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Dan Madden

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Everything posted by Dan Madden

  1. As a fellow Tucsonan, I would go for metal ends, or particularly plane wooden ones. Our climate can cause havoc with finely cut wood, and I unfortunately know this by experience. BTW Where do you expect to have the ends made if you go that way?
  2. Her are a few that I have managed on English: Little Joe the Wrangler Blue Mountain I Ride an Old Paint Seneca Square Dance Ookpic waltz Westphalia Waltz Maid of Argenta (May be still under copyright) GoodNight Loving Trail (under copyright, but permission can be obtained) You might try contacting Hal Canon about things he has collected. I learned two great waltzes from him Claypool Waltz Rockville waltz And don't forget the obvious: Yellow Rose of Texas Green Grows the Lilacs Cowboy Waltz Redwing Gary Owen
  3. Concertina and autoharp also make a fine duet pairing. However, the trio I used to play with could really draw a crowd.
  4. I have always thought that there should be a dance band named: Contra Diction Dan M
  5. There is a CD with the same title with the play list based on the same idea. It might be related to this book. I think I own the CD, but who can be sure of such things at my age? I vaguely recall that it included a concertina on some of the cuts including My Gum Tree Canoe. Dan Madden
  6. Rick the autoharp player is from Pasadena, California, and Bob the saw player is from (essentially) Phoenix, while I am in Tucson. So we don't get together all that often, typically festivals. We are planning to play at the Glendale Folk Festival in March 23 and 24, 2013 at the Sahuaro Ranch Park Historic Area. I usually organize a free reed workshop showing the different types and it would be great to have extra demonstrators. The Sharlot Hall festival is in Prescott the first weekend every October.
  7. Here I am with a few friends at the Sharlot Hall Folk Festival in Prescott Az. These instruments go together quite well, especially because the saw player really can play.
  8. In the August 19, 1932 Sydney Morning Herald on page 14, there is a classified ad that reads: VOIGHTLANDER German Glasses IO x 50 £12/10/ Jeffries English Concertina £12 Mill tary Swords 8/6 Packs 4/6 Medicine Balls 10/fa 122_Bathurst st city_ Twelve pounds sounds cheap, So it has probably already sold. Article identifier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702'>http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702'>http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702 Page identifier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page1155175 APA citation Advertising. (1932, August 19). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved April 18, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702 MLA citation "Advertising." The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) 19 Aug 1932: 14. Web. 18 Apr 2012 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702>. Harvard/Australian citation 1932 'Advertising.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 19 August, p. 14, viewed 18 April, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702 Wikipedia citation {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16916702 |title=Advertising. |newspaper=[[sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=19 August 1932 |accessdate=18 April 2012 |page=14 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} Dan Madden
  9. Thanks for the kind words, Ken. I have been going to the Sharlot Hall museum festival for many years now, but it has been going on for much longer. It is definitely an Arizona style folk festival with a spread of musical forms and styles that will stretch anyone's definition of folk. But that openness and the generally friendliness of the musicians opens a lot of opportunities for the adventurous looking to join a jam or workshop. I always find it great fun, and I enjoy both the listening and playing.
  10. Here is a picture of mine for those interested. Dan
  11. I am in Tucson. A few years back I met an Anglo player from the Phoenix area who played an early Suttner. I have not heard from her in a while, though. Dan
  12. I think that this is why bluegrass sessions pass breaks around. Nothing discourages you from joining a tune before you know the cord progression and have an idea of the melody like the threat of having every else go silent after one time through. "Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt" Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, someone else, or I have deja-vu and am even more clever than I think I am.
  13. Saturday, May 7 Los Angeles Benefit for Otsuchi Relief Fund. McCabe's Guitar Shop 3101 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 (310) 828-4497 mccabes.com Tickets are $65 and can be obtained online only, starting Monday, April 18 at 10AM on the McCabe's website.
