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I was able to locate Lou's website by Googling "louiskillen" and clicking on "cached." Here is his last personal update: Does anyone have recent information? June 2005 Another long gap, I know, for which I apologise to those who keep checking in to see if there is anything new on this part of the site. I'm also sorry that I was unable to appear at the Cobh Maritime Festival. What I thought was the 'flu turned out to be a kidney infection, an addition to the problems caused by the uretoscopy I had in late May. This is on going at the moment but I'll attempt to let you all know when I'm well again. The great loss for me in April was the death of my great friend Cyril Tawney. He wrote, in my opinion, the finest lyrical songs to be heard amongst us in the last fifty years. While there are many good songwriters among us none, I think, had quite the delicacy of touch he had. And we mustn't overlook his contribution to the body of traditional song that he found and presented to us all. His presence will be greatly missed. You'll forgive me if I keep this short for now. Keep in good health, if you can! Aye! Louis Pic from website

Does anybody have any recent information on Lou Killen? His website is not responding http://www.louiskillen.com -- has it moved? I was able to access his website about three weeks ago, and he had updated it from last June when he was experiencing medical issues; it showed a couple of gigs in December 2005, I think. I hope he's all right.

Just to clarify: This CD appears to be a reissue of a series of EPs (extended play) 45 rpm records issued in the early 1960s, including: Johnny Handle, "Stottin' Doon the Waall" (Topic) Lou Killen, "Northumbrian Garland" (Topic) A "Living Tradition" review of the CD is here Excerpt: "I had to switch it off to avoid being carried off into a nostalgic daydream, for here again are the heady days of the British folk scene of the 1960s. ... if you are a newcomer to the folk scene and missed these performers the first time round then this CD will show what you missed and if your Dansette record player has stopped working or has chewed up your original 45s then replace them now."

Just thought I'd add that I recently discovered a CD I hadn't heard before, with Lou Killen singing and accompanying on English concertina. Probably most of you have heard it, but I didn't see any reference to it when I did a Search on Concertina.net. Perhaps the people who are keeping lists have them on their lists somewhere. This is really worthwhile listening, lively at times, reflective at others. "Along the Coaly Tyne: Old and New Northumbrian Songs." TSCD498 Topic Records 1999 ASIN: B00000I59K It features Lou Killen, Johnny Handle, Tom Gilfellon, Colin Ross, and Alistair Anderson. There are some really beautiful English concertina accompaniment pieces on this CD, and the singing is *awesome.* TWO English players -- Lou and Alistair! I was delighted to discover this!! Full track listing here:

Mark, I've been looking at that picture, and wishing you could attach it as a full-size one at least once, so we can all see it in detail! What a treat to grow up with a parent who can play Raffi on the piano! Sounds like all three got the Muse from you.

That's true. Perhaps another poll could be started correlating the current age with the concertina start age. I was basing my "Baby Boomer" definition on current ages 41 to 59: baby boom n. A sudden large increase in the birthrate, especially the one in the United States from the later 1940s through the early 1960s. www.answers.com/topic/baby-boom Baby Boomer [WikiPedia: 1946 - 1964] A baby boomer is someone born in a period of increased birth rates, such as those during the economic prosperity following World War II. In the United States, demographers have put the generation's birth years at 1946 to 1964, despite the fact that the U.S. birth rate (per 1,000 population) actually began to decline after 1957. William Strauss and Neil Howe, in their book Generations include those conceived by soldiers on leave during the war, putting the generation's birth years at 1943 to 1960. Howe and Strauss argue that persons born between 1961 and 1964 have political and cultural patterns very different from those born between 1955 and 1960 and fit into what those writers term the Thirteenth Generation or Generation X (also known as the Cold War generation) born between 1961 and 1981. However, most people still accept Baby Boomers as being born between roughly 1946 and 1964. A growing movement puts the dates at 1946 to 1963 because of the amount of significant "Gen-X" figures born in 1964, including Courtney Love and Eddie Vedder. This is, among later generations, becoming a more accepted sequence of dates. http://www.answers.com/topic/baby-boomer

A professional musician who plays several instruments once told me he's always amazed when somebody comes up and says "That's a real gift you have!" He said, It's a lot of hard work is what it really is. The important thing is to keep doing it, even if it doesn't sound great or you don't think you're getting anywhere fast. Breakthroughs come in spurts at unexpected times, after a lot of hard work.

Alex, I got the first 17 seconds of it -- just the first couple of lines. It's wonderful!!! I wonder if there is any way to get the whole song? That would be great!!

