities in a social environment. This isn't down to the concertina. I'm basically an unaccompanied singer. If I didn't have that involvement I probably wouldn't have the same incentive to practice. I'm pretty sure that 'socialisation' is key, at least in my case. This doesn't mean to say that I'd be happy in 'any' social environment. I've percolated to the one that suits my 'soul'. When it comes to practising I have very mixed experiences. Sometimes I really enjoy the tactile/aural sensation, almost hedonistically. At other times I am driven by a self-imposed ratchet whereby I just put in the effort to maintain my weekly average of time spent, and that's more compulsion than joy. Ideally I would always enjoy practising, but that is something that either happens or doesn't. You can't decide to enjoy something. Richard

I did the musical memory test and ended up on the 69th percentile. I take being better than average as encouraging. I usually learn tunes by dots now, but I remember them by ear... Richard