Gavin

Ha ! ! Hello Mike, It's a small world ! Where are Dolphin dancing tonight ? We're at the White Hart in Bargate . . . . It's our Squire's pub tour but he's on holiday and I've got to take the bloody sticks . . . . Grrrrrrr. I think the last time we met I was gallivanting about, dressed as a pantomime horse, up at the Cliff in Crich. Anyway, yes thank you for the tips - I'll crack on with those and give them a go. It's odd really picking up another instrument. When you haven't got a clue as to what to do with it these tips make a huge difference. I've even ordered a tutorial book off of the Amazon machine. Though, I can't say that I'm particularly keen on them. I was going to ask Malcolm but I don't like to bother people too much. Though he did have a look at my instrument last week . . . . Thanks for your reply Mike. All the best, Gavin.

Hello Everyone, This is my first post. My name is Gavin. I live near Derby and I'm also a member of an exclusive drinking club . . . . the Ripley morris men. I only acquired my first concertina about two weeks ago. If I'm honest, it was an impulse purchase and I didn't put too much thought into it . . . . . I suppose I was just feeling saucy and extravagant, on the day. I play the melodeon usually and I left my Wife and children on the beach, at Sidmouth, while I went to "look around". My departing words to her were "I probably won't buy anything" though in truth there was a Hohner Liliput that I was interested in. In short, after playing the Liliput I just thought that I've already got quite a few melodeons that I really like already and Eb / Bb didn't seem particularly useful but . . . . . in the corner, I happened to notice a 26 key Lachenal G/C anglo. Even though I'd never picked up a concertina before I was still a bit embarrassed when it was pointed out to me that I was holding it upside-down . . . . with the air button on the left. Honestly . . . where else would it be ? ? Anyway, I had a rudimentary look - there were no silent reeds, sticking buttons and the bellows seemed quite tight and free of damage / wear . . . . and so I bought it. Two weeks later . . . . I've got to be honest it's proving to be more of a challenge than the melodeon ever was. Though that was quite a long time ago. The playing is a challenge - particularly learning where all of the chords are and even getting a tune out. Then there's the issue as to which side of the concertina do I play the melody on ? The "G row" is mega squeaky on the right side bottom end so if I play on the left where do I play the accompaniment ? etc . . . . I'd be very glad of any tips / advice. Tho' I daresay that these basic questions have been asked a million times by new people in the past. The box is a bit of a challenge too - despite the fact that it doesn't seem "leaky" it definitely feels "air hungry". I was wondering if this is normal behaviour for concertinas in general ? Melodeon bellows do have a bigger capacity after all . . . . or is it just my particular box ? It has been suggested to me that the reeds may simply require more air to drive them. As far as I've read Lachenal concertinas were considered to be "budget boxes" when they were made, only now they're older. If that's true then I wouldn't expect the reeds to be the brilliant. I'm sure there are plenty of people who own concertinas like mine. Please can anyone tell me - do they all behave like that or does mine require some maintenance ? Regards and Thanks All, Gavin.