Jillser Nic Amhlaoibh

delete post, misread

I find it easier to learn and remember tunes that I'm familiar with, so if I'm learning a tune that I haven't heard before I'll always source a recording/video of it that I like and listen to that over and over - if I can hum it to meself in the car then I won't have any bother learning/remembering it. You could also try "back chaining" when learning a tune - that's where you start off learning the last couple of bars/measures of it and then work your way backwards - it results in you always playing towards "familiarity". I sometimes do this if I'm learning a 3 or 4 part reel and having difficulty remembering the last part.

Irish traditional music is a dance music, so the time signatures for the tunes reflect that - also just a heads up that "songs" have words, and tunes don't. In Frank's book he is likely talking about "tunes", not "songs".

What genre/genres of music are you learning? If this was an irish traditional music session you went to there wouldn't be improvisation happening really so that wouldn't be something to worry about - folks just play the tunes though there may be slight differences in how each player plays due to choice and placement of ornaments in the tune and/or subtle variations. Certainly at only 4 months into playing with no past musical background you shouldn't be beating yourself up over struggling to keep up. Again, you don't say what type of music your learning but playing along to tunes at a speed you can manage (using slow down software, or playing along to YouTube videos and using the slow down option in settings for example) is a good way to get used to playing along with other instruments and not getting knocked out of your stride, it allows you to confidently play at speeds you can manage and then over time to incrementally increase the speed. If you're playing any irish traditional tunes then the old Wellington Sessions tune archive is a great resource - loads of commonly played tunes available and the ability to slow them down and loop certain parts as well: https://irish.session.nz/ Committing tunes to memory vs. depending on the sheet music can also help as when playing along with others you'll have more bandwidth to respond to how others are playing in the group rather than having most of your bandwidth taken up with focusing on the sheet music.

My experience differs from seanc's in that for me I learn tunes quicker and remember them better if I learn them by ear. I also don't go back to the start of the tune if I make a mistake, rather I isolate what part was tripping me up and try to figure out what the problem is - am I rushing the notes in that part? Would it be more fluent and easier to play if I use an alternate fingering for it? etc. If I just go back to the top of the tune and start again without ferreting out what tripped me up then I'm likely to just replicate that mistake again - not saying my way is the right way, just that it's the way that works for me.

Evangeline, if you were to go for a Kensington you wouldn't need to pay the full cost up front as Dana would be building it for you, so you'd pay a deposit, with the rest due upon completion - depending on the build time and whether or how long Dana's wait list is for a build that could be months away, which would give time to save up however much over budget the cost is and in the meantime the build process would already be in motion.

While I was waiting for my Edgley to arrive I spent the time memorising the Jeffries button layout, playing around with the Concertina XL app (and driving everyone in the house demented!), and watching videos - OAIM has some free introductory lesson vids up on YouTube and I also watched some of the Caitlín vids in her Beginner course to familiarise myself with them in preparation of having a concertina in my hands to actually sit down and learn those tunes. I had already played tenor banjo for years and was familiar with all the tunes already which also helped. Congratulations on soon being a Kensington owner, what a lovely instrument to be starting out with!

I started out playing guitar and drums in bands for years. Then I picked up the tenor banjo, mandolin and tenor guitar when I got into irish trad music, and then I succumbed to a long time fascination with the concertina and finally bought one. Still play all of the other instruments listed as well!

@Leah, Frank would be the best person obviously to confirm when your Edgley was built, but going by the serial number I'd say it's may be from about 2015.

- Rented a Rochelle from the Button Box for about a fortnight (I was working in the States at the time), enough time to let me know that 1) I wanted to keep playing the anglo concertina and 2) I didn't want to keep playing the Rochelle. - Bought a second hand Tedrow C/G, massive improvement from the Rochelle, lovely to play and beautifully made. - Bought a second hand Edgley Heritage C/G, which I'm still playing and enjoying

Ah sad to hear the doors will be closing, another connection to the past gone.

I remember when I was waiting for my concertina to arrive I found it really helpful to download a keyboard layout chart (do you know whether your concertina has Jeffries or Wheatstone layout?) so that I could get familiar with where the notes were.

@mike_s, you may already be aware of it but Caitlín has two websites for lessons, her original Irish Concertina Lessons one, and also her more recent one that focuses on teaching session tunes, with the ability to slow sections down, loop parts etc.: https://learnirishtunes.com/ @Notemaker, surely it wouldn't be too difficult for you to have the courtesy to spell Caitlín's name correctly?

Cheers Peter! I was just wondering today when registration would open for the 2024 programme, just sent mine in now!

Just a heads up that you're replying to a ten year old "for sale" listing....