geoffwright

My learning curve went something like - Go to concertina workshop - Learn to play it on either row. Go to another concertina workshop - Learn scales in a single direction, then learn to play it on the push or the pull. Go to another concertina workshop - Go back to playing it on the C row. By the time you can do all these, you may find your favorite method was how you started.

We were discussing exactly the same subject at Royal Concertinas last night. Someones wife had said he didn't need a Jeffries AND a Dipper. Mine said I didnt need a loud concertina (Wheatstone M/E) and a bloody loud one (Jeffries). I am practising every opportunity I get when the rest are out of the room. As soon as the adverts come on or the program ends, everyone else dashes out to do something and out comes my box, and for that reason, my boxes live next to my chair, within easy reach, catches undone for a quick release. As usual there are complaints about the noise as soon as they get back. They just don't understand and I don't care.

The latest Sidmouth info email says all week/daily season tickets have been sold out. I wonder if all this "Last Sidmouth" is just a cynical marketing ploy by Mrs Casey for a bit more publicity?.

All this football is wonderful. We havn't watched any and BBC2 have treated us to a season of opera - Britten Turn of the screw, Mozart Don Giovanni and at the weekend, Verdi Faust. Much more relaxing than football and DGio provides some super tunes to play on concertina!! If England don't make it into the quarter final, how many days before we see dead flags everywhere - or are the remedials going to heed the DVLA directive and keep flying the warning?

Are you allowing music from Orange areas on the map?

I think my family prove that Jeffries come top and metal-ended Wheatstones come second (for looks and volume), as they all run away as soon as either of mine leaves the box. (The cat included).

You don't need to use all 30 buttons! Kid yourself it is only a 20 button and learn the old style - listen to some of the old Irish mistresses, Mesdames Crotty and Hayes.

I busked on the Metro in my youth - expecting Musette Accordion tunes to be appreciated. I soon found out the youth all wanted Irish and the older French all wanted WW2 songs. I gave in and played what they wanted.

Wait while the dancers ask for a "heavy" jig, as I was in Leeds. I evntually worked out she wanted a hornpipe.

Another compromise would be for melodion players to stop using the bass so much in Morris and for them to get cross-fingering to get out of G and D. Shock... Horror ... I have heard a vicious, but unfounded rumour that they are even making new-fangled melodions with ACCIDENTALS of all things!!. Whatever next? I have never had problems keeping up with the best morris bands on my C/G, and if you play in octaves using both sides, a C/G comes into its own then, as the loudest instrument in the band (especially if metal ended and/or a Jeffries).

I have a metal-ended Jeffries. found in bits and rebuilt as new by Dipper - strident tone, fast action, lovely french polishing, new bellows, just the job.

As I am always out playing, I never have enough time to play new stuff at home but know how you feel. I find that a workshop or going to see a guest always spurs me on to playing more at home by trying new techniques (and often undoing how I have always done it and starting afresh).

Just looking at the poll, and from personal experience, it looks like English players seem to be the most flexible in swapping or adding other concertinas, whilst anglo players seem to be the most set-in their-ways and not trying other instruments. It is probably also true that the 12 or 14% of players who did add/change were already competent musicians, playing in a number of keys and the 42 % of anglo players who did not, were up the row or chord players. Personally, I was a set-in-the-way luddite anglo player who thought "why should I bother playing english when anglo can do the same"?. After some 25 years, I added English and have never looked back. I have to force myself to devote some time to anglo as well nowadays.

My Wheatstone english treble has an air button and I suspect that was what swung me into buying that particular one. Being an angloid, I expect to have one (although never use it when playing), and also, being a sort that is forever picking the box up to play along to a favorite tune with someone, then putting the box down, the air button jusr makes closing things a lot easier. At a push (pun), you could take one of the highest reeds out in the push direction only to use as a closer, taking care to remember which direction you need if you want to play the note.

Mary Macnamara admitted that the foot-tap was part of her music and could not start playing without both feet going. She added that they put a carpet under her feet when she plays on the tv. Feet-tapping is ok in solo playing, but not when playing along with others as it is easy to get three beats going. I know a fiddler who stamps hard with both feet when playing to the extent that you have no chance of reading any music as the whole stage vibrates. (I won't mention your name, Gerry)

Around 9 players (including some new faces) of a number of interesting varieties of anglo and english gathered together for a pint of Full Steam Ahead (Cottage Brewery, West Lydford, Somerset, I think) and the obligatory sarnies. We tried to make the session a broad spectrum of concertina-friendly tunes most people knew and they are listed below Jimmy Allan Brighton Camp Winster Gallop Salmon Tails 'Till The Tide Comes In Mrs O'Dwyers Favorite Dingle Regatta Merrily Kiss The Quaker Horses' Branle Steamboat Hornpipe Navvie On The Line Buttered Peas Princess Royal Jenny Lind Polka Because He Was A Bonny Lad Herd On The Hill Wild Colonial Boy Bonny Breastknots Double Lead Through Stoney Steps Barrington Hornpipe The Pikemans' Childgrove The Sloe Herbert Snmith's Fourhand Reel Dorset Fourhand Reel City of Savannah Saddle The Pony Blackthorn Stick Rakes of Kildare Ashoken Farewell Da Slockit Light Off to California Proudlocks Hornpipe Fiery Clockfeace

I left a melodion in the back of the car. Someone broke in and left 3 more. It must have been one of the sharks (at the dawning of the day).

Not a criticism, just a moan. Does anyone else look at the Tunatron once in a while and just want to look at the newest tunes? After the first few listed under "newly posted tunes", you have to go into the Tunatron and next throught all 400 odd. Would either a "reverse order" or a "go to last" function be helpful to enable us to see the newest first? We seem to be able to do this on every other bit of the forum.

Most tales of Morris-fests are unrepeatable. I went on a morris weekend to Faithfull City (Worcester, UK), which that year, was sponsored by Scrumpy Jack which went down well. Someone in a nearby bed unpacked his case and got out a little cabinet with half a dozen drawers in it. Yes, they were full of different snuff. These were dipped into during the night as well as daytime.

I was also interested by the Triumph layout diagram, which seemed a cross between an english and an anglo and went something like left,right,middle all the way up the scale. Seemed most logical.

Just right for playing concertinas en-mass(e)

Looking at the map, we really are lucky to have so many players in the home of concertinas, England, with, apart from London, two big provincial groupings around Bristol and around South/West Yorkshire. Well done to all those involved in bringing (and keeping) everyone together in those two groups.

I recall a Jazz standard (probably sung by George Melly) along the lines of - Daddys got a squeezebox, Mammy plays with it all night, It goes in and out and out and in etc.

Or go in for some BO(to)X

No harm at all in playing some of the A on the C row and some of the B on the G row. Just working it out on "air concertina" (postings passim), I might cheat and instead of BGB dBd in the B, I might play BAB dBd, wihich you may find easier on the C row. Noel Hill summed up this row-swapping lark by teaching scales on 4 buttons i.e C row top GA BC G row top de fg . Also adding that the BC and ef are handy ornaments as they are in the same direction.