Kathryn Wheeler

Hi Maarten! sorry for the delay in getting back to you I haven’t made them into a book yet - I hadn’t decided if that was the best way forward or whether to make sheet music available for individual tunes instead. I wasn’t sure there’s be any interest!

I don’t play English concertina but I do really understand coming up with new pieces for concertina as a way of exploring the instrument, because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with my 20b anglo!

That’s wonderful! Thankyou so much!

My goal is mainly to put down what my final arrangements for a tune were so if I forget I can remember what I did 😛

Thankyou, happy to contribute in some way to the discussion. I’m interested to see the various ways music for the anglo (especially harmonic) can be notated clearly

I forgot to mention (and this might be obvious) - when I notate harmonic stuff on one stave, left hand has stems facing downwards, right hand upwards. And of course the left hand fingerings go underneath. I can imagine a few downsides of this approach. Whilst it has all the information there (I think!), it could look daunting to some. I am used to reading music (not for concertina I might add - I've learnt that myself through mostly coming up with new tunes and playing by ear. But I come from a background of both playing sheet music on other instruments and playing by ear/improv/coming up with tunes)

Yes, of course Here's an example https://ko-fi.com/post/Sheet-music-available-for-anglo-concertina-N4N63CUNU I have to allow more space for the staves when there's a lot going on in right and left hand, I noticed. In this example everything has fingerings in, I think, so as you can imagine when there's a lot happening, it can get busy. Also, this music is for 20 button. With a 30 more notes go lower, and I can't be having with lots of leger lines! So, I do like the idea of having bass and treble clef/two staves for that. I'm still really new to notating this music (neatly) - most of what I have done is written out in pencil on manuscript and probably in no kind of sensible order! So, I need more excuses to write out my tunes and arrangements neatly like this - or just get on with it as it'd be handy and nice to have them all neatly done (I use Musescore which is freely available. Took a while to get used to how to add fingering numbers and lines to indicate "on the pull". There are probably all sorts of advantages and disadvantages to different notation methods. However, I must say as a player that loves harmonic stuff, that just having numbers underneath a stave and only the "melody" notated is insufficient - I like way more information about note duration/articulation really!

I do a lot of harmonic stuff where there can be a variety of different accompaniment styles going on within a piece. As a result it’s important for me to show exactly what’s going on in both hands. So I do something very like the first examples - both hands shown on the stave (on the same stave so far, although I can agree it can occasionally look busy or overwhelming). The difference is I use the same way of indicating bellows direction (and any fingering necessary - I don’t indicate everything) as Gary Coover

Oh that’s perfect, thank you - just the sort of image I had in my head (except of course I have only got the English countryside to illustrate it rather than what’s in my head!) What sorts of things did he like to play?

I love how an anglo concertina can remind you of a harmonica (not surprisingly I guess!) This one reminds me of old westerns/cowboy movies, where someone is looking out on a vast landscape with long horizons - playing their harmonica! - maybe with a good dash of Copeland - and then ambling off on their horse (complete with horse clip-clopping music..you know the sort I mean?) It's funny because this new tune is actually based on Scottish folklore (maybe not so funny when you consider how influential Scottish music has been on the American sound). Not only Scottish folklore and American overtones, but also a poem recited with hints of an Australian accent and set against the English landscape of Worcestershire

Thank you, glad you liked it

Thankyou! I’d love to see dancing to it - wouldnt that be nice! I find the instrument does so very easily want to dance along. The 20b is a wonderful thing and there’s plenty more to do with it, I feel. It does help of course that I’m coming up with tunes that it wants to play and I’m playing solo!

Yes I was reminded strongly of organ music when I started to play slow chordal stuff! I used to play a reed organ as a tiny kid

Here's my first attempt to explain, on camera, some background to a tune "Sprig" refers to the fact that this tune grew out of another one of my pieces - Hazel - whilst I was noodling about on the instrument (as you do!)

I look forward to trying one sometime

I know what you mean! It’s extremely useful and it really makes you think about what you like to do with an instrument. I suppose another issue is whether you play other instruments (in my case I could say “fine, I will keep concertina for my own tunes solo and for those tunes in bands that it suits and use my other instruments for jamming in a session” But then I think how portable one concertina could be for ad hoc jamming and sessions (I don’t think lugging several around would be any better than what I do now!) and how cool it would be to have one that I could do anything on regardless of genre and not feel restricted..hmm! So much food for thought isn’t it! Thankyou so much for bringing up the topic for discussion! Do please keep us updated!

These are great answers and very useful!

What got me started? Someone I know saw a Scholer Bb/Eb anglo in a charity shop and gave it me (because I play piano accordion I think!) The way the notes are laid out intrigued me - I began to fiddle around seeing what it wanted to play! And new tunes just fell out of that process of investigation. Frustrated by the feel of the instrument I got a lachenal 20 and am obsessed with it, still playing with the myriad possibilities it offers. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCyfaF1wA2EZagdS7E8i3ixw

If you are interested in seeing what I’ve been doing with a 20, solo, here’s my channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCyfaF1wA2EZagdS7E8i3ixw (I’ve arranged the different types of music I get up to in playlists so if you’re only interested in anglo you can avoid all the medieval or band stuff )

Hi Sunny, I very much focus on the 20button and have been coming up with tunes for it as well as seeing how to best arrange preexisting tunes for the instrument. I have been playing solo (aided by the last year meaning I couldn’t go to sessions or band practices or gigs - I literally took up the instrument last year, but (like you) am already someone very used to both sheet music, playing by ear and jamming. Now things are changing and I’ve got together with friends to jam - I have been able to improvise stuff that goes with their tunes if they play in keys that aren’t too distant, do rhythmic accompaniment, countermelodies etc. I’m used to playing of course in C and G but also a lot in E and A minor and modal D (Dorian) and other modes that only use “white notes plus F sharp” That said whilst this is possible, I’m still of course not as used to doing this as in my other instruments and to find that of course it restricts how I accompany _a lot_. Which is interesting sometimes but at other times it’s this massive relief to get my piano accordion out and jazz away on those chromatics. So of course it makes me think about something with more buttons. I borrowed one from a friend and it’s handy for familiarisation although I miss how beautifully responsive my 20 button is. Means I at least know what I want out of a 30 if and when! I will never get rid of my 20 - getting the max out of it is a real satisfaction to me and stands me in great stead when and if I get more buttons. But the 20 gets my head thinking in interesting ways and being inventive in accompaniment (when playing solo and otherwise!)

I love studying all the different ways - which can also vary from person to person and genre! Always something to learn and try out And yes it’s great for keyboard knowledge and finding out more options

If the instrument does the arranging then you know it’s going to lie well under the fingers and sound idiomatic

Oh yes, I love exploring the options wherever they are - across or within rows - trying out alternatives for phrases - to find out what suits the mood of the piece, right then. Or then there is repetition, choosing an alternative to add interest eg a more legato fingering vs one that leans into bellows changes. Or choosing very different harmonies for a section, which become available when you choose an alternative I don’t really think if it as either playing along or across rows - rather more what options are available to play with, and you start to build up an arsenal of these options for commonly used arpeggios/runs etc. But are always learning new ones too It all reminds me of violin bowing choices and choice of which string and position to play a given note on - also whether to use plucking, double stopping etc.

I love the style and humour of your videos and presentation

It’s gone to a good home now!