gtotani

Gys Mans of South Africa used to make 40 button C/G with concertina reeds. Sadly enougy, since the COVID-19 pademic, he does not build new ones. He is still there and does maintenance service for concertinas, though. You could find him at facebook. Totani

Just in case anybody is interested in playing this, I have put the sheet music with buttons and bellows direction on google drive, using the tablature system used by Gary Cover. The tune itself is public domain since 2007. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MKv3Ah86kLyjxXfse9bnknEMmdqQfgUT/view?usp=drivesdk

If you are interested in playing, you can find the sheetmusic and accompanyment movie here. The concept of this campaign is also described there in Japanese and in English. http://e-fu.org/harunoumi.html

New Year's Greeting to all. I played Japanese Traditional Music "Haru no Umi" as my new year challenge fo 2022. The tune is played everywhere in Japan during New Year season. Original instrumentation is Koto + Shakuhachi, and I played the Shakuhachi part with my Anglo concertina (Minstrel by concertina connection). I hope you enjoy. Totani

Thank you Steve for your wonderful arrangement. I could not resist myself from playing it on square Herrington "Hercules". I believe some of you will get some idea how the tune sounds when played on C/G instrument.

Hello Joel, I am a big fan of your YouTube videos, and thank you for sharing the sheetmusic. It is nice to see every note made clear, so that I can have better idea on the duration of those notes. Merry Christmas! Totani

Thank you very much, Gary, for the outstanding arrangement and for sharing my play. I played it as a part of my Advent Challenge 2021. As same as last year, I played all 50 tunes of Gary Coover's "Christmas Concertina" book. This piece has been the biggest challenge. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp1uphkpzyaKQBOlgOX3MQdNDCUTXnp9f Gen Totani

You could trade in your Concertina Connection beginner for Troubadour or Peacock, I guess. Totani

Merry Christmas to you all. I have revisited Gary's Christmas Concertina book again this year, with a new gear. Harold Herrington's square concertina "Hercules". This year, I have included "Merry Christmas Darling" as well. (only this one is played on Minstrel) I hope you enjoy. Happy Christmas and stay safe. Totani

Waiting list for Duckling is 16 months If Rob can wait, a newly introduced Dabblers (28 or 30 button) could be an interesting alternative. https://www.flyingduckconcertinas.co.uk/dabblers.html And yes, Rochelle-2 is a good choice if one does not favor "bulky" and "glossy piano black" original Rochelle. Totani

Welcome Rob, As a owner of Minstrel and Rochelle-2 by Concertina Connection, I suggest you get in touch with Wim Wakker of Concertina Connection to see if he has pre-owned Rochelle in stock. 1. You cannot go wrong a lot with Rochelle as a beginner instrument 2. pre-owned Rochelles are sold at lower price than brand new ones 3. pre-owned Rochelles that have gone back to Concertina Connection are refurbished and come with 2-year warantee, and 4. pre-owned Rochelles are also subject to trade-in program offered by Concertina Connection If you do not mind paying S&H or if you live in Dublin, perhaps you could try Wren2 out, as McNeela offers 14 day money back guarantee. As for Stagi (or Bastari), if you are lucky enough to get a good one, it will be good. If not, tough luck. I hope this information helps. Happy concertina life! Totani

Hello, sorry for belated reply. I am glad to know to find another owner of Rochelle-2 who is happy with it. So far I have not noticed any change in bellows flexibility. The bellows of standard Rochelle of some years old seemed to be a bit more flexible. I guess it takes years to change. Happy concertina playing! Totani

Yes, it is now available in amazon.co.jp! I have ordered one. This book is only available in hard copy and not in digital version for kindle. update: I received my copy today on November 4th. It was printed "on-demand" in Japan. Excellent work, Gary!

Thanks for the good news! As I am far away from Red Cow Music, I will have to wait till it will be on print-on-demand at amazon worldwide!