There have been more votes now, and it appears that although nearly half of the concertina players who have voted so far got started in their teens and twenties, there is some sort of an interesting surge in beginning concertina players with Baby Boomers in their forties and fifties. It might be interesting to combine this poll with a poll of "what other instruments do you play" and when did you start them relative to the concertina. Jim Lucas was asking who are these "young players of other instruments," and I can attest to at least one of them. My son James took the usual trumpet, violin and piano lessons in elementary school when he was 6-11. He was also a good singer. One day, at the age of 11, he had been listening to some Bob Dylan CDs, and said Mom, I want a 12-string guitar. I was homeschooling him at the time, and he had plenty of unscheduled time. Within three weeks, he had learned a number of chords and some nice finger work, having just watched others. Then he wanted a harmonica and a holder to go with it. Within a few more weeks, he was doing Bob Dylan. It was that fast. He had left off the violin, but a year later, after he had been performing with the Revels, he re-discovered the violin and declared it was a fiddle. So he began Old Timey on that, and about the same time we acquired a rather dilapidated two-row Hohner wooden melodeon. By the time he was fourteen, he was playing all three -- self-taught. Actually, he was hanging out with lots of Morris people since he was eleven, and going to ales by then, so had lots of exposure to various instruments. Later, I got him a nicer Hohner two-row at The Button Box, and more recently a fine fiddle, and for this Christmas, finally, a Martin six string (he doesn't know yet!). He is 24 now, and still plays all of them. Maybe his next transfomation will be the concertina, especially when he sees mine! Seems as though people who get started early can acquire skills with more instruments. I wonder how many concertina players have young children who play one? Here's a pic of James at 13 or 14:

Chris, What a great pic! Look at the Morses playing out in the cold! Seems like Anne is using the Mark Evans, thumbs-through grip, andreaching the low notes quite easily.

Henrik, That's pretty amazing!

Mick, After reading Greg's post, I should qualify my previous post by adding that I've had occasion to observe numerous players in person, for many years now, including Ian Robb and Lou Killen who are among my favorites for the English concertina. I imagine it would be next to impossible to get the hang of it very quickly if you've never seen a player up close, though. In addition to the folkfests and workshops, perhaps there are sessions at local folk clubs and pubs that you could attend, so you can start getting a fix on how it's played. You might run into someone who knows of a person who could give you some lessons, too.

Mick, That's a handsome concertina you got for only 60 bucks aussie! I think you'll have a grand time learning to play it.

I've learned a lot from all the great details everyone has provided. I have another question, though, about the thumbs and the position of the instrument. I wonder how many of you rotate the concertina so that the buttons are diagonal instead of horizontal -- and whether this technique gives the thumb a lot more control, since there is the benefit of gravity pulling the instrument downward, against the thumb. It occurred to me from the discussions of Simon Thoumire's technique that this may help explain why he can control the instrument with just the thumbs, and be able to use all four fingers to play.

This is great to have the pics to look at! Thanks for rounding them up and adding them. I was interested in how the fellas are holding their English concertina while standing. I can't see the details so well in the pics, but it seems to me as though the first two (but not the third) Coconut Dancers are both rotating the 'tina so that the buttons are at an angle to the ground (like Simon Thoumire), and the Thames Valley, Aldbury and Bedford guys are using "The Orthodox Hold," with the buttons horizontal to the ground. Do you by any chance have any clarification on this?

Mick, I just got my concertina a few days ago, so this is a beginner's perspective. I bought a book, and researched everything on the Web. My own experience, however, has convinced me that the best way to begin learning how to play it, is to just start fooling around and experimenting with it. I always hated music lessons. I like teaching myself. I know enough music to read music, but I really want to be able to just play the tunes I already know by ear to start with. So the first two days I spent some time trying to do the scales. This got to be pretty boring, and by the third day, I just decided to try finding the right notes for one of my favorite tunes. It was a little slow going at first, but I found that by just experimenting (without looking at my fingers), I was beginning to "get a feel" for the instrument. This is probably a dumb analogy that serious musicians will think is ridiculous, but I think it's a bit like learning to type. Each finger has to learn several different values, and if you look at your fingers, they just get slower, not faster. The way I finally learned to type fast was by taking the leap of faith and not looking at my fingers. It was slow at first, and I made mistakes, but I kept doing it and now I can type 75 words per minute. I think the brain has to create new pathways to handle the new values and movements, and each time you pick up the instrument and work with it, you get a little better each time. Eventually your brain "tunes in" to moving your fingers to the right notes, without having to think about it. I just received a Simon Thoumire CD I ordered, and just listening to him play, I think his brain must have phenomenal connections to have that much control over the instrument. It's a lot of hard work and requires tenacity to play like that. So, based on my little bit of experience and what has worked for me, seems like the best thing is to experiment and get to know the instrument any way that seems best to you.

I have never seen anything that resembled the cart in the pics -- is that hay in the cart? Rushes? What kind??? Why do they pile it so high? Is it usually pulled by horses? Does the guy on top have some sort of special status or something? It's really interesting!

