Jim Besser

Good choice! That works especially well with Jody Kruskal-ish harmonic playing with chords and bass runs. A couple of other oldtime tunes that work really well on concertina: "Fly Away my Pretty Little Miss," in D --which is remarkably easy on Anglo. And Golden Slippers: easy and lots of fun. And FOrked Deer in d and PUncheon FLoor in G. Love playing that stuff.

It's all relative. Vintage concertinas seem incredibly expensive -- but in-demand mandos and guitars are much worse. Check out Elderly Instruments or Mandolin Brothers for 30s-vintage Martins; some go for more than $100,000. And they don't even have all those levers and valves and things. I have a friend who just dropped 7K on a new Collings mando. Heck, a mando is just a bunch of wood and strings, doesn't even have any moving parts. Primitive, you might say. THe very best, most desirable old concertina -- maybe a Jeffries or linota -- probably sells for under 10K; that's below midrange for quality vintage fiddles (excuse me, violins), and considerably under what you'd pay for a great old bluegrass guitar. You can't even buy a great fiddle bow for that kind of money. That said, I hope the collectors/investment mania that has driven vintage guitar prices into the stratosphere doesn't come to infect the concertina world. BTW, fun playing with you at the T'giving dance, Green!

I recommend Jody's music heartily. Years ago, his group's "Grand Picnic" cassette (now a CD) was one of the things that drew me to the Anglo...nobody else playing contra dance music was playing like this guy. His own compositions are interesting, complex tunes, but written for the concertina; every one I've learned has been a joy to play. What I've always liked about his music -- the factor that also drew me to Morris music -- is the way it uses the unique attributes of the instrument for melody plus chords/bass runs/harmonies. Single note playing can be great, but to my ear there's nothing special about it on concertina; played in the harmonic style, the concertina sounds totally unique. Dancing to Grand Picnic is a real experience , and the way Jody drives the band with that concertina of his is a big reason why. As one who has tried to decipher his music for years and recreate it in my own inadequate way, I am looking forward to a whole new bunch of tunes to learn.

Absolutely. I'm an old dance guitar player, and on a lot of tunes I use the same bass runs I used to play on guitar. But they sound better on concertina, especially on the G/D, with those resonant low notes. I'm playing a new year's dance tonight with a clarinet player...when he takes the lead I'm doing chords and tons of bass runs. That's my idea of a good time! For anybody trying to learn this mode of playing, Alan's "chocolate rabbit" perfectly illustrates how good it can sound.

Just use common sense and don't get neurotic about it. Initially I fussed excessively about temperature and humidity, but as a Morris player that was quickly beaten out of me. Now I try to avoid extremes with my good instrument, always keep it in the case when not playing and don't worry too much. I once asked one of the best players I know how to take care of a good instrument. "Play it every day, and play the hell out of it," he said.

Nah, torture is not mandatory for the crime of preferring accordion reeds. It's all a matter of personal preference. I have both types; some people I play with prefer the sound of the vintage reeds, some the accordion reeds. Play what you enjoy. But Mark is right; all concertinas require upkeep, all have periodic issues, though I'd have to agree that my new Morse and old Herrington are somehwhat less finicky than my cherished old instrument. A guitar player I sometimes gig with looked at my concertina the first time we got together and said "that's a real CONTRAPTION, isn't it?" Contraptions need maintanance, whether accordion or traditional reeded.

Agreed. HMT has nice folks; the BB has nice folks AND good instruments. (to be fair, HMT has good stringed instruments, but the squeezebox selection is low-end. And I don't believe they service their own instruments)

House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, Md. carries some, but mostly low-end Italian jobs. But a while back I heard they were selling Tedrows, as well.

Amazing. For boomers, I would have thought Mairzy Dotes would be right up there. Don't forget the Ray Charles version of YAMS. Not exactly traditional, but great.

That is indeed privation; my sympathies. Try air concertina; I used to do that a lot in the car, stuck in Washington traffic, until I discovered the harmonica. Great for noodling around when the concertina isn't available. But a second box is pretty much essential for those infected with the bug.

THis is absolutely true. Good vintage Martin guitars going for over 100k. I have a friend who had a Loar mando that must have been worth nearly that much. And let's not even get into the issue of good, old violins. Jeffries seem expensive, but they're a wild bargain when compared to some other vintage instruments.

