[Phil Ham Anglo book]

Thanks for including the sample tunes. They're cute and definitely a different sort of harmonic accompaniment than block chords or oom-pahs. I'll be picking this one up.

[Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne Anglo Tutor]

Been waiting for this one for a hot minute!!!

[French bourrées at baryton custom duet]

Great playing as always!

[Valse « À Batignolles-Clichy »]

Great playing as ever!

[A Handel Sonata and two Flute Duets on Anglo]

Just sharing some recordings I did of recent tunes for a review w/ Cohen BK as part of our lessons. Thanks for listening!

 

 

 

[The World Concertina Day all-star video concert!]

Super fun. Thanks to all the performers and those that put this together!

[anglo concertina lessons - North London]

I would also recommend Cohen. Just had a lesson with him today and have some pretty exciting songs to work on.

[Maiden Voyage - Anglo Concertina]

As a huge Sea of Thieves fan, thank you!

[Main "C" button on anglo valve pad keeps overlapping]

Hi there, I have a Clover anglo and the primary "C" button on the right hand (pointer finger) valve pad seems loose, or the button is wobbling, or something shifted. It keeps resulting in the valve pad resting slightly on top of the valve pad below it, which lets air through and the note keeps sounding even when the button isn't pressed.

 

 

Any thoughts on what could be loose, worn, or going surprisingly wobbly here? I do play a fair amount, and this would be one of the most used buttons.

 

Thanks,
Geoff

[The Prince of Hess's Rigadoon]

Great playing and gorgeous instrument!

[Sold: The Concertina Maintenance Manual by David D. Elliott **Second Edition**]

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

[Come Write Me Down - anglo]

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.

 

 

[Thinking of Upgrading my Rochelle]

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.

[Review of Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne Concertina Lessons]

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!

[John Kirkpatrick Anglo concertina book]

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

[47b Idumea - Sacred Harp]

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

 

 

[What concertina to get after Rochelle?]

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.

 

[Beautiful Frank Edgley 186 Anglo Concertina]

Any pictures?

[What concertina to get after Rochelle?]

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

[Heronflight by Kathryn Wheeler]

This sounds really lovely. I love the accordion backing.

[Phoenix vs Minstrel]

3 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

Geoff: 

 

Did your Minstrel have the standard bellows, or the optional extra Wakker bellows? 

 

In either case, what did you think of the bellows on the Minstrel compared to your Clover?

 

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:

Quote

For many players that don’t want to spend the money on a traditional concertina, the Clover is the ‘final concertina’. It has the same MS58 brass action as Wakker models do, the same metal capped (‘real’) buttons, and low resistant bellows. The bellows are a big deal. We’re currently  the only makers that make free bellows (not on a rig) with 90% free travel.  see http://www.concertinaconnection.com/about%20bellows.htm  for more info on bellows.

 

The clover features a slightly more precise design and tonal woods (quartered european maple reed pans, Engelmann spruce soundboards) which produce a richer sound.

 

So the difference is: more refined sound, better performance characteristics because of flow pattern and resistance free bellows, action and buttons identical to high end Wakker concertinas.  

For some people that justifies the higher price, others are just as happy with their Minstrel.

 

[Fugue No. 12 by Ferdinand Kauer on Anglo]

10 minutes ago, Don Taylor said:

That is a very neat trick you pull at the end to give you a tremolo.

Cohen taught me that one

[Phoenix vs Minstrel]

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

 

 

 

 

[Rev. James Mountain hymn on Wheatstone 5A]

Really nice, do you happen to have sheet music?

[Fugue No. 12 by Ferdinand Kauer on Anglo]

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!