JimLucas

According to my newsreader, these are the topics of threads posted on in the last two weeks. ... Hmm. I had pretty much abandoned RMMS, because of the lack of concertina content since so many of the participants had "defected" to concertina.net. Looks like there's still/again some concertina activity there, so I'd better go check it out, again. But certainly it's still more about accordions than concertinas, with a variety of subject matter. They regularly have folks requesting -- and providing -- chords and even full arrangements for particular tunes/songs, discussions of different accordion-based traditions, discussions of playing techniques -- including the differences between different accordion systems (PA, CBA B- and C- systems, different kinds of "diationic" accordions), -- technical discussions of accordion construction and repair, and just identifying and evaluating different makes and models. A lot lilke what we do here with regard to concertinas. One thing is that as a newsgroup it's thread-based, rather than having the forum-and-topic organization of this site. I don't find that a problem... in fact (as I've said elsewhere ), I prefer it.

How about an "All-American Travelling Squeeze-In", each weekend in a different state, with two weeks off for Christmas & New Years? (Maybe for that we could have a party spanning two weekends in Washington, DC.)

Hmm. Before today I hadn't really thought of playing Chopsticks on anything but the piano. Just tried it, and it works OK on the English, duets, and 26-button (or more) anglo, but not on the 20-button, because of some note pairs not being available in the same direction. That's the "right hand" part. Adding the chords pretty much rules out a solo English, but you could get someone playing a second instrument. In my family's tradition, that was generally played by a second person on the same piano, anyway. As for using chopsticks to play a concertina, I find their length to be a hindrance, and I suspect that finger picks would be easier. I'll have to do some experimenting before deciding whether chopsticks work better with the English or the anglo.

Just a quibble on the terminology here: The term "reed pan" is generally reserved for English instruments, and refers to a plate of wood in/on which the reeds are mounted, which is separate from the plate on which the *action* is mounted, and which is inserted into the bellows frame. The German-design instruments have their reeds mounted on the *action* board, either directly or on "reed blocks" which extend outward from it. What they don't have is a separate "reed pan".

Could it be that Tony Blair plays English concertina? Above his picture in The Sun today was the headline "I WANT THE TREBLE". OK, I'm pulling your leg. He really means he wants to win a 3rd term as PM. But it's an intriguing thought. And I know there is one Swedish politician (member of parliament? I don't recall the detail) who does play concertina. Anybody know of any others?

Are you implying that the second is a logical consequence of the first? I'm not so sure.

First of all, the "tutor model" or "student model" -- generally claimed to be distinguished by colors and letter stamps on the buttons -- is a myth. I understand that during a certain period this was common practice on instruments of all qualities, and is not at all a mark of a "cheap" instrument, while many low-end models from later years weren't so marked. Secondly, if your thumbstraps are original construction and your thumbs hurt, I would suspect that you are holding the instrument improperly or you need to develop your thumb muscles, or both. My personal recommendation is that the instrument should be *gripped* lightly between the thumb (in the loop) and the little finger. This is a natural use of the thumb, while extending the thumbs upward to "hang" the instrument from them is unnatural, putting unusual tension on weak muscles. Also, my experience is that shoving the thumb into the loop up to its base greatly reduces control of the instrument, and my personal preference is that the thumb not go into the loop beyond the first joint, and for the loop to be snug around the thumb in that position. I know that there are others with other recommendations, so I suggest you try my way and see whether it helps you. And if they detail their own ideas, you should do the same with those, then decide what's best for you.

Göran: My opinion -- and experience -- is quite the opposite of what Göran claims. Just so folks know that this is still a debatable point, not an established "fact".

Wrist straps can also mean "duet". Generally speaking, if it has handstraps and plays different notes for each key on the push/pull, then it is an anglo, handstraps and same note on push/pull it's a duet. Please guys, hand straps and wrist straps are very different things. I've yet to see anyone play an anglo or duet with the hand strap around their wrist. Some English concertinas, on the other hand, do have auxiliary *wrist* straps.

Or if all but a couple of buttons play the same note in both directions, it might be an English (or a duet) with a couple of cracked reeds. But if all or most play different notes, then it's some form of anglo.

I thought that made it an audient.

Helen: Rex: I don't currently have a "cheap" concertina to take along, but on numerous occasions I have let children -- of various ages -- try my main squeeze, a lovely Aeola English. I have three important criteria: 1) The child must seem interested in the instrument for its music, and not just something to push and twist, or to make a loud noise with. 2) They must have the patience to take instruction on how to use it. And 3) I must have the strength to say "no" if they don't meet conditions 1 and 2, and *especially* if they are pushy and grabby. Following these rules, I have never felt my instrument in danger from these "children", ranging from 6 thru teen.s and beyond. There was even one 3-year-old who politely asked me if he could try my concertina, who listened carefully as I explained what to do and not do, and then displayed such care and competence that I confidently left him alone with it. On the other hand, there was one "child" of about 40 who without asking grabbed my concertina off the piano, who might have lost his ability to *have* children if I hadn't feared that such action would cause him to drop the instrument. Oh, yeah. At least three of those children have gone on to learn the concertina. (I know about the three, because they subsequently borrowed instruments from me to learn on. There may be others, that I didn't see again.)

