SliverOfSand

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

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.

Thanks for letting me know! I’ve actually seen some of their videos on YouTube, so I’ll definitely look into their courses. Looking now, it says a 14 day free trial, so that should be plenty of time to try it out. It might be good to have a video tutor as well as books.

Thank you so much @MJGray! This helps clear things up. I definitely want to explore using both styles. The ITM style fascinates me, since I love playing technical music like that on my other instruments already. I don’t have much experience with the more harmonic style, it seems similar to how a piano is played in a way. I’m eager to learn it though!

I’m definitely going to check that out, I love to learn about the history of instruments; it’s so interesting! I feel like I’ll be in the same situation... I want to learn all of the different songs right away, but I have to remind myself to stick to one or two until I can master it. I’m also glad I found this site, it makes it seem less daunting to commit to the concertina when I can read about other people’s experiences.

Thanks for the response! Out of all the tab systems I’ve looked into, the one used in your books makes the most sense to me. I’ll still do some more research, it’s interesting how many different systems there are for one instrument! I also like the fact that playing by ear is encouraged, since that is how I play most instruments. Although, I always felt like I couldn’t seriously learn without some sort of notation. I have a lyre that I cannot find any tablature for, so I play some songs by ear every once in a while. Looking forward to experimenting with the concertina, with and withou

That’s interesting, I didn’t realize the concertina was that popular for traditional music in Australia! I’ll have to take a look at that tab system. I’m not really sure which tablature to use yet, but I’ll be exploring different options while I (impatiently) wait for my concertina to arrive! 😅

Thanks Mike! I am really excited to get started! Lately I’ve been interested in traditional Irish music, which is how I ended up developing an interest in the concertina. I am also going to try playing some more modern music as well, which is why I chose Anglo. I have seen a large variety of different musical styles being played on Anglo, so I feel like it’s a good option for diverse music choice. I am definitely going to order some of those books; ‘Easy Anglo 1-2-3’ looks like a good place to start. Thanks for linking that thread!

This is my first post here, so I’m sorry if this has already been covered somewhere else... After four months of research and debating, I finally sprung for an Anglo concertina. I was originally planning on getting a Rochelle, but I couldn’t find one anywhere. So I settled on the Wren, but after searching through some of these forums talking about the quality, I ultimately switched to a Swan. I thought it would be better to spend more right from the beginning instead of having to spend twice. I thought it would be a good place to start, since it’s an affordable beginner instrument