Well, I'm not a linguist but my own experience here in the Boston area is that when you go to Dunkin Donuts and order just about any kind of coffee, they deliver it "with sugar," unless you remember to tell them "no sugar." Sometimes, they will remember to ask you, "Regular?" and if you say Yes, thinking that it will be just coffee and milk, you will wind up with coffee, milk, and sugar. Ever since I got an expresso machine, I like to drink mine at home. (without sugar!!)

I got my Golden three years ago, and used to leave the Classical music station on for him during the night when he slept in his kennel. When my son James comes home and plays the melodeon, Talisker becomes very quiet and attentive. I haven't heard him sing, though, and he is generally a non-barker. Pic of Talisker and James:

Nils, That's a good clear photo, and the straps look quite nice the way they are attached. I will certainly think about this. Getting back to Henrik's innovations, the handrest idea seems like a really useful one, too. Currently, I have the cupped palm of my hand resting against the wood. My hand is small enough that it sits on the edge easily. But I could envision some sort of soft, ergonomic, spongy-type (minimal) padding along the edge to make it even more comfortable. Perhaps something that could stick on lightly, without having to mar the finish of the wood. I wonder what product or materials would stick lightly to the wood, without leaving a mark, and also be adjustable? Is there any sort of sticky material or glue that doesn't ruin a wood finish? Anybody have any ideas on that? So right you are, Bruce, as it is your very own, indeed, and well cared for by an expert player. It definitely has good karma. Thanks, Bruce!

Mark, Right. All the Morse's I have seen are the lovely subtle cherry hue, and not the vivid "red" that displays online. When I saw the picture on the website, I didn't think I would like one that color. But when I saw the real finish, I just loved it! Cherry is my favorite kind of wood. I got a lucky number: 077

<GRIN> Yep! I luckily was able to obtain a gently used Morse Albion treble. However, I'm still thinking about the Morse baritone, and I'm thinking I will go back once again to The Button Box to lust over it, and put down my deposit. The Morse Albion really suits me to a "T." It is feather light, and a beautifully handcrafted instrument. I like the looks of it as much as the feel, and the sound is absolutely mellow and lovely, with excellent bellows response and key action, everything I'd hoped for. I especially like the cherry wood ends, and the finish is a nice soft color (the bright pictures of it on the Web somehow make it look kind of "red," which is unfortunate, because it's a subtle, dark cherry hue). I am very happy with it! <GRIN> Nils, The wrist-strap seems like a worthwhile idea. Did you mean "Anglo wrist-straps," by any chance? I didn't know that wrist-straps existed for the English, except for the novel strap devised by Henrik (see picture above on his post). I can certainly see how a strap over the wrist would help stabilize the instrument and allow more bellows control. But it would involved drilling more holes into the instrument, and I'm not ready to do that just now. So I will see how it works out with resting my pinky on the wood behind the pinky grip.

Jim, Thank you for pointing to the relevant posts with the discussion of the pinky grip (I like Rich Morse's term!) (I never did see an answer to Rich's question, what do Brits call the "pinky finger?"). Goran's research on the use of the pinky grip is really enlightening. In theory, the pinky grip seems to have a logical purpose; however, in pratice, it doesn't seem to serve the styles of many contemporary players in the mode for which it was designed. What I found most salient was the comment by Goran: "It can be seriously questioned however if the finger plate is useful at all since the option including the fourth finger in actual playing activities is an essential additional advantage and also because any immobilization of the fourth finger inevitably reduces relaxed activity by other fingers. ... It seems to me as if the initial introduction of the finger plate in fact was an unfortunate mistake, which may have held back development of the instrument as well as progress of playing technique." [Emphasis mine] It's good to know that it's not going to ruin my playing if I don't stick to the rules, and don't use the pinky grip .

Malcolm, Yes, I've read so much on here about Simon Thoumire that I've ordered some of his CDs. I heard a couple of MP3s on the Internet, and he seems pretty amazing. I like his freestyle thinking, too.

Henrik, I saw some of your posts before when you were beginning to modify the Stagi, but didn't see this one. What a great idea! When I first picked up the instrument and tried to hold it like the instructions say you're supposed to, I just couldn't play the lower end like that at all. In fact, for me, it would be much better if the thumb strap were about half an inch back, and maybe at a slight angle. But it would make a lot of holes in the instrument, and I'm not that far long yet, so it doesn't seem to justify trashing up the concertina just for that half inch. I don't think I will ever use the pinky rest at all, in fact if I were building one I'd just leave it off. If you do come up with a pic of you playing your modified instrument, I'd be interested to see exactly how it's done. Has anybody else modified either the finger rest, or the thumb strap, on an English?