Alfred said: That won't work for two reasons: 1) It's already over $250, which Marty said was too much to pay. And 2) it's an anglo, while Marty seems to have decided on an English. Why would anyone want to do that? G/D's are currently considered highly desirable, and I believe the ratio of demand to supply -- especially for 20-button instruments -- is much higher for G/D's than for C/G's. That's even without considering the massive amount of alteration (removal of metal) that would have to be made to each reed to raise its pitch by a third of the original frequency.

you just spoiled my breakfast! Fear not. First of all, it's a metal-ended duet, and so it's only the veneer on the framing bits and the handles. Secondly, the paint didn't soak in (I noticed the amboyna where the paint was worn), and I'm going to have it properly restored. Now enjoy your breakfast.

Domed ends: [This discussion should really be both a separate topic and in a different forum, but I'm not going to make the effort to try to divert it, as I don't know how long it will continue.] Were *all* domed ends made of laminated wood (that's plywood)? I don't think so. In my instruments with domed ends, I don't detect lamination at the edges where the fretwork is cut out. Solid wood could also be pressed, most likely using steam, but another possible technique would be carving. That's the way the top and bottom of violin bodies are made. As I recall, it's also the technique that was used by a friend (a much better craftsman than myself) who once made me a replacement end for an Aeola.

Three thoughts: 1) As I've tried to say before, to "elaborate a melody by use of of chords, parallel octaves, and other devices" may not be particularly Irish, but is hardly limited to being English. German, American, just about any players besides the "Irish" seem to play that way. 2) Furthermore, I would contend that lumping everything but the melody-only playing together under the name "English style" is rather like classifying all sel-propelled land vehicles other than "cars" -- farm tractors, road graders, combine harvesters, motorcycles,... -- as "trucks" (British "lorries"). There are differences much greater than the similarities, and they should be discussed. The *significant* difference between William Kimber and Scan Tester is a case in point. Jody Kruskal's playing as described by Dave Barnert and myself is another. 3) Nor is it universally true that "to the Irish decoration is almost the soul of the music," though that is a particular style that has received a great deal of emphasis in recent years. Regional styles abound in Ireland even today, though folks have been bemoaning their loss to imitation of mass media versions for at least the past 80 years. I remember a friend in New York asking Galway-born Paddy Reynolds to teach him rolls and such on the fiddle. Though he himself was quite capable of playing in that style, Paddy' response was, "That's not fiddle playing; that's bagpipe shit. If you want me to teach you to play the fiddle, I'll do it, but if you want to learn that stuff, go find yourself a piper."

In the end, "aesthetics" are a matter of personal preference, an example being the concertina I have where somebody put black paint over the amboyna woodwork.

I didn't know President Bush played the harpsichord! (See how rumors get started. )

Wouldn't be the first expression to have more than one common meaning. I think your memory's OK.

Yes, you have. An anglo in Bb/F would be a Bb anglo in that sense, and I would even contend that a G/D is "an anglo in G", etc. Well, no, not unless the musician calls the Bb a C and plays Bb when he sees a C in the music. Two takes on that: ..1) I believe that's exactly what they did in the old concertina marching bands, playing from music written for Bb trumpet or clarinet. ..2) But many concertina players don't read music. They play by ear. If *that* precludes classifying their Bb/F instruments as "Bb" in the orchestral sense, then the same should be true of the instruments of by-ear clarinet and trumpet players.

I think that the word "all" is the sticker here. Would Paul and Göran both agree that the "tonal information" received by the ears of the player is "different from" that received by the audience? In fact, differential diminution over distance and acoustics of the space would make that information different for each listener, though *how* different is something I could only speculate on.

I know nothing about Campbells, but this one sounds familiar, like a replay of one that was on eBay a month or two ago. Anybody else remember more? (E.g., if I'm actually remembering something else, maybe somebody else will recognize what.)

Yes, you have. An anglo in Bb/F would be a Bb anglo in that sense, and I would even contend that a G/D is "an anglo in G", etc. There has been at least one Crane duet in Bb on eBay recently, though you may not have noticed. And do you know Mark Gilston? He had (has?) an English in A. Funny you should say that, because to me *that* has always been a standard meaning of the term.

Which sounds to me as if it's more about the angle between your hand and the rows of buttons -- and thus the hand's orientation to the hand rest and strap -- than the orientation of the instrument to your leg. But for you the two orientations may not be independent.

You can have more than one favorite set to different pages in concertina.net. I do.