SliverOfSand

Thank you for the clarification! I’m not good with notes/sheet music, so just saw that it didn’t match the chart and was confused. Just double checking now, your correct, the d# actually registers as an E flat. Thanks again for letting me know, now I only have that one reed plate to deal with. Since it is waxed on, I’ll probably be sending it somewhere for repairs after consulting McNeela. I definitely don’t want to mess around with that!

Thank you for all the information! I am in the process of writing McNeela about the issue, and I have written down all of the out of tune accidentals. There are five in total, and I’ve outlined them in an image so it’s clearer. Is this unusual with concertinas having so many reeds slightly out of tune? 😅 I’ll see what they say about it, until then I’ll just play some simple tunes that don’t use any weird reeds....

Thanks for the info! I’m definitely going to contact McNeela about it, if the reed plates are waxed on then I’m going to have to send it back. I’ll talk to them first before trying to fix it myself. I wouldn’t want to make things worse! 😅

Thanks for the reply! I don’t really want to send it back, as Mcneela is in Ireland and I live in Canada. I would consider sending it back if it is extremely difficult to do by myself, but I’d prefer not having to send it back if not absolutely necessary.

Sorry, it’s on the G row.

I’ve been trying to play some songs using the bottom row of my new Swan, and on the left nine, it’s supposed to be the opposite of one on the right? As in 1 right (C row) is B on pull and c on push, 9 left (G row) is c on pull and B on push. But on my concertina, instead of left 9 having a c on the pull, it’s B on the pull and c on push, so exactly the same as right 1. (Sorry if how I explain it is confusing) Basically left 9’s reeds are reversed. Is this a manufacturing mistake? All the other buttons have the same layout as in Gary coover’s books, which I used for reference (although some of my accidentals are a bit out of tune). I find it very difficult to play certain songs because of this issue. Would this be an easy problem to fix on my own, if I were to take it apart and switch the reeds? Or is this something I should look for a professional to fix? Edit: Clarifying the rows

I saw a few of those apps as well, although I don’t remember seeing one for Anglo... that is very cool that it will be able to convert abc tabs to buttons, could be really useful if you can’t read that specific tablature. I’d love to see some videos of your English! I don’t have a good recording set-up myself, but I’ll look into maybe recording some audio of my playing, even if it’s just for myself. It’s always so cool to see progression of learning any instrument.

Thank you for the advice! Just got my concertina yesterday and can already play Oh Susanna using both the left and right hand sides at the same time, which is much more progress than I thought I would make in a day. I definitely need to practice with a metronome, it might help me to just try and reach a steady pace instead of the starting and stopping I sometimes experience. It seems my biggest challenge is learning songs I’m not familiar with. I listen to the song a few times, but when I go to play it, I forget it immediately. 😅 I think I need to just listen to those songs on repeat until they’re stuck in my head so I can actually play them! Also, good luck with the English concertina!

Thanks for all the info! I tried that air tightness test, and it fell at a really slow rate, so I’d say it’s pretty tight. I have a case for it which keeps the bellows squeezed together tightly, so I shouldn’t have a problem with storing it!

Thank you so much! I’ve never played any squeezebox before, so it’s all new to me! Glad to know there’s nothing wrong.

....And I have a question. When I press the air button to draw in more air, when I have it out the full length and let go of the button, it slowly moves back. It’s not noticeable at first, and it doesn’t affect the sound of any notes. It also happens when I close the bellows fully, it starts to slightly open. I’m just wondering if this is normal for a new concertina, or should I be worried about it? Again, it doesn’t affect my playing at all, and all of the buttons seem to be working fine, it’s just a really slow movement. Since this is my first concertina, I’m not really sure what’s normal or not. Is it because the bellows are just a bit stiff, and are moving back the the ‘resting’ position, or is it an air leak somewhere?

This is a really interesting video! The method he uses actually makes a lot of sense, I’m definitely going to practice like that. Thanks for sharing!

I’ve never thought of making my own songs, mostly because I no nothing about music theory, but maybe just fiddling with different notes and combinations might work as well. Yes, I’m not planning on turning pro or anything, I’m doing this mostly for myself, but I do want to have the skills so I can play somewhat competently. I’m sure I’ll have fun at whichever pace I’m learning!

Thanks for the advice! I live with other family members, so like it or not, they are most likely going to listen to my playing! 😅 I haven’t really practiced playing an instrument in front of others before, as I usually do it for myself. I’ll definitely give these suggestions a go, especially recording myself. I feel that would be good to do, since I can actually see what I’m doing and what needs improvement. I’m not aware of any dance or music sessions in my area, but I’ll look into that for after the pandemic is over. It’s interesting how, even though we may have learned a song, we can just as quickly forget it when under pressure! Thanks again for the reply, this really helps give me a place to start.

I’ll definitely be doing that! I think I’ll try to just take things slow until I’m comfortable with the absolute basics, then I’ll start focusing on learning songs at a faster pace.