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Laitch

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Posts posted by Laitch

  1. For me, the goal of playing in octaves is to be able to toss them in at will. They're an accent or emphasis, sometimes on just one or two notes, sometimes one or more bars. Mostly, to me, they are just kind of like a musical "yeehaw!" inside the tune---a shot of pure energy. Although playing octaves is a standard tool in the kit of Anglo players who play Irish style, Michael O Raghallaigh and Jason O Rourke are my favorite practitioners. In the first run through the B part of "George White's Favorite" O Raghallaigh plays phrases. http://www.concertina.net/clips/cd_nervous_man_09.mp3

     

    Octave playing's a seasoning that I'm learning to use enough of but not overdo.

     

    I started by playing a scale in the key of D, to get the hang of it, crossfingering F# and G.

    A tune I used for practicing is the the first in a gan ainm two polka set of Jason O'Rourke's recording, "The Bunch Of Keys." Here's a midi, there's also a gif of sheet music available. http://www.slowplayers.org/Music/midi/the_taur_polka.mid

  2. A poll proposal here, on behalf of the interested:

     

    1. Do you play an English, Anglo, or Duet concertina?

    2. Are you reasonable, mostly?

    3. Are you a member of a criminal gang?

    4. How low pants waistband when measured from the top of your hips?

    A. < 2.54cm?

    B. >2.53--6.12cm

    C. 6.13--12.26cm

    D. > 12.27cm

    5. How short is your hair?

    A. < .6cm

    B. > .59cm but < 1m

    6. If tattooed, please indicate artistic style.

    A. Cartoon character

    B. Four letter word (eg. love, hate, mama)

    C. Body organ (eg, heart, lung, liver)

    D. Mythic or majestic symbol (eg. dragon, gargoyle, butterfly, pit bull, Bambi, huge flying, massively

    toothed thing)

    E. Magic or power symbol (eg. rune, celtic knot, dollar or euro sign)

    D. Brand name (eg. Marlboro, Kleenex, Dipper, Morse)

    7. If tattooed, please indicate location.

    A. Chest

    B. Limb

    C. Hand and/or foot

    D. Finger/knuckles

    E. Elsewhere (if female, please complete and submit on-site verification permission form)

    F. Musical instrument (eg. Concertina, chemnitzer, bandoneon, stumpf fiddle)

    8. How's your self respect?

    A. Great, thanks.

    B. Couldn't be better since I saved up and got my new concertina.

    C. Mind your own business!

    D. Get lost.

     

    Thanks for your participation!

  3. That ebay rig looks like its bellows is made from the chair cushion covers of a 1950's kitchen dinette set! Very retro. It'd probably make a good and very challenging piñata.

     

    If I had a Hohner, I'd play it until I could make the leap to the USD1600-2000 range. If its looks are embarassing or annoying, you can always wear a disguise in public, or a blindfold in private.

  4. Fer gawds ache, m3838, haven't you ever heard of Michael Rooney? Ya got his picture. He's the harp player with concertina player Michael O'Raghallaigh.

     

    OK, all genders are now in alignment and we can return to regularly scheduled programming. :)

  5. Hey Carol

     

    I learned ABC notation so I could understand and generate sheet music of tunes I wanted to share with people who rely mostly on dots to pick up tunes at first. ABC is very useful for jotting down tunes without having staff paper. Once the ABC format is understood, you drop the ABCs you make of a tune on the Convert-a-matic on this site and you get sheet music and midi files.

     

    If I learned ABC notation, anybody can. :)

    Here's the site I used for learning:

    http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm

  6. I use Audacity on my Mac and the same microphone as Jim and Geraghty. It works good enough for me and I'm not technically adept, just frugal. The microphone cost me the equivalent of €80 a couple of years ago. Be sure to download the Audacity manual, and read the tutorials carefully before you start, you'll be sure to have success.

  7. Hey, Sam

     

    You probably should have posted your query in the "Ergonomics" forum but it'll likely migrate there anyway. :) If you haven't yet, you could do a search there for hints.

     

    If you can be obsessive sometimes, like me, you probably just played too long at it. Strapping your hands to a little box and drumming your fingers just ain't natural for most people. :) Keep exploring different positions of hand and strap.

     

    I found some observations in this thread over in "Ergonomics."

    http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=810

     

    There's a quote in there from bignick concerning a similar problem:

     

    "What did work was to raise the palm rest about half an inch (I moulded a polymer clay pad to fit my hands and the existing palm rest bar and attached it to the bar with zip strips). With the bar higher my hands go further into the strap so it is no longer on the back of my knuckes. Also the higher bar means that joint is bent to its natural relaxed position whereas before it was reflexed upwards, which I'm sure contributed to the problem. I also lined the inside of the strap with a soft resilient material to better cushion it against my hand."

     

     

    You also could consider playing for shorter periods of time at first, and stretching your playing muscles before and after each session. The exercises recommended for computer keyboardists can help, believe it or not.:) I use them.

    http://www.utoronto.ca/safety/ergoweb/exer...s%20and%20hands

  8. Really!

    Does anyone deserve a Dipper concertina who hasn't had to wait at least ten years, chewed their nails to quick, had collagen injections to mitigate facial worry lines, been treated for panic, and pawned the family valuables? I ask you! An eBay sale of this magnitude, this scope, and this, this, this utter bigness is heresy, heresy I say, and dire portent for the future of the civilized world!

     

    :)

  9. Don't know if the roll you and dick described is common, bill, and don't care either, I use it and Bruce's variation plenty anyway. :P

     

    I also play one on the right side too, on my Jeffries layout Morse, an octave higher: accidental-row middle finger g, c-row ring finger a, back to the g, G-row index finger f#, then back to the accidental g.

     

    I know there are rolls and turns hidden all over my 'tina, and when I find one, I use it mercilessly. :o

  10. Hey Jeremy,

     

    You don't need to know music theory if you've got a good ear for music, a good memory for note positions on the instrument you're playing, and the time, willingness and patience to explore for more than one way to play a note, a phrase or a tune. Some people's hand mechanic's work better with the button layouts of the anglo and duet than the English, and vice versa. As far as anglo keys are concerned, I support Peter T's observations.

     

    If I were you, but I'm not although nobody can really be sure except you and if I'm actually you masquerading as me then it doesn't really matter :), I'd go with bill mchale's idea of renting, but I would rent both an anglo and an English at the same time for a little experimental fun. I'd then sit down with a simple tune I wanted to learn and see which instrument was the first I could get the tune from. After the results of that contest were in, I'd send em' back and listen to recordings of players on anglo, English, and duet. Then I'd make the decision.

     

    If you're just looking for a concertina that you can have a casual affair with, any of them will do, if you can get your fingers to give them a workout.;) Get it from someone who'll stand behind the quality so you don't get burned.

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