Luke Hillman

I also play both C/G and G/D, and even though you'd think G/D would be perfect for Morris... I have yet to find one loud enough! Playing harmonically on a C/G means I'm almost always using the shriekingly high notes (I try to avoid splitting the melody across hands whenever possible). If playing melody only, I'll sometimes play on the left hand. I've mostly got to stick to G/Em, because our team has quite a few musicians. My G/D has a beautiful, rich, mellow sound, and I can get away with using it in some sessions. But so far I've mostly used it for solo performances or in very small group settings (no Morris bells).

From the day I put my order in to the day I had it in my hands was 5 years 11 months.

I finally got mine, a 40-button G/D, last year! It was definitely worth the wait. Of course work got crazy right around then, so I haven't gotten around to posting a video yet. I'll try to do that some weekend soon. It's an extremely mellow instrument, and visually stunning; much more of a solo-performance-type concertina than a boisterous one you'd use for Morris (or even ITM), but that's down to my particular choices.

I'll send you a direct message.

David, you'd be most welcome to join Berkeley Morris for May Day festivities (starting at 5am and continuing through the afternoon). I'd be happy to meet up with you one day during your visit, in any case.

As the proud owner of the pictured 40-button instrument, I can confirm—it's even more gorgeous in person, and sounds wonderful. Well worth the wait!

"Squeezebox." Since I play accordions and concertinas, often at the same gig, that's the word I use to refer to both. And having both on hand is helpful to explain the difference when folks want to talk about one or the other. ... Of course, for tariff purposes, if I were attempting to get a concertina into the US right now, I'd happily concede that it is, in fact, a piano accordion.

You're most welcome—so glad it's helpful!

Thank you for these thoughts. I'm currently teaching myself English after playing Anglo for a few years. Coming from Anglo (and melodeon), I think in terms of melody and chords. Interestingly, even with Anglo, I found myself referencing a piano keyboard—as a non-pianist—for the simple fact that it's an uncomplicated and straightforward chromatic layout. I made this thing primarily for Anglo players like myself, but have been using it to figure out chords on the English as I go. (It's built around Anglo-style rows, rather than English-style columns, which is why the layout is the way it is).

@Lorenzo Stagi gentle observation that the frequency of your posts in this forum is probably counterproductive. My impression is that you have received this feedback from others as well.

Thanks for the feedback and the suggestion, Alex! I've been working on a large update for far too long now, and once that's done, I should have some spare brain to put toward this. And thank you @Michael Eskin, this means a lot from you!

Not sure if you're still around, @Chris Drinkwater, but I was messing around at Morris practice this week and tried your tune in E minor. I think it works pretty nicely!

I love this analysis. When I visited the set in 2019, the only concertina I saw was in the Green Dragon, and it was a postwar 20-button German one. At least this one seems more geographically appropriate, if anachronistic.

I'll also plug Anglo Piano as a way to explore chords—it isn't opinionated about how to voice them, but it will show you all notes in either direction that belong in the chord you've selected. Here's Bb7 on a 30-button C/G as an example.

Welcome to the Faceless Brotherhood. Who needs it when you've got concertina.net, anyway!