gtotani

Sorry for the trouble, Leonard. I have re-uploaded the video. It should be OK now.

Thank you Gary, for a good news. I look forward to the new tune book by you and Phil Ham. I gave a try. Such a lovely piece!

You should search Toru Kato on YouTube and enjoy his performance. 40 button Stagi (Bastari branded) is his main instrument. I hope this information helps. Totani

Do you have a copy of this book by Adrian Brown? If not, you should. The book contains arrangements for harmonic style concertina playing for both Wheatstone and Jeffries layouts. Some reading materials by Adrian are contained in this book which would be a very good guide to your inquiry. Cheers! Totani https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732612102/

Thank you TehRarozBack for your comment and bringing up this issue. Obviously, the copyright holder (Studio Ghibli in this case) cannot be bothered hunting innumerous copyright violations and I would assume it often leaves things as they are, which does not mean what are on MuseScore etc. for a long time are copyright clean. At any rate, there are numerous commercially available copyright clean piano arrangements for many famous copyright protected pieces whch we could make use of to play on our concertinas. If you like the tune, it may not be a bad idea to buy one of these to pay tribute to the copyright holder (and avoid possible risk of being sued for copyright violation), rather than looking for some copyright-dubious freebies "floating around" on the Internet. I hope my point is clear enough (if not, I am sorry. I am not a native English user). Totani

Me too, play this tune with 30b C/G anglo but I cannot share the sheetmusic, as it is well under copyright protection. I suggest you buy an easy piano arrangement and play it on your concertina. Totani

It is a pity that Wim Wakker of concertina connection did not respond to you. From ergonomical point of view, - Morse is lighter in weight - Clover has thinner buttons and some player may find his fingers falling in between buttons - Bellows of Clover and Morse are both very good with different taste So I think your decisión is decent. I would not mind going for a Clover though. Totani

From ergonomical point of view, - Ceili is lighter than Clover. - Buttons of Clover (and concertinas of concertina connection in general) are somewhat "thinner" than Ceili and someone will experience their fingers falling inbetween buttons, which could be frustrating - Bellows are very smooth on either instrument. Totani

Concertina Connection offers second hand Rochelle-2 for USD480, or you can choose brand new original Rochelle for USD459. I believe this price is more accessible than entry class McNeela brand cocertina. http://www.concertinaconnection.com/pre owned.htm Both of them are good starter instruments for their price. Although they are made in China, you could trust QC of Wim Wakker, I think. If you become good enough to upgrade to a better insturment, you could buy Minstrel or Clover and you can trade in Rochelle or Rochelle-2 for the price you have purchased. McNeela also offers trade-in, but evaluated at far lower price than its original purchase price. Totani (My main concertina is Minstrel with Wakker bellows upgrade, and I have Rochelle-2 as well.)

Back in 2018, the price Gys Mans asked for his 40 button concertina was 35000ZAR. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, he suspended his concertina production in 2020 and not restarted yet when I got in touch with him this year. I think he is not taking order now. Totani

Hi all. It looks like McNeela is launching an online concertina lesson by Jack Talty. https://concertinalessons.mcneelamusic.com/order-form1637165625465 FYI Totani

For those that are interested in budget Anglo and Duett, Concertina Connection has some in stock. - Elise duet $390 (+ shipping) - Rochelle 2 (R2) $470 (+ shipping) - Rochelle 2 (R2) $480 (+ shipping)

I have recently seen an Elise on Ebay, in Gernamy. 2 more days to go.

Congratulations, Parker135! Your Clover is truely a piece of art and it will keep you entertained for years to come! Totani

Yes, the bellows of R2 spring back rather quickly. Wakker bellows of my Minstrel, too do spring back to a certain extent, but not as quickly as those of R2 and I do not have to struggle against it when playing my Minstrel+Wakker bellows. Since you and I share the same point of view that bellows are important, I would suggest you go for Clover without doubt. Clover comes with Wakker bellows by default, have metal cap button, and you can choose wood type. If it is hard to stretch your buget to Clover, you could choose Minstrel but I would highly recommend bellows upgrade option. If I am not mistaken, Wim Wakker does not offer upgrade program from Minstrel to Clover. Having said that, I have owned my Minstrel+wakker bellows over four years traveling to many countries without problems. I am quite happy about my instrument and I am pretty sure that it will keep me entertained decades to come. Totani

Another update. Gys Mans of South Africa has not restarted his concertina construction yet. I hope he will be back some time.

Thank a lot. So this tiny squeeze box is more or less 130 years old!

Hi, I have a Lachenal 46-button duet with serial number 1016. Could you give me an estimate when it was constructed? This one is tuned almost semitone higher than what we call "concert pitch". Totani

Here it is. National Anthem of Ukraine on my Minstrel+Wakker bellows (by concertina connection)

Thank you Gary, for sharing this. Minor errata. On the bar 15, where it shows 1, 5a, 9 on left hand, is should be 1a, 5a, 9, like bar 9. The fourth beat on bar 17, "2" should be added on right hand side, just like bar 21.

Barleycorn has Ab/Eb in stock for GBP950 which I believe to be less than 1300USD. https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/anglo-concertinas/clareman-30-key-anglo-hybrid-in-ab-eb-7842/

Goisag-san's instrument is Clover of Concertina Connection with Jeffries layout, I believe.

Thank you Alan. Here is my interpretation on C/G Square Herringon "Hercules". I did enjoy playing this. Totani

Good to hear that William Wakker is fine.

Go for Clover! I started with Minstrel with upgraded bellows four years ago, which is quite close to Clover and I feel no need to let it go. I bought Rochelle 2 last year. It is a good beginner instrument but would not recommend to anyone who is looking for an upgrade. If you are going to purchase one from Button Box, Ceílí would be another good option, as new orders for Morse Brand concertinas will be closing with the Button Box! Totani P.S. I don’t know why, but email response from Concertina Connection (Wim Wakker ) is quite slow these days. I have not got reply from Wim for months. You may have to be patient.