Perry Werner

Howdy: I was waiting for him to pull out his wife and kids. I like the case, but I'm guessing it must weigh a ton. My own cases are heavy with lots less stuff. Wheels or a porter are in order here. Have fun, Perry Werner

Howdy: I'm on there too. Just posted a concertina related video which is hilarious if you have not yet seen it. I'm under my name. Have fun. Perry Werner

Howdy: I found this site a few years ago. The nicest concertina shirts I've yet to see!!!! Other nice things to buy. http://www.hedinghamfair.co.uk/index.htm Have fun! Perry Werner

Howdy Wendy: Congrats!!!!! Nice ourstage page. Great idea for the bookstand, one of which I also own. Now I know what I can do with it since I would'nt dare put a valuable book on it! Have fun, Perry Werner

Rhomylly: John does play English AND Anglo. He is also one of my favorite Englsih style anglo players. Gorgeous accompaniments. I wish I could do that on English. Have fun, Perry Werner

Yeah, but how much do you think it will sell for after paying the price he paid?? Amazing. Probably the highest price ever paid for a contemporary soft drink!!!!

Howdy Alan, Allan & Co.: Was just checking some old "strings" and ran across this. No one has posted anything since January '08. I was wondering if this project has moved along and if and when this book might be a reality. Thanks for the efforts of all those involved. Have fun, Perry Werner

Howdy: Just noticed this "beautiful" instrument listed on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/Charles-Jeffries-38-Bu...1QQcmdZViewItem Just wondering if the Coca-Cola bottle is being used for size comparison, color comparison or if the seller just did'nt have a better spot to put down his beverage while he shot the photo. Generally I would understand if there was a bottle of Guinness next to the concertina, but I'm guessing that this is a former Salvation Army instrument, so maybe out of respect the seller used a soft drink. Any further thoughts on this?? Have fun, Perry Werner

Howdy: For those who missed the announcement on the main C.net page, Rachel Hall, has linked us up to the premier (?) (and possibly final?) public performance of "The Squeeze-ellujah Chorus" for concertina band and voices performed at NESI at the Saturday night concert. Not sure how much concertina band activity is going on anywhere, but I thank Rachel for keeping this format (which is pretty much from the ancient days of the English Concertina and from what I can gather, pretty much non-existent) alive with lots of enthusiasm, fine arrangements and fun!!!!! Anyway to repeat what has already been posted The recording is online at http://www.sju.edu/~rhall/concertina/Hallelujah/ Have fun. I did!! Perry Werner

Perry, Bearing in mind that that ($90.00 in 1965) Erica that I mentioned would now have a r.r.p. of $1,250.00, or that those 40 Marine Bands would come to $1,720.00, do you think many people would want to pay something in that region for a new Harmonetta? Anyway, they can't be as rare as people make out, when there are four of them on eBay right now! Hi Stephen: Yes, I thought about what you are suggesting after my previous posting. Also if there are four on Ebay right now (which there are at last search) than they are somewhat available. By the way is the Harmonetta a blow and suck instrument like the harmonica? If so, how does direction change the notes indicated on the keys. A half step?? I'd be happy if there was no sucking involved. It makes me kind of dizzy and the in and out change in notes drives me a bit nuts, which is kind of why I play English as opposed to Anglo. My earliest attempts at playing a free reed instrument were on harmonica, but due to the factors mentioned, I moved along, quickly, to the concertina. I'd still love to learn to play harmonica, such my interest in the harmonetta. I also like the comparison to a Symphonium! Also, there evidently is a Harmonetta tutor out there which might still be available. Here's one listing..... http://www.music44.com/X/product/49035623-...=googlebase%202 By the way, Stephen, I have not forgotten about my financial debt to you. The debt I owe you for a wonderful and fascinating visit and a great recommended meal, sadly I can never repay, but of course you are always welcome at the home of Pawprint Books where we always attempt to take care of our visitors!!!!! Best, Perry

Howdy: Thanks Jody!!! Now another thing to think about owning!!! I'm fascinated by this thing. Too bad they seem so expeinsive. 3 on Ebay as of right now (9/25/08) Anyway, here's a much better example of what the Harmonettta looks and sounds like. and another..... Any chance we can convince Hohner to start manufacturing them again? Have fun, Perry Werner

Howdy Priscilla and Ken: Very nice to have met you Priscilla. Glad I was able to help offer some education to someone though it had little to do with squeezable instruments. Glad you now are aware that excellent and books, and of course excellent booksellers can be found on ZVAB!!!!!!!!!! Nice you seeing you again (Ken). A fixture that I've come to expect at NESI!!! Always a pleasure!!!!! See you again soon, I hope. Have fun, Perry Werner