  14. When I first started playing music, one of my older mentors said that he would consider himself a professional when his earning from music overtook the costs of all his instruments. Unfortunately, he said, he had spent 40 years falling further and further behind. Now here I find myself 40 years later following his example to a tee. Dan Madden
  15. Well I like the brighter look myself. Have you checked out the members page? Dan Madden
  16. I can't imagine a topic as cerebral as this getting rudely out of hand, after all, we are all sensible adults here. Says you!! PTHPTHPTHPTH! Discalimer: That, of course, was done tongue-in-cheek. I really don't care what causes it, I'm just glad I'm not hearing things. I'm also glad everyone here seems to have a sense of humor. Otherwise I'd have been kicked out long ago and I wouldn't want that, I kinda like it here. If it weren't for my sense of humor, I'd have no personality at all. I also read the thread posted above and found many good arguments...or should I say differences in opinion, as to the cause. I am sorry, however, if I've reopened a can of worms. I could probably spend quite some time agreeing with and disputing the different ideas, but from what I've seen, most are pretty stedfast in their beliefs so it probably would be redundant and a waste of good forum space. When you had your tongue in your cheek, were you sitting under a ceiling fan? I think I noticed a fluctuation in your "PTHPTHPTHPTH!" Dan Madden
  17. There may be at least four. There is the one in the Horniman. The one Stephen describes having owned with wood ends. And I believe I have one. I acquired this from a good friend who got it from someone in New Zealand well over 20 years ago. And it is not Praed Street. That means it is not Graham's. Dan
  18. Someone has to say it. In the Wall Street Journal, it always comes down to inflation and deflation. Still, congratulations to both Bob and Wim. I have dealt with both, and they both deserve more credit for making it possible for more people to play the concertina. Dan Madden
  19. I fly in and out of Philadelphia Airport several times a year, usually with my concertina. I follow a suggestion made several times in this forum. I announce to the screener that, "A small accordion is coming through." This almost always works to get it through first pass. In fact I usually get friendly comments about music. I have been told, more than once, that the concertina looks very weird on the x-ray screen, but knowing that it is going to look mechanical makes it less scary. Once the Philadelphia screener did not hear my warning, and they eventually swabbed the inside of the case. On another occasion, they opened it up to look at it, mainly out of curiosity I guess. I think, however, that Constant Screamer and I both made the same, almost unavoidable, error when we got swabbed. We displayed too much alarm over their handling of the box, and made things worse by offering to open it ourselves. If they are even slightly concerned, a passenger demanding to touch the object in question is going to make it worse. The second time it got extra attention, I forced myself (and it took force) to let them deal with the box as they wanted without displaying any sign of worry. I did -calmly- mention, while they were carrying it to the side, that it was a old musical instrument with lots of mechanical parts that probably did look strange in x-ray They treated it very carefully, and asked if they could take it out of the case. I said, "yes, but please try not to force it." They did not take it out. In retrospect, I was very lucky not to have given the normal concertina instruction, "Don't pull it open without pushing a button." I bet "Don't push a button" is pretty much the first thing they learn on the job. I think that if I were traveling through airport security a lot, I would consider taping a button down just in case. I do believe that the most important thing to do, no matter how difficult, is not to openly display how concerned I am about the instrument inside the case. Fixing a valve is easier than replacing a bellows. I just try to hope that they are professional enough to be careful. I figure that it is in their natural interest to treat the things they find carefully, and that the only reason not to be gentle is old fashioned meanness. If they are not going to be professional, making a fuss is only going to place the concertina in greater jeopardy. Remember the line from the fiddle tune, "If you want your finger bit, poke it at a possum." I wonder if a clear plastic case would help? Dan Madden
  20. I am proud to announce the birth of a new concertina. After a long wait, I just received my new Suttner English – a metal ended tenor. I haven’t had a chance to put it through its full paces, but my first impressions are that it is wonderful. It is very responsive, the reeds sound clear with a “honky” sound compared to my Wheatstone. (Although I haven’t had them side by side yet.) I’ll play it a while, and then write up a review comparing it to my other concertinas, maybe post a picture or two. I just completed the first stage of new instrument acquisition, lustful admiration. As you see I am moving to the next, uncontrolled bragging. Next comes over-playing. Full acceptance will take time and patience. Dan Madden
  21. Gosh, what a terrible, terrible mistake - I am Danish but I live in Sweden (just to confuse people). /Henrik I have learned to be very careful distinguishing between people from Scandinavia. I once had a girlfriend who was Scandinavian, but I didn’t know her nationality. I told her she had a Swede smile, but a face like a Norse. She said it was Finnish and I never saw her again. I am sorry, I just couldn't restrain myself. Dan Madden
