Gavin Atkin

I happened to buy the one which Marcus had, at Chippenham. Couldn't really afford it (he's been very good regarding payment), but thought that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Regards, Peter. Let me know if I can help in any way... You've probably heard me say that the way I approached it was to treat it rather like a typwriter, and to return my left-hand 3/2/1 fingers to the C, E and G buttons (assuming a C box) and my right-hand 2/3/4 fingers to the CEG also. This means you have your right-hand first finger conveniently placed to range around the overlap. I'm a touch-typist, so this approach came very naturally. My guess is that something similar will work for others though... Gav

Great news, Alan, as we all stand by to be potentially proved wrong. Regards, Peter. Heck, man - I'd LIKE to be wrong! Gav

Eh?. Where do you get that from? Of the four Jeffries duet players I can think of offhand at least three of them would be capable of "that fluidity". There's nothing in the logic of the system that I can see that compels staccato playing. Chris From three decades of playing a Jeffries, I guess! But we can all be wrong, and heaven knows people regularly learn to do things with instruments that sound magical or impossible to other players of the same instrument. Who are your four Jeffries players btw? I'm always interested to come across new ones as there aren't too many of us... Gav I guess I should explain just a little more. With the Jeffries duet, unless you can develop an alternative multi-finger technique that I find a bit tooo scary too contemplate, when playing runs you usually have to hit conseuctive notes with a single finger. That doesn't mean that runs can't be played quickly - but it does mean that there are distinctive gaps between the notes as the finger in question hops from note to note, and that the gaps become more obvious the faster you play. I don't claim to be infalllible on the issue - I play several instruments and it's my observation that for each one of them there are people who can do things I can only dream about! Gav

Eh?. Where do you get that from? Of the four Jeffries duet players I can think of offhand at least three of them would be capable of "that fluidity". There's nothing in the logic of the system that I can see that compels staccato playing. Chris From three decades of playing a Jeffries, I guess! But we can all be wrong, and heaven knows people regularly learn to do things with instruments that sound magical or impossible to other players of the same instrument. Who are your four Jeffries players btw? I'm always interested to come across new ones as there aren't too many of us... Gav

Heyyy... I didn't say a McCann player couldn't do it - just that I hadn't heard one play quite like this. Maybe it could work in D after all I'm a Jeffries player and the McCann just isn't my patch... Gav

That might have to be the way, if Alan will accept it as sufficient for guidance! Like many of you I can't quite decide whether it's: - two instruments (one probably an English) played by two very competent and together musicians, one of whom is holding back to an almost supernatural degree or - a duet. If it is a duet, my guess is that it's probably be a Crane because of the fluidity of the tune line and the straight simplicity of the stabbed chords - a Jefferies player would have great difficulty achieving that fluidity, and I've never yet heard a McCann player sound at all like this recording. Gav

Congratulations Woolosp - it's always good to hear of another Jeffries Duet player. If you're around for Chippenham Festival, I'll be there on playing duty using guitar and fiddle with the Florida band so please introduce yourself! Gavin

Berkeley Square.... That could easily have been me. One of the things about playing a small Jeffries duet is that half the world thinks you're playing an anglo and must be fiendishly clever. Of course in my case neither of these descriptions applies! Gav

Hi... Yes, I do visit from time to time, and like John V I'm horrendously busy with my day job, being a parent, a writing project and other stuff, but I'd be very happy to answer any questions. I don't know what John would say, but my advice would be to find a basic music theory book so that you know what all the tadpoles mean (whatever people say, I really think reading music makes playing easier, not harder) and I'd suggest that a good way to approach the Jeff duet is to work with it in the same kind of way a touch typist learns - by always returning the fingers to the same spot. So on my C-centred box (I've had it retuned from Bb old pitch), in starting to learn to play I always returned my left-hand ring finger to the C on the second row so that my lh second fell on the E and my lh first on the G, and my right hand second finger redurned to the C on the second row, my rh third on the E, and my rh fourth on the G. If it's any help, I definitely agree with John V that the system is not as difficult as people say - in fact, if you've been a guitar player you'll know what I mean when I say that it's just a matter of practising untile you have learned the shapes and the 'sounds' of each button. However, there really is not special need to explore the outer reaches right at the beginning - start with nursery rhymes and other simple songs and tunes on the right-hand, and bring in chords nice and easily one at a time. And one last thing: try to get the habit right from the start of pushing the box before you hit the button rather than the other way around. A nice distinct start to the note is what you need - finding the button first and then pushing the box produces an uncomfortable wheezing urking kind of noise that's difficult to love for long... My tuppence worth. Mail me with any questions I might be able to answer at gmatkin@clara.net . Gav

As a long-serving Jeffries duet player, I'd be very interested to hear about any Jeffries Centenary celebrations that I might be able to get to please... I'm not a frequent attender here (I've got SO much else going on) so I'd be most grateful to hear about anything important at my home email address gmatkin@clara.net please! Thanks, Gavin

I still haven't spoken with the landlord, but I have paid a visit and taken a photo of our birthday boy concertina player (see below, here's hoping that the link works). I'm hoping to reach the landlord this coming week... Gavin

I've been away for a couple of days, but thanks for showing some interest in my absence. I'll stroll over the bridge and have a chat with the landlord to raise the issue in the next day or two, and I'll try to remember to take my camera. I'll have to move quickly on this as there's not too much of 2005 left! Gav

I recently noticed a tina playing goblin carving in the Blackfriar pub, London. He's a cute little fella in a fabulous art nouveau pub built in 1905. So should some of us tinasqueezers organise a little party for him? Or has it already been done? Gavin Atkin