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bogheathen

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    Male
  • Interests
    Concertina, Anglo, Irish, Hayden Duet
  • Location
    U.S.

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  1. Jim, I aligned the handrails with the button rows on each side and discovered the same thing. THE BUTTON ROWS THEMSELVES ARE AT DIFFERENT ANGLES ON THE FACEPLATES! If you line the handrails up parallel with the bottom button row on each side, you don't get the same hand angle relative to the box as a whole on each side. You get two different angles. Frustrating.
  2. Unless I win the lottery soon, I'll be playing my Stagi Hayden duet for the foreseeable future. But I'm going to change the handle angle to square it up with the keyboard, as it is on the Morse Beaumont and Concertina Connection Peacock. Anybody know the actual distance between the handle and bottom row of keys on these boxes?
  3. Don, clear me up on how marking the existing handrail holes in masking tape helps with repositioning the holes elsewhere. Not getting the picture.
  4. Thanks, Don. This makes sense...I've gotten to the the "take off the action plate" point and stopped already. I've been inside accordions, but the thought of putting all those little concertina buttons back where they belong in the end plate stalled me. I'll give it a go.
  5. Gary, thanks for the lead to Judy Hawkins, found her Hayden tutorial thread, much appreciated.
  6. Judy, this is great, thanks so much. Will be following.
  7. Did a forum search and didn't find much, presumably because their isn't much, but...is there a modern Hayden duet method book, tutor, or primer?
  8. I have a Stagi 46 button Hayden Duet with the apparently Hayden-designed slanted keyboard, offset from the handrail so the thumb side buttons are closer than the pinky side buttons. I didn't know duet keyboards came any other way until I saw the Concertina Connection Wicky/Hayden hybrids...with the hand rail in line with the keyboard. No slant. Now the slant on my Stagi keyboard bugs the hell out of me, and I know why my pinky is practically useless on the upper rows. Anybody changed the handrail position on a Stagi? Any experiences, caveats, etc?
  9. When you're overwhelmed, sometimes things stay in your subconscious for a while before resurfacing. This happened to me at the recent Noel Hill concertina school in Cincinnati, and what just bubbled up from my unconscious turns out to be something I"ll probably value the rest of my concertina playing life. This is what is bubbling up now. At some point, Noel corrected the way I was holding the instrument...on my right thigh. He suggested I change it to my left thigh, because the air-button hand -- the right hand -- is the "bowing hand" of the instrument. He made several comparisons between the fiddle and the concertina during the school, this was one that I'm really glad is coming back to me. Keeping this in mind is helping my bellows and air button work a lot, simply by giving it a frame or concept to hook it to. A simple and powerful concept.
  10. Midwest camp this year @ $400 tuition and $400 accommodation with meals. Worth every penny. Five days of world-class instruction and companionship in a beautiful setting devoid of distractions. Start working on the first morning and don't quit until the last afternoon. Now that I know what to expect, I'll get even more out of the next one.
  11. Snagged my place in line with Dana Johnson for a new Kensington C/G. Met CaryK's Kensington in Cincinnati last month and was duly impressed, so did the research. Was additionally impressed by Dana Johnson's overall approach to the business and with the relatively short wait times. Was even further impressed by Dana's fast and personal responses to inquiries and questions. Combined with the quality-for-price equation, I couldn't find a reason NOT to get in line. What I haven't found is a wealth of images of Kensingtons on the nets. Almost all Dana's web site images are parts and guts. Would love to see some glamor shots. Anyone? Bueller? Will also have some sale items coming up once the Kensington arrives -- a lighlty loved Morse Ceili and an 1868 Wheatstone English refurbed by the Button Box. In the meantime, though, Kensington glamor shots, please, if you have them.
  12. Noel usually divides his schools into beginner, intermediate, and advanced groups. Because the school session I attended had less than a dozen students, Noel only split us up into two groups, intermediate and advanced. I was in the intermediate group, and I was easily the least advanced player, having come to the school without any other personal instruction or formal training in music, much less the concertina. I can tell you that I was never made to feel by anyone like I was holding anyone back, ever. I can imagine a beginner class based on my experience in the intermediate section, and if I were you, Mathhag, I wouldn't hesitate to sign up. The more familiar you are with the button layout of your instrument, the better off you'll be...and you'd also benefit from being as good at sight reading as possible. But after having the experience of jumping in the deep end and being forced to keep my head above water, I wouldn't have had it any other way. No matter what section of Noel's school you get put in, you'll get stretched. And that's exactly why you do it, yes?
  13. Just finished the Noel Hill concertina school at the Transfiguration Spiritual Center in northern Cincinnati, and it was overwhelming. More instruction, insight, and camaraderie than you could shake a bellows at, in a setting so peaceful and accommodating that there were absolutely no distractions from playing and learning. Wake up, eat, play, eat, play, eat, play, sleep. Repeat. Five intense and intensely valuable days for anyone interested in learning Anglo from a master. I was in completely over my head, but the shore was always nearby and lined with helping hands. The same setting in Cincinnati is already locked down for next year's school, and I'm definitely planning to return. Can't recommend it highly enough.
  14. I was going to use my iPhone but suspected it didn't have enough storage. After some research I found a little Zoom recorder.
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