Geoff W.

Hey Bill. I'd take this off your hands. Will DM

Playing this arrangement of Come Write Me Down by Cohen BK. Originally commissioned to play at a friend's wedding, they decided to go with Shenandoah instead. It's a lovely tune though Nice left hand accompaniments.

I went from a Rochelle to a Minstrel to a Clover and in perfect hindsight should've just gone to the clover straightaway. But, even the move to a minstrel is a massive improvement you won't regret for a second.

I've been taking lessons with him almost a year now and have found him to be an extremely attentive and encouraging teacher. He pushes me regularly with longer, more challenging tunes, while we work on more basic concepts like music theory and left hand accompaniments, or learning by ear, on a weekly basis. Having this accountability has really pushed me to practice and grow as a player during the pandemic and I'll definitely keep taking them!

Wow, getting the Gigue down in a Coover book. I see my practicing future unfurl before me.

Cohen BK nicely arranged a version of a favorite Sacred Harp tune of mine and I gave it a whack.

I went from a Minstrel (with the nice bellows upgrade) to a Clover. I think it has marginal improvements in sound quality and playability, but a large portion of the money comes in a nicer fit and finish, which I appreciate. The buttons feel better and it overall just seems like a higher quality instrument. I think if you got a Minstrel without the nice bellows, it wouldn't be as big of an upgrade as a Clover or similar quality "nice" hybrid. Anything is a huge upgrade from the Rochelle 1, but I'm not familiar with the 2. but hey - you're the first person I've seen with a Rochelle 2! I think we'd all love to see some pictures, hear what you think of it, maybe even a video It's a very interesting development in starter concertinas.

Any pictures?

Yes, I would recommend the Minstrel or Clover as a solid upgrade if you are able to turn your Rochelle back in.

This sounds really lovely. I love the accordion backing.

I sprung for the Wakker bellows on the Minstrel, which I believe are the same type of bellows that come as default on the Clover, they feel just about the same. There was a big difference in general smoothness of action and buttons, likely because the Clover has metal capped delrin buttons and feel a little wider than the pretty narrow Minstrel buttons I had. Compared to the Rochelle, the bellows feel very supple and comfortable to play. Both concertinas felt great to play out of the package. Comparing the Minstrel and Clover is Wim himself when I was e-mailing about this:

Cohen taught me that one

I share these not as examples of stellar playing, but maybe you can get more of a sense for how the Minstrel sounds.

Really nice, do you happen to have sheet music?

One of my pieces for my recent review with Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, who I highly recommend as a teacher for baroque music and harmonic-style playing. Thanks for watching!