Hey Alan: I've been meaning to write. It was wonderful to have finally met you at Mark's in Bradfield a few weeks ago. That English session was a gas!!!!! Any chance you'll be at NESI? I hope if you are not, the CD's will be!!!!! Have fun, Perry Werner PS: In all the four or five years I've been attending NESI, I've NEVER seen that Belden Tavern sign. The first year I attended, I missed the cut off and went at least 30 miles out of my way in a driving rain. It was kind of spooky and things get pretty desolate out there in north central Mass., but I now have very "fond" memories of that trip. See y'all soon!!

Larry: A multi-line staff (more than 5). That's very interesting! I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Oh yeah, I forgot that there was a viola d'amore. Wonder what the d'amore family had in common and why labeled as such. Don't forget the previously mentioned oboe d'amour, viola's quacky cousin! Perry

Now that's kinda cool. Great idea!!!!!!!!! Perry

Yikes, those tenor, alto, soprano etc., clefs have always looked to me so strange and foreign. At this point in my life I'd rather avoid them. Perry

Howdy John: Yeah, I think you got it right. A tenor-treble has all of the notes of a standard (not exteneded, which goes higher) 48-key treble and goes down to what I believe is called "tenor C", the same bottom note of a standard tenor concertina, so tenor-treble is right on if we accept the hyphenated name which it has evidently always had. To throw more confusion and thought into the mix, following my initial posting about the labeling (or mislabeling or relabeling) of the concertina family I started thinking about the additional concertinas of which I recently became aware of. Two of those being what I beleive was called the "clarinet concertina" and much to my surprise the "saxophone concertina" (great another thing I have to have). From what I understand, these were instruments which had their reeds modified to give their sound a "flavor" which mimicked the indicated instrument. Evidently for use primarily in concertina bands. Maybe an appropriate subject for another thread. In the new world of concertina labels, where will they fit in? Leave them the way they are or rename them also? Anyone know if there were other concertinas with other instrument names added. Euphonium Concertina? Krumhorn Concertina, Bass Fiddle Concertina, how about a Piccolo Piccolo concertina? And as for clefs. why are the other instruments aside from the viola not using some of the more oddball clefs. Why does a tenor saxophone not read tenor clef, a bass saxophone, bass clef. The only instruments that I am aware of sing these less frequently used clefs are the viola and I believe, the trombone, which if I remember from music school also at times is required to read tenor clef. I'll stop there. I just did a Google search on clefs to find out more about which instruments use the "oddballs" (sorry oddball clef users) to find there are many other clefs, most of which I was unaware of. Take a look. This will will either make you give up music altogether or make you very "clefer" http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory14.htm Have fun, Perry Werner

Sorry Doug. The only thing that is bawdy that I will be bringing is myself. Maybe we can get together and do one. If not this year then next. I'll be working on a haiku or limerick, so I can retain my haiku crown! Look forward to seeing you in a few weeks. Best, Perry

Bill: I've never encountered horse type trading as NESI, but there is spot to offer instruments for sale, trade, etc. You make the rules and advertise as you wish. If there's an interested party or potential trader around, they'll no doubt find you. Look forward to meeting you. Have fun, Perry Werner

