Jim Stetson

As you can tell from my avatar, I'm certainly no geek, but ever since I saw this video, I've been thinking I'd like to try accordion some day. What a great way to enthrall friends and family: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yActNfPvfdA

I use a soft drafter's brush to keep dust off my bellows. I also resist the temptation to do what this guy is doing in the first 40 seconds of the following clip:

Wow, I know the Chieftains record with all kinds of other music groups but I never considered they might have done something Chinese. That's cool!Last year, Hanneke Cassel (fiddle) and Zhao Lei (erhu) recorded a beautiful piece called Jasmine Flower based on a traditional Chinese tune. It's another example of how well Chinese traditional music can meld with western traditional music. http://cdbaby.com/cd/hanneke3 A preview of the Sparrow Quartet documentary has been posted to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EGSNdHblA There are a couple of chinese accordion players shown briefly, but still no concertinas. Sorry if this is veering off-topic a bit, but I've got to cite this link too. The video quality sucks but the audio is decent and they're all just such inspirational performers. Abigail sings in Chinese:

You might want to check out the book "Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture" (Global Music Series) by Dorothea E. Hast. There are a couple of references in the index to concertina as a woman's instrument. I haven't read this book, I just happened to notice this as I scanned the index and remembered your recent post here. In the review of this book, by John Murphy, he states: "Why the concertina became the "woman's instrument" can be traced, intriguingly, to not only its relative affordability early last century but its sale at hardware stores." Jim

Though these aren't concertina players, it looks like adapting the music is not that much of a stretch, really. In this excellent video, Mongolian musicians jam on a rooftop in Beijing with the likes of Bela Fleck and Abagail Washburn: . To me, this would be the ultimate. To be an accomplished musician and be able to travel the world and play with other musicians looks like so much fun. Ah, well, maybe in another life.

Good point. Unfortunately, I don't know if there is a way to edit a poll once it is posted.

I know, this is a lopsided poll because it doesn't include those who don't use the internet. Still it would be interesting to know if there is really anyone reading this who thinks their playing is not affected very much by what they get from the internet.

Wow. Peter, great research. Now, if I ever learn to play this tune, I will have a few intelligent words of introduction for it. Thanks, Jim

Is it? Are you really sure Ruairi Og O Mordha in 16th century Ireland had a stronghold of Italian composers handy? Laois was the kingdom by the way. If the king in question is Rory O'Moore, that would put him in the 17th century. Some musicians, particularly court musicians, traveled extensively and could have picked up lots of influences from Europe. The Baroque style was not limited to Italy, it spread throughout the world--there are Baroque churches in Mexico. But I understand there is a century-long debate over what the Baroque style is and when it started. I guess what I should have said was not that this is a Baroque piece but that playing it using elements of the Baroque style would be an appropriate setting. You're right, Laois is the correct name. I don't know where I got Louth--wrong county. I only heard it pronounced and should have looked it up. I heard Noel play this live a year or two ago and he described the kingdom as being in the center of Ireland. Louth is on the coast. Though I'm from the Celtic part of Oakland, we don't speak Gaelic here. Jim (Not Irish, but I'd love to see Ireland some day)

Well I'm all for emotion in music but I suppose I'm allergic to (what I consider to be) excessive vibrato in any music and on any instrument, or voice for that matter. I have always found that when players or singers or actors try to put too much overt emotion into something they actually reduce the emotional impact of the piece on the listener (at least on me anyway), partly because they make the listener acutely aware of the performer rather than the piece itself. It's a fine line to tread admittedly but for me Noel certainly crosses it on one of the tunes in the program. Then there is the question of the instrument. Trying to produce vibrato from a free-reed instrumentby shaking it strikes me as akin to a singer trying to do the same by jumping up and down... half-joking of course, but I don't think the vibrato produced is pleasing to the ear in the same way that it can be on stringed or woodwind instruments for example. But as you say it's a matter of personal taste, of course, I would never dispute that. I greatly admire and generally love listening to Noel, btw, and have done for decades. Steve I think Noel is playing the March of the King of Louth in a Baroque style because it is a Baroque piece after all, and Baroque music is full of trills and vibrato. As Dana points out, Noel is not shaking the concertina but rapidly pumping the bellows ever so slightly. He does it with his arms rather than his hands or wrists and it's difficult to do with such control. But yes, it's definitely a style thing and he could play without the vibrato and it would still be a kick-ass performance. I love the way Noel does so many subtle things to enrich the music. All the squeeks and squawks and barks he gets out of the reeds, the layers of texture and nuance--it elevates simple dance music into the realm of fine art. His posture may look odd but he is using the side of his leg to reflect the sound from the high reeds toward the audience. This makes sense acoustically because high frequencies are very directional and low frequencies aren't.

"Lynch King" wouldn't have been a good name for a politician in America in the 60's anyway.

A colleague at work gave me a stamp from his homeland, South Africa, so I just thought I'd share it here. The lettering "South Africa" and the fittings on the concertina are actually printed with a dazzling gold ink that is really striking but my scanner can't handle it so it shows here as black. This is part of a series of stamps issued August 23, 2001, called "A Celebration of Music in South Africa." 1r40 Boere concertina. 1r90 Trumpet. 2r50 Electric guitar. 3r African drum. 7r Cello. If you're interested you can order the set of 5 stamps from namibstamps.com for $6 US. Disclaimer: I don't know anything about this site, I just googled "african stamps music" and it popped up, so I can't give any recommendation.

You're chatting on line, posting in a forum (other than C.net), or emailing a friend and the topic of music comes up. Someone asks "What's a concertina?" I used to struggle with this. Now I just tell 'em to click on this link...Concertina Page Apologies if this was already posted (I searched first, honest). It's worth a replay anyway. --JS

Yes, well around here, climate is not a problem but raccoons, deer, and small children are. To protect my crop I use a lot of concertina wire. Jim

Apply fertiliser liberally, and water in well! Oops! Peter. Thanks for the tip Peter. It really works! This is a different variety from those Reto has--no shell. Tell me, when is it safe to harvest? Will it continue to ripen on my widow sill if it's still a little green? Anyone have any anglo seed? Jim