Alan Day

Chris was in concert on Friday Night locally and I really enjoyed his playing as ever. ( featured on Anglo International)). His playing is effortless and plays very softly . He blends in totally with accompaniment with total bellows and air control. Plays with a fan bellows action, which is totally different to me and certainly would not have tired arms at the end of a concert. Well worth watching ,good fun and lovely to listen to. Smashing evening. Al

https://studio.youtube.com/video/ZyQ0nlGUeag/edit

Dave Prebble made a base concertina using harmonium reeds and called it his "Fart o Phone". Sadly I have never heard him play it. Not sure, but the X "Folk on Two" Radio presenter Mike Harding played one. Al

I thought so JIm , I use the little finger a lot and slide it across the base notes. Some buttons as you know are difficult to reach without some hand movement, but there again I use the little finger right and left hand to reach those. I appreciate your reply Jim. Al

Following on from the odd way to play the concertina I thought I would start this conversation. I dedicate a certain finger to certain buttons (Where possible) and in general my hand position remains fairly static. I have been interested in watching how other players play chords and their hand positions playing chords are moving about all over the place ,especially the lower note chords. Hardly any use of the little finger .so the whole hand is moving backwards and forwards. How do you play ? Al

The sad thing was that after a couple of years she had worked out a way of playing the concertina reasonably well. Al.

I will repeat an old posting of mine, that one of the ladies at one of my playing workshops ,I noticed ,was playing the concertina back to front . She had been doing this for about two years and wondered what the air button was for on her left hand.

I always wanted to play like John Kirkpatrick and I thought that practice was the answer ,but I shall never get up to his ability ,but I shall keep trying. Al

Listening more carefully to these tunes the second one is French Canadian. Taken from the live playing recording of Phillipe Bruneau. Al

STE-000.mp3 Breton tunes B

Correct Jim the second Tripping Upstairs Al

It really depends on how severe the crack is ,I have had some in the past that as you play the note gets deeper and deeper and then snaps off. Others may just be a tuning issue. Al

A cracked reed tongue usually the symptoms are a gradual flattening of the note. Al