  22. Wow dbmccabe, you seemed to have touched a nerve here. I hope that the discussion you touched off stays rational and civil, and I at least appreciate the efforts toward this of most of the posters so far. Now dbmccabe, you say: My first concertina was a Stagi. Learning to play Irish music well on a Stagi is all but impossible. ………….. The Stagi and Lachenal I later owned never did my technique justice. I've had amazing musicians play my old concertinas and even they couldn't make them sound decent. On the rare occasions when I would be able to play another's Dipper or Jeffries, I always surprised myself with the sound of my playing, which had previously been obscured by an instrument that couldn't move nearly as fast or precisely as my fingers. Congratulations for patience it took to get past this. I can imagine it was as much the struggle you describe. I don’t know because I was lucky enough to start my concertina playing on a rather good instrument, some would rightfully say way, way too good. I am not sure I will ever have qualify for it under your terms. I think my playing does the instruments I play justice, but I know that there are others who could much more with anyone of them. I want to point out that there is a major flaw in your general argument. “With the value of a concertina largely determined by its feel and response, a player simply can't improve on an inexpensive instrument that won't respond fast enough for reels or most ornamentation.” If a player cannot improve without a quality instrument, and a poor player should not seek an instrument beyond his current ability, well there is a problem. Now you face your next playing challenge: “It's a very sad and frustrating moment to have reached the limitations of your instrument and have nowhere to go. And for many, there really is nowhere to go.” However, there are actually plenty of affordable very playable anglos being made today. And I am pretty sure that their ultimate value is greater that their current price. That is certainly the case of Jeffries’ instruments. Further Suttner and Dipper are also great values despite their high prices. But then, placing an order today gives you 5 years to save up the money. You do have somewhere to go, but your frustration is that you cannot have the best available instrument right now. Isn’t this the exact same "if I want it I should be able to have it" attitude you seem to decry. Because of these contradictions, many in this forum see you original posting as rather self-serving. I appreciate your desire to make a living at music is commendable, but you need to realize that there are “concertina enthusiasts” in this forum who are amazing musicians, and who got that way playing great instruments that rewarded their hard work. So, you have indeed touched a nerve. Dan Madden
  23. I want to second this opinion of Wim's customer support. It is exceptional! Troubleshooting a minor problem when separated from an instrument by 4,500 miles (8700 km) could easily be a low priority in his business. But it seems that Wim's pride in his product doesn't let this happen. (Of course, no problem seems minor to a new owner. But it is best to just think of it as part of the initiation into the Concertina ownership club.) Dan Madden
  24. I have had my Wakker/Geuns baritone English for a couple of years now. I still enjoy playing it, although it is not my first instrument. It plays very well, and a nice quality sound. Whenever I bring it out among other musicians, it gets instant notice. The baritone scale adds a nice bottom in sessions that people notice. It seems light for its size, but I haven’t come in contact with another baritone to make a fair comparison. The reeds are not as responsive as those in my other instruments, but they are pretty high quality treble and tenor trebles, so this comparison is very unfair. I can, even with my limited ability, play the Geuns/Wakker with respectable speed, but that was not what I had in mind when I brought it. Any limitation I encountered here has been in my ability and not the instrument’s. When I first got it, it was very temperamental, but the move from the Netherlands to Tucson is not easy for anything made of wood. (We are currently at 116 consecutive days without measurable rain, and last week the official humidity was in single digits.) The concertina has since calmed down, and requires no more, and perhaps even less, attention than my other concertinas, all vintage. It is a fine instrument, and certainly should satisfy almost any player. However, the easiest reason I can come up with for recommending a Geuns/Wakker concertina is business end of the deal. Wim is very professional as a seller of instruments. (We all know about his musicianship.) In the first year I owned my concertina, Wim was very helpful and supportive as I worked out the kinks. There is no question in my mind that the, actually few but irritating, problems I had were mostly caused by the dryness of the Sonoran desert. A few buttons would stick repeatedly, a problem I solved by realigning the various holes they used. The design of the Baritone packed the reeds pretty snuggly, and some of the larger ones seemed to pinch shut a bit. Definitely a wood shrinkage problem, simply taking them all out of the pan and putting them back in completely solved the problem. I blame none of my problems on the quality of the craftsmanship. It was unquestionably high. However, I was able to overcome all them because of Wim’s prompt support. He was incredibly helpful, and even sent me a few extra parts, just in case I needed them to help get past these problems. He really stood behind the product he sold me. The choices in buying an English Concertina are limited. The Geuns/Wakker English is a quality instrument for a serious player. It is priced fairly It has the advantages of a new instrument that is backed up by its makers. You can order one and receive it without a multiple year wait. If that is what you want, it is pretty much the only game there is. I’d say go for it. Dan Madden
  25. I think that this forum clearly demonstrates why many might be afraid to sit next to someone that looks like a concertina player. They probably aren't as worried that the person might start to play a concertina as much as they are worried that the person will begin to talk about concertinas. Dan Madden
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