I actually started playing when my daughter was very young and a devoted Raffi fan. I had a garage-sale Italian anglo; we'd play "name that tune," with me picking out Raffi songs and her guessing the names. Years later, I STILL remember the tunes. So my kid, now a Cambridge grad student, was responsible for infecting me with the concertina virus and the descent into the world of Morris music.

One more thing; when I've played outside in the cold, I bring mittens fitted with those chemical handwarmers you can buy in sporting goods stores. Between dances I put my hands in the mittens for a quick hit of heat. Seems to help keeping the joints from stiffening.

Can't speak for the Morse, but I played my Herrington once at the Shepherdstown, W.Va Christmas parade, and and several Morris stands at Harpers Ferry -- at 18 degrees, with a brutal wind. I wouldn't take my vintage box, but the Herrington did just fine. Can't say the same for my fingers, though. Maybe Rich has more informed advice.

I never heard of this, either, but googled up some good pics: http://www.ebormorris.org.uk/Saddleworth2004.htm Cool stuff. The only time I've been almost run down when processing is when the clueless musicians are between the dancers and the pub.

A camping supply store; I think the brand is Coleman. It folds flat and is very lightweight. And when I'm not using it, some tired dancer is usually sitting on it.

I learned to play standing up. When I can sit down, I consider it a luxury. In morris dancing, sometimes you even have to play while walking. I still have a hard time playing any but the most basic tunes standing. My solution: a folding footstool I can easily tote from stand to stand as below:

Right you are. Listening to the great ANglo International CD, I was struck by how adaptable the Anglo concertina is -- all the different genres sounded great -- but also how Morris music, more than any other, takes full advantage of the instrument's special qualities I like all the other music, I play some of it, but for the sheer pleasure of Anglo playing, nothing tops Morris music. By itself, it's wonderful fun; when played for dancers, it feels sublime.

All good suggestions. Also dig up a copy of the CD "Over th Water," with Jim Morrison on fiddle and Tom Kruskal on Anglo (and, if you can find it, their earlier Round Pond Relics, only on vinyl). Tom, like his brother Jody, is an amazing player. Good collection of Morris tunes in ABC format at http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/morris/music/abclib.html Morris tunes in JPG format at http://www.red-bean.com/~noel/morris-tunes/

"Those Darned Accordions," a punk accordion band, do a clever biographical song tracing Lawrence Welk's evolution from a lively polka player to a purveyor of insipid "champagne music." A slyly funny song that says all you need to know about Lawrence.

You're welcome, but please, let's remember to put the boss's name first! Alphabetical order, I think. But yes, we all owe a great debt of gratitude to Paul, that ethereal presence who started the whole thing.

Absolutely, thanks to Ken and Paul for creating one of the few Internet communities that actually works. One of my responders suggested JC. I was under the mistaken impression that the JC Tunefinder and the Web-Wide ABC Index tapped into the same database. Obviously I was wrong, since the former had Road to Houll, the latter did not. And yes, I've been informed it is a Shetland tune. I first learned it from the old CD Northumbrian Rant, and just made an assumption about its origins. It's a fun tune, and the medley on the Rant CD is very Anglo friendly: La Russe/The Winshield's Hornpipe/Jane's Fancy/Da Road To Houll. On Saturday we're playing Houll it in a set with Loch Leven Castle and High Road to Linton. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be the Road to Hell. At least my intentions are good.

I keep my old 20 button (Italian, no-name, old, and cobbled together from two different concertinas) around so I can bring it to gigs where there will be kids who say "can I try that?" And a fellow got my name from Cnet and asked if I had a concertina he could borrow as a prop in a play that included a concertina player. So the old rummage sale beast achieved some fame on the stage.

Amazing; 30 minutes after posting, I had e-mails from two users with the answer to my question. Concertina.net is just a fantastic resource. Thanks, guys.

I badly need notation for this Northumbrian tune, and fast; have to play it this Saturday. I'm OK once I hear it, but it's embedded in a medley, and I'm responsible for making the switch, and I need a cheat sheet to do it reliably. My notation skills are poor, to say the least. Can anybody help?