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I agree with Jody that old time music is a great and broad based place to find tunes. I like to click on a band or performer on u-tube and then explore the side bar offerings. There's a whole world of great music out there! Start with Caleb Clauder and Reeb Williams Foghorn String Band for example and see where it takes you. You should also consider composing your own stuff..........!😃

What are the types of songs you would like to sing if you weren't thinking in the context of the concertina? Old jazz and cabaret standards, mountain ballads, folk revival, show tunes, British broadsides, ethnic World music? I'll ask, although I'll get in trouble, if you've tried EC or Duet?

I scoped the serial # from the (Single) photo with a hand lens and it seemed clear; another look indicates the second # may be a 9. It is listed as a tenor-treble with some added verbiage.

I'm seeing #28790 up for sale on Minneapolis Craigslist.

I've noticed that playing the Jeff duet (similar fan shaped pattern) in this manner works very well. Coming from fiddle and guitar where the left hand is the noting hand, I'm faster and more accurate on that side. I'm exploring melodies in higher register in this inverted position.

I do this mostly for haunting ballads and songs that are usually done acapella where the timing and melody can wander at the whim of the singer. Doesn't have to follow the voice exactly and add a changing (sparse) drone or two, either high or low or both. I see you're in Maine; lots of great songs from the north woods lumber camps are good this way. Search for "the Lumberman's Alphabet" or "the Spring of '65", or try a nice slow "Rollin' Down to Old Maui" . Singing like that with the fiddle is great too.

Would it work smoother with the cutting blade set at an angle instead of at right angles to the work piece?

I think lifting off a drone, maybe during interesting bits elsewhere, sounds good.

Maybe a better cliche would be "caveat emptor"

Only that it's a scene from an animation of "The Wind in the Willows" by Kennith Grahame. I remember watching it here in the states. A quick search indicates Grahame wrote the poem himself.

RAc, So you have the caller's general instructions, the size and number of sets, the figures to be danced and whether the crowd is sprightly or geezerish, beginners or old hands. The collection jug overflows with green and the punch bowl gives off a mildly neon pink glow indicating it's been properly spiked. You've selected a tune or two or three ( don't try to cram three tunes into a short dance and change tunes at a significant change point in the dance) from your vast repertoire, some introductory beats by the lead musician and your on your way! At this point watch the caller closely for signs of panic. Here we have such a mix of dances from different cultures that we regularly use marches, polkas, jigs, reels and hornpipes and the rhythms and tempos vary considerably within all these types. Avoid starting too fast with marches and jigs as the following reels or hornpipes will sound frenetic. I've played for some English country dancing and the caller gave us the sheet music for each dance a week in advance!

Squeeze, I have your pattern (for which I'm grateful) and it's a B flat core right?

The diagrams are variable depending on the number of buttons, the amount of overlap, the core key, the choice and placement of the lower notes and how the sharps and flats are arranged. The core seems pretty consistent though. You can find Nick Robertshaw's diagram for his 51 button as well as a pattern for a smaller box by googling Jeffries duet finger patterns. Polly Clapp shows a diagram for a 58B in her article in Concertina Journal. These 3 examples seem to represent a loose standard although of the 6 or 7 I know of the only match is my 51 and Big Nick's. Additionally, Crabb, Wheatstone and C.Dipper made examples ( as per Polly Clapp) and I can vouch for Crabb and Wheatstone using slightly different set ups.

Coming from American squares and contras, defer to the caller ( if there is one, sometimes one of the dancers will prompt.). He/she will usually give a brief general instruction to the band after presenting the figures to the dancers; sometimes a specific tune for a particular dance or something like "Jigs or reels. not to fast and not in D or G this time please!". Having been paying attention to the figures as introduced, you can then proceed accordin'. 🙂

Peace and Harmony