juris

Hello all, I'm pretty sure my top model George Case patent concertina ca. 1875 has 9ct gold reeds. I tested a broken one on a touch stone. Didn't think much of it at the time. Put it in a small plastic bag which I promptly misplaced. I'll try to find it and test it again.

Sorry, Don't know how to edit postings. I meant to write my Lachenal no. 2 has four-fold bellows as well and not five-fold as written. Just goes to show how easy it is to make mistakes when you don't have the information in front of you. J.

Hi Chris, The Lachenal no. 1 originally had four-fold bellows. Yours has six-fold bellows so they are a replacement, presumably by The Button Box. These are probably an improvement over the originals which were probably wrecked and had to be changed. I suspect that in proper playing condition a retail value from a store that specializes in vintage and antique instruments would be 800-1200 US dollars. By the way, I have a ca. 1890 Lachenal no. 2 with rosewood ends and original five-fold bellows and it's a good instrument. I'm the only English concertina player in Montreal that I know of but I'm sure in Vancouver with a sizeable British ex-pat population, there must be at least several. Hope this is of help. Sincerely, Juris

Hi, I never noticed the misprint of the high note in the Lachenal catalogue description of the No. 9 concertina. Juris

How exciting! I play a late-period George Case patent concertina ca. 1874, the highest model, found in the Kingston, Ontario region which Case passed through at the time presumably promoting the concertina (and possibly his wife, but that's another story covered elsewhere). It's interesting that Regondi specifically refers to Case as friend. I guess when you're spending another Saturday night alone with a concertina these things can titillate you. I have seen some egregious errors in early Wheatstone engraved music so I still wonder about measure 7. Thanks very much for sharing. Juris

Hi Neil, This is the first Regondi piece I ever had a go at on the concertina. I think there could be some uncertainty with melody in the 7th bar as well. Is it transcribed by computer? I tried some more tonight and found in measure 18 some confusion with the triplet notation leading one to think the 3 is a fingering by its placement. I'm by no means any authority on the music of Regondi but used to play a charming study in C major for the guitar. Do you mind sharing your source?

Hi Neil, Thanks for posting this. I just tried the first 16 bars and there seems to be an error on the 3rd beat of the 7th bar

Thanks very much for sharing. I'm surprised at what you can do on an anglo-german concertina. I also copy music by hand, partly through necessity, printer not working, but I think it helps to learn a piece. PS. Didn't used to be able to hear music off the internet until recently fitted with new hearing aids.

I apologize for writing Cooper instead of Copper. I, for one, should be more careful as I'm often subjected to bizarre permutations of my name, written or spoken. Thanks for the tips about electronic enhancement of sound. I just got a new pair of hearing aids about a month ago to the tune of $5000; not the provincial government subsidized one, at the insistence of my sister. They have three music settings which I haven't experimented with yet. My hereditary hearing loss was characterized by an audiologist a couple of months ago as severe to profound sensorineural (that's a mouthful) hearing loss from 250-8000 Hz. In short, the hearing aids are my ears. When I started wearing them about twenty-five years ago I slowly realized that I would have to give up the guitar but found I could still hear the concertina, which I had started to play at about the same time, well. I'm not a very plugged-in person to the point of being antediluvian, so no Bluetooth, Androids, cell phone or apps, and I discarded my record player and CD player about ten years ago. I only play from written music although can still figure out some music by ear but then usually write it down,; more often than not, on a scrap of paper which always seems to be misplaced when looking for it! I do not want to turn this forum into a complaining ground for a stale-dated hippie, so the next time a friend with a cell phone comes by I'll ask him to try to post something of me playing. Thanks, Juris

Thank you Alan for this song which was completely unknown to me. I have to admit I've never heard of the Cooper Family. I think the pdf of the music posted by Lachenal has an error in what I assume are chord markings. At the beginning of bar 3 and several other places the chord is given as B flat which to my ears at any rate, seems incorrect. The G in the bass and the F sharp in the melody create a jarring dissonance which I think is not appropriate to this style of music. In any event a B flat major chord does not contain a G or an F sharp. I think it should be a D in the bass. It could be a B in the bass which would make it B minor, the relative minor of D. Perhaps I've misread the whole thing as my printer is not working and I don't have a copy in front of me as I write. Unfortunately I cannot trust my ears when listening to recorded music as I wear very strong hearing aids which often make music sound like it's changing keys in mid-stream. Pretty frustrating but at least with the hearing aids I can hear, if not always properly. Luckily I don't have this problem when playing the concertina. Juris PS Sorry about the long-winded diatribe. I just looked at it again before sending this off and I guess the B flat is a typographical error for B minor and the G in the bass should be a B. J.

Hi, Just to chime in, I find Canada Post and USPS much better and cheaper than any of the big three courier companies. They are a bit slower to be sure, but with the courier companies if your not home when they attempt delivery you have to jump through hoops to arrange pick up. With Canada Post they leave a notice in your mail slot and you go to the post office the next day to pick up. I assume it's similar with USPS. All three courier companies have destroyed or lost things for me which has never happened with Canada Post or USPS.

Hello Gregor, Definitely impossible on the Anglo-German system concertina. Simon is using an English (or Wheatstone) system concertina held in an unconventional manner. Probably playable on a duet, but depending on the overlap between the two hands, could be confined to the right hand alone. I don't play duet, but have one at home. Congratulations Simon, Do you think your rather (clears throat) eccentric method of holding the concertina gives you any advantage in playing chromatic passages? I see there are many passages where you can consider enharmonic equivalents but not necessarily in a consistent fashion. I have to admit that what with my antiquated computer system and two strong hearing aids, I don't hear much off the internet and I also never listen to jazz. But I'm very interested in all attempts to push the concertina into foreign idioms. Keep up the great work! All the best, Juris

Given that you have a background in the bayan you owe it to yourself to try an "English" concertina if you're looking for something a little more simple and logical than a 40-button Anglo-German concertina. I'm not trying to be a proselytizer for the English model. For what it's worth I play the English and also have good examples of the Anglo-German and Duet system at home. Bellowing, for me anyway, is an important part of expression when playing the concertina and with an Anglo-German model it is dictated to you by the choice of note. Also, I think the "lay-outs" on chromatic Anglo-German concertinas are variable which can be confusing to a beginner. Personally, I can't make much sense of the Anglo-German system as I have no background in the harmonica or diatonic accordion. I believe the Chinese are manufacturing English models at a reasonable price but maybe these are for export only, but maybe not. I really don't know. Good luck in your concertina endeavors. It's a wonderful instrument.