John Adey

Lachenal treble EC 53886 - we estimate as circa 1912. Many thanks Wes.

Please, I'd be grateful if someone more knowledgable can offer an opinion on the date of a Lachenal treble EC, serial number 53886? It has raised wooden ends and steel reeds; photo's of the ends attached. Many thanks.

I have been giving someone tuition on EC and she is now ready to move up from her tutor Lachenal to something better. Does anyone have a good Wheatstone or Lachenal treble EC that they want to part with - the one you played all the time before you got your Aeola perhaps? Please DM me if you have any leads. Many thanks.

A photocopy of Frank Butler's tutor for English concertina. Postage cost only for the taker. PM if interested.

Still available. Reduced to £3,600

True Simon. It has a characteristic Crabb tone. It has a good dynamic range, penetrating when needed but can be played softly and good for chordal accompaniment in sessions or a band setting. John

Thanks Simon. I hope you're fully recovered and playing again now.

Thanks Wolf.

For sale, English concertina made by Geoffrey Crabb. This instrument was made by Geoff in 2007 and he agreed to sell it to me in 2017; it had had minimal use in the intervening 10 years. The layout is shown in Geoff’s original diagram - photograph attached. Many will find the added F and F sharp in the lower register particularly useful. I am selling because it is not being played. I bought it specifically as a band instrument - for use in the two Ceilidh band I used to belong to, and which I left because of health reasons, a short time after purchasing. Hence it hasn’t had a lot of use during my ownership either. It has fittings for wrist straps (fittings and straps included) because I have arthritic thumb joints and the effectively new bellows were still on the stiff side when I got it; they’re now much freer. The fittings and straps were done by Colin Dipper because Geoff was unwell at the time. I’m looking for £3,900 for this unique instrument. A contribution will be made to concertina net if sold. I’m happy to suggestions about a trade for a top quality wooden ended tenor treble or possibly treble.

Glad you like it Ted. I find playing both lines on the one instrument great practice for familiarising yourself with harmony, even if it doesn't always quite work out. Maybe you can find an alternative harmony note that's accessible. But my experience is purely with the EC, so this might not apply. Happy exploring!

I've just heard that this excellent book has been re-printed and is available again at: https://www.rowanpiggott.com/books.html

Adding my best wishes Geoff; hope all going well. John

I heard a superb fiddle player called Rowan Luis Piggott at the Baring-Gould festival in Okehampton last October. Amongst other things he played a few Swedish tunes (a love of mine) and mentioned that he had produced a book of tunes. I bought it, via his website at: www.RowanPiggott.com I'm finding it an excellent source and thought other lovers of 'Scandi' stuff would be interested. It contains over 80 tunes, mostly with well written harmony lines as well as guitar chord symbols, plus lots of background information about many of the composers and a sketch map of Sweden with the various regions shown. If you are looking for more Swedish stuff I recommend it. Apart from hearing him play on the one occasion I have no connection with Rowan. Oops, sorry. He looks to have sold out, but hopefully that's reason to re-print, There's a sample page on his website.

I certainly intend going Simon; I've never seen/heard him live. I'll PM you when I find out how to buy an advance ticket.

He's appearing in Exeter in February Simon. http://www.exeterfolkclub.org/?page_id=23 See you there?

Hi Mike, With 50 keys what range does it have?

Agreed.

I remembered it from some years ago and recalled having seen Brian in it, then a bit of browsing for the clip. I'm also a fan of Roy Bailey and Leon Rosselson who feature on the clip. There' s lots of other good stuff on there too. Brian is a a member, I think a founder member even, of WCCP and so I've met him many times and heard him play at meetings. He would usually play something when folks did their 'party pieces', often a lovely arrangement of an O'Carolan tune as I remember.

Here is the man himself, all of 5 seconds of him playing, at 9.09 in a video of Bracknell folk festival from 1988:

You could ask him. He's a member here, wth the username 'inventor'.

That's very useful local information for me Geoff. I'll bear it in mind. Thanks.

See you there, famille Dipper!

George Fox, the major founding father of the Quakers, wrote that some words 'speak to thy condition'. That expression catches, for me, something of what I experience with certain traditional tunes from my native England and from many other different countries. The ones I am attracted to 'speak to [my] condition'. Currently, for instance, I'm working on a set comprising the Playford tune 'Bobbing Joe' followed by a Swedish tune, 'Slangpolska efter Juringius'. They are both in A minor and start with the same fifth interval but have differing rhythms; sufficiently similar but sufficiently different to fit together yet to have contrast. So, in answer to the original question, my view is put Scarborough Fair with whatever fits for you, no matter from where it originates.

It might be worth asking is she's a member of WCCP, since she's from Wiltshire, or perhaps the ICA Theo?

'These prints had never been seen before and appeared in many towns, including Exmouth and Dawlish. No known animal could have made them, it seems. And yet, there they were. I wonder if the mystery is still talked about in Devon?' Not that I've heard of. Of course there are several examples from around the world of mysterious animal tracks appearing in snow, with feasible and rational explanations as to their origin. In Devon we also have more recent tales of giant cats being sighted on Dartmoor. We all love a mystery it seems. Good luck with the harmonising.