Howdy: Seems that "treble" is causing all the trouble. In the world of one might want to indicate as "legitimate" or maybe a less controversial term, standard "orchestral instruments", no instrument uses the term "treble" as a portion of it's name. Also, aside from a few oddities, there are no hyphenated uses such as "tenor-treble" or "piccolo-tenor" or "baritone-treble". It appears that the concertina, similar to the other famillies of instruments, could easily be named in a proper hierarchy as follows using the basic names to label the instruments..... "Legitimate" Orchestral Instrument Label Soprano (as in saxophone, clarinet) Alto (as in saxophone, flute, clarinet) Tenor (as in saxophone) Baritone (as in saxophone) Bass (as in saxophone, clarinet, bass) Present Concertina Label Piccolo Treble Tenor Baritone Bass New Concertina Label / My Own Suggestions? Soprano Alto Tenor Baritone Bass By the way, the saxophone also has a "sopranino" (an octave higher than an alto in E flat AND in the last few years something called a "Soprillo", an octave higher than a soprano saxopone in B flat. But, I'm sure that is the copyrighted commercial ame for this thing. We could save those terms for naming the mini concertinas, when we get around to it, but that's maybe for another time. As is obvious, I am using the saxophone (my previous instrument) as a basis for this due to the fact that it is one family in the "legitmate" (and some would question that term for the saxophone) that uses different names for each family member on a regular basis, as does the clarinet, flute, trombone (partially) and a few others. Continuing the list with the more "odd" concertinas, adding a hyphen appears to make sense, in addition to the use of a few less commonly used terms in the "legitimate" world Piccolo-Tenor (no doubt our newest family member) CHANGES TO Mezzo-Soprano Extended Treble (up) CHANGES TO Alto Extended Up (any other suggestions?) Tenor-Treble CHANGES TO Alto Extended Down (any other suggestions?) or Tenor Extended Up OR Tenor-Alto Tenor-Baritone, Bass-Baritone, etc. CHANGES TO.......HELP!!!!!! Any suggestions? How about "Chubby" Anyway, the real problem seems to lie when the hyphenated name instruments make their appearance and gets more confusing when an explanation needs to be added when describing the instrument like "Yeah, I've got a treble which extends up like a piccolo, but also has a few extra notes at the bottom like a partial tenor-treble, but I had the C# changed to a B double flat, so I could play in the key of F# Mixolydian with less effort. Oh yeah, I'm also having the right pinky rest removed, since I had my left pinky shortened so I could play jazz". Those are the ones that really drive me to the brink. Can each example of customized concertinas have a special label? Heck (see below), I have a 56-key baritone which is extended upwards (I think) or is it s tenor extended way down. I'm still not sure what I have. Wind and other manufacturers throughout history have come up with clever, pretty, technical, etc. names for many of the "oddball" instruments. Like in the double reed family, we find the "oboe d'amour" (one of my favorites). How about a "Mezzo-Soprano Concertina d'Amore"? Or, also in the double reed family the "heckelphone" (kind of a giant, scary looking oboe on steroids). If we add the first syllable "heckel" to a concertina, that's exactly what the auduence might do when the darn thing gets squeezed. And why name the high guy with "piccolo" if we're not going to name a low guy like a baritone-bass a "tuba" or something. By the way, can anyone answer who exactly came up with the commonly used concertina labels. Charles Wheatstone perhaps or a more musically inclined employee? Again, I think it's treble who's causing the trouble !!!!!!! But then again there are all of those oddball varieties of concertinas with the oddball numbers of buttons. What are we going to call them? How about........Little Bastards!!!!!!!! In the world of wind instruments anyway, there were very few custom made instruments with extensions, extra keys, extra bells, etc., etc. manufactured. They do exist, but are quite rare in most cases. Performers have always had instruments modified but the concertina players seemed like they went wild with ideas and variants and specific needs. Seems like in the concertina world these were much more common and no doubt easier to configure and produce. An extra few holes and keys here, an extra bellows fold there. Stuff like that. Any other suggestions or insights (or labels) Have fun, Perry Werner PS: By the way, if you are interested in this sort of thing there are some excellent books out there on the history of instrument manufacture and of special note is "The Bate Collection" in the Faculty of Music buildings next to Christ Church College, in Oxford. A fascinating collection which I got to visit a few weeks ago, showing things you could have never imagined and if you did, they are there!

Howdy: 1) Allison: Very congratulations. A very good reason to miss any other event. Sorry I won't see you. 2) Doug: Will be there. Long time no see. Look forward to seeing you and everyone (well almost everyone, just kidding) else. Have fun, Perry Werner

Hi Robin: We breezed through Manchester. Of course we wre arriiving , not departing. By the way, how are you doing with that new box? Hope all is well, Perry

Howdy: So what exactly are they swabbing for??? I went to Florida this past winter and got my case, not my instrument, swabbed by security going both ways. They took to the swab to some sort of swab reading machine and told me I could go. I figured there was maybe some sort of questionable residue on the velour of my brand new case, but t was never explained to me and I did'nt ask questions. Just wanted to get going. AND just returning from Bradfield and headed to Killrush I went right through security with no swabbing in London, though my accompanying concertina playing buddy got the swab while going through a different security queue. Of all the things to swab. So, what's it all about? Have fun, Perry Werner

Stephen: If that's the case, we left of quickly in which case I would have to say O'Damn!!! Best, Perry

Stephen. That would be great since the beverage they served me on the flight home landed in my lap (along witht eh lousy chicken and rice. O'Curry St. Pretty funny, How about O'Kilkee. I like the sould of that. Perry