Ann Sanders
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Posts posted by Ann Sanders
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Hi, has anyone heard of a Wakker Anglo being made with Lachenal reeds? If so, any pro’s or cons? Thank you.
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Hi all, would anyone be so kind as to give me an opinion/ review either on the forum or privately on Jeff Thomas’s concertinas? Such as where they would be on the quality ratings etc. I appreciate that each handmade instrument can be different but in general. I am looking to trade up from a Claro accordion reeded but have never heard of the Jeff Thomas. Thank you in advance.
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Una
in Buy & Sell
You can buy a José Claro accordion reeded concertina for €1900 which will be a big improvement. If it doesn’t suit he will refund if done within a month I think it is. He will also take it back if you wished to upgrade.
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Thank you everybody.
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4 hours ago, ellen33 said:
In the first part of Apples in winter (jig) I use the high B to C# on the right hand side. Hard to find examples, because I don’t use it as often as the other way.
Thank you ellen33. I must have a look at it. I think I always try to work the inside row to avoid the move even if that includes using all of it from F# up but I thought I was possibly torturing myself. And maybe I am!!
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5 hours ago, ellen33 said:
I use both, depending on the tune. I have a Jeffries layout.
Hi ellen33, can I ask you for an example of one or two you might use that way? Thank you
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Thank you all. Interesting. Although it doesn’t seem to feel right for me I can see the advantages whilst the high D on middle to C# always feels an absolute no no although I’ve seen one well known and respected player do it.
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To those who play Irish trad on the anglo, can I ask how many will go from the B on the right middle to C# on the incidental row as opposed to always going from the B on the G row ? Providing of course you are using a Jeffries layout and can get the C# on the second button.TIA
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20 hours ago, Don Taylor said:
Ann
I had a similar problem a while ago. I bought a plastic thumb splint from the local pharmacy which I kept in place on my thumb with a bit of electrical insulating tape (just wrapped around the splint, not actualy taped to my thumb). I wore this when playing for a couple of weeks while my thumb healed. After that I never needed it again - I had forgotten about it until I read your post.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QgQQd9bvB6u8fax39
Look on Amazon for thumb splints and you will find an amazing number of them to choose amongst.
Thanks Don. I’m using corn plasters at the moment
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No Don, it’s not. It lies on top of it and unfortunately the joint lies right on the edge of the strap, the edge furthest away. I could see about getting a strap that is wider at that point. I have tried setting my hand differently and it doesn’t really work for me.
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This could well be a strange question! Whilst I know what it says on the tin, how is the handrest actually used or does that question tell me and others that I currently have a problem? I press the concertina(Anglo) in with the heel of my hand and pull with the strap, leaving the handrest redundant. Should I be leaning some part of my hand on the handrest especially for pressing? One of the reasons I ask is that I sometimes make the mistake of pressing the instrument in with my thumb as opposed to the heel and of course sometimes on the button I’m playing which I know is a bad idea. My thumb is now starting to chafe on the joint where it is making contact with the edge of the strap. Painful. I hope this question makes sense! Thank you.
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Thank you Jewish Leprechaun and LateToTheGame.
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Hi, is there a model of Dipper Anglo c/g more or most commonly played by Irish trad musicians? Also, with regards to button dimensions what is the most common? Thanks
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Excellent tuition
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Over the first few lessons or ‘basics’ as Caitlín calls them she goes through the D and G scales with the G scale being based entirely on the inside row. I gather that as an introduction, this is slightly different than what is usually done, with most teachers in Ireland preferring to introduce the G scale as starting on the middle row. She then goes on to do what she describes as the “extra notes” and these would be the options such as the two of the As,Bs etc and explains that although the high D on the left is the one she wants students to use initially, the high D on the right, and indeed the other options, have to be practiced and used. I have been using the OAIM facility and whilst it has been brilliant and I have learnt a lot, there is something refreshing and different about Caitlín’s set up. In my experience so far.
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Yes, excellent tuition.
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Thank you Late To The Game
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The third tune is called The Mist In(On)The Meadow or The Castlebar Races.
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Thank you Ken and Dana
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A question for those who play Irish trad on Anglo- what is to be lost or possibly gained by playing tunes that are strongly in D major mostly on the G row? I am not talking about only on it and ignoring the benefits of crossing when it suits but of, for example in a tune like Tobins or similar, using the A on the inside on route to the high D also on inside and then on to the C#s. I know that this tune and others like it can be played on the C row using the high D and the C# on the right and that it is no harm to be able to do it both ways, and that players like Chris Droney and Frank Edgley mostly play on the G row but am interested to hear if there are reasons why it is better to play one way or another in the case of the key of D. Thank you.
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Thank you Dana
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You could also, if you wished, advertise it on donedeal.ie in Ireland and then possibly bring it to Ireland in October?Can I ask about your new concertina and who you are getting the classes from?
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I've always taken it for granted that the knee that the concertina is rested on is an indication of which handed you are?? Those who are left handed and "drive" the bellows with that hand will usually rest the instrument on the right knee and visa versa.The having to use the air button on the right then being one of those things that left handed people deal with.Not sure if there is any science to this belief but there you go!!
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Hi, apart from the specific sound, which I am not underestimating or dismissing, what are the differences between the two reeds? Is the concertina reed more responsive or is this solely down to construction? Louder or again is that timber/construction influenced? I definitely get the more attractive sound from the concertina reed but am curious as to what else I would get in general by upgrading. I appreciate of course the variables between the general qualities, such as between a cheap or poor accordian reeded and a Dipper for example but am wondering about the differences that the two reeds specifically bring to the experience. TIA
fingers slipping off buttons
in Teaching and Learning
Posted · Edited by Ann Sanders
Hi. As a mostly ex fiddle player I understand what you say about the hardened and in my case shiny pads. I had the same finger slipping off the buttons thing happening, mostly the ring and small fingers on the left hand and predominantly on the inside row although the ring finger on the D button in the middle could be vulnerable. So the first thing I did before I’d play was to give the pads of my fingers a sort of buffing with an emery board or nail file. The cardboard ones or disposable ones, about mid roughness. It was just to ‘key’ them as it were and definitely not a skin peel or plastic surgery!! This worked to a degree. I have to say though I was so frustrated that I entertained taking a rasp to the top of the buttons and roughing them up!!!!
However I learnt that the issue was more a sensory or mechanical one than a skin issue. It was about how I put the finger on the button. I don’t know about you but I was trained to arch the fingers over the fiddle fret board and press down with the very top of the finger and I just never gave the action of placing it on the buttons a second thought. For me, I found it to be very subtly different. Same muscles and action probably but in the last mili seconds and millimetre there is a different connection on arriving on the button. So it was about slowing down and noticing the finger arriving on the button. I would practice just bringing the finger down and noticing the contact between finger and button.
Off centre would a bit of a problem alright if you are doing it all the time so that exercise should correct that but if you have the rest right and the landing is correct you’ll get away with the odd off centre because you’ll catch most of the button.
How you hold your fingers over the buttons when not using them might be an issue. Again if you are repeating the arching it might be causing a problem because I noticed that a lot of the better players keep the fingers extended, presumably in a relaxed way, over the buttons as opposed to being arched ready for action. But I feel an awareness of the minute contact on the buttons will fix it.
I hope this helps in some way and best wishes.