Alan Day

BC (modified posting see discussion) Double Ray Hohner Melodion with 12 base (Same note in and out) Air button sticking a bit but I could do that if required,but in good working order. A reasonable offer would be considered but carriage would be extra. Situated Horley Surrey England Regards Alan Day

Excellent and balanced reply Paul. What the old instruments will never provide of course is the specials.The purpose made instruments made specifically for one persons requirements.This market will allways have to be catered for by the modern makers.These concertinas will create interest in say one hundred years from now ,when they will be talked about,probably by your son Paul, as to why somebody did this or that. I must admit to modifying all my Jeffries layouts to suit my taste but only in a minor way. Al

I sold a half size concertina to a Aeroplane fanatic and he told me that he played it whilst driving his car and steered with his knees .David who I have not seen in years was a member of the Popular Flying association and he owned a Tiger Moth.I live fairly near to Redhill Aerodrome and I heard a plane that sounded in major trouble,looking up there was David flying his Tiger Moth upside down on a reverse loop and the spluttering was fuel starvation to the engine,at the top of the loop he put it into a spin and pulled out near to the ground ,an absolute nutcase but what a character. Al

Many years ago at the Sidmouth Folk Festival held in 1st Week in August which should be warm and it wasn`t.On the first day,the Saturday we decided to go down to the sea front and have a practice.(the pubs were not open). It started to rain and the wind was blowing in from the sea.The only place to play was the shelter just by where the river joins the sea,for those of you who know Sidmouth.My hands were freezing when we started playing and when half way through the first tune something went in the back of my hand and a lump started to appear, which after a week of playing finished up the size of a golf ball and playing became agony.Did it stop me ,no The lump did go down eventually but I have been wary of playing with cold hands ever since. An athletic muscle pull perhaps? Al (the sturdy)or a similar word perhaps?

I have had my Jeffries valued and insured for £4000 each.Which I think is about right for a top Quality instrument.May be a smidgen high for the market at this time, but what I would expect to pay if thay were stolen Al

When you think that some of the new hand made instrument prices are in the £4000 price mark I know what I would buy given the same option.Jeffries are not plentifull a small number of anglos have gone recently at about £2700 to £2900 but these had work to do on them.If I were younger I would buy now or certainly if I was American crash in as soon as the Dollar rate improved.I think Jeffries are cheap in comparison and you are buying a concertina for life not just for Xmas. Good Jeffries and Wheatstones are available now but what happens if our instrument starts becoming more popular,like it did when I bought mine,you will regret that you did not buy.I think the prices will never go down they may be static but I cannot see them becoming any cheaper. Al

Fantastic Morgana, Al

Jim has correctly pointed out that the Mazurka is in fact a Schottishe and the Jig may not be,I am not sure but both of these errors will be rectified when my son returns from holiday. Sorry for the mistake and thanks to Jim. Al

Attempted Rhomylly Tunes now posted Al

As promised in Playing in your mind topic,I have recorded and Jeremy(my son) has now posted five more tunes for you all to listen to. One is It`s a sin to tell a lie" arranged by Iris Bishop for me many years ago and I thought it would be nice for you to hear it.I just hope I have given it the justice it deserves. Al

I started this discussion talking about a tune I had been practicing " It`s a sin to tell a lie" arranged by Iris Bishop a fantastic duet player.I am pleased to tell you all, that today I recorded it and four other tunes which should be on my web site before the weekend.I must admit with all this hype I am a bit nervous and I really hope you all enjoy it. You will be interested to know it was first take, so a bit of three oclock in the morning mind practice helped in this case.There is also a Jig,Polka,Waltz and three part Mazurka. I will post that the tunes are on my site in the tune section,when Jeremy(My son) has put them on there. Al

Not when I`m laughing Lisa.

When I was at school I played the violin and later played the trumpet,both instruments were played using written music.The way I learnt was to use the dots as finger positions on the instrument,I rarely converted the dots to alphabet GABC etc.Therefore if you took the music away I was completely lost and unable to play at all. If you use this method or any other ways of using written music to play it would be WRITTEN MUSIC=BUTTONS TO COMPRESS= NOTE(TUNE) also of course direction for the anglo or left or right side for the English. With by ear playing you are looking at the exact opposite NOTE(TUNE)=BUTTONS TO COMPRESS. It is this reason why some of you have to imagine the written dots to play the music adding another dimension to memory( an incredible thing to do). When we were decimalised many people were converting the new currency into the old or centimeters into inches etc.(me included) instead of getting on with the new currency. Playing by ear is adapting your memory to accept SOUND= BUTTON. It is then you can understand how people can drive along ,humming a tune and playing an imaginary instrument, or mind playing,the subject of this discussion. Al

Somebody mentioned in passing a hand bar.I have been thinking this over ,a round bar, on end brackets with an adjustable position foreward up and back would be the answer.We have been talking about the comfort of a rounded back edge and adjustment up and down,foreward and back to cater for different hand sizes.The bar would also allow the sound to come out underneath as also discussed. I would be interested in your comments Al

You are introducing another element here Robin,I can hum the tune (without humming )in my mind and play the chords on the left or play single notes left and right hand.To sing and play the tune in my head or live for that matter I have never managed .Except for a few words. Welcome Robin. Al

Dear Helen, Thank you for your lovely comments. The best is yet to come as Irish and English session players will tell you that if you know the tune you can play it,obviously not with some tunes which are more difficult or in an unfriendly key.The way then is to experiment as you play try this or that on the A or B if it works great if it doesn`t do not play it next time around.It is how sessions tunes develop,they are rarely played the same way,the same group of musicians will sound different every time they play.It is because we are not tied exactly to the dots as written but obviously to the tune, it is the arrangement which varies. As you play more by ear the notes come automatically and you will start to play English Country Gardens at three in the morning in your mind. Al

I was being a bit sneaky when I asked my question about mind playing and music readers,because I think only people who can play by ear and put it to memory can do it.Nobody has replied and said they only play by dots and mind play,all of you who have replied can do both or only by ear.If a dot reader could do it, he could play by ear without the dots. Come on prove this theory wrong.This is a much more interesting subject than you may think if I am correct. Al

I am still interested to know if this only happens for by ear players or is it experianced by music readers? Al

How are your foot pedals operated? Al

Many of you know I play my anglo by ear and most tunes for session playing I follow my usual route for playing tunes,learn the tune and then add chords or accompaniment that I think fits .On the rare occassion I sit down and learn a tune to play duet style with full chords as written.On this occasion I am learning a tune arranged by Iris Bishop and I will post the result for you all to hear.I am really enjoying myself and finding new chords is always a suprise and delight.I learn the tune from the music and add the chords as per the arrangement and work out air ,direction etc.When I can play the whole tune I then try to remember it all without using the music and put it and the new chords to memory.This is not easy but with time and considerable playing of the tune over and over again,it gets rammed into my brain.(and unfortunatly my wife`s).I find at some point in this process I can actually play the tune full chords in my mind.I can practice the tune driving on the motorway or more annoyingly at about three in the morning if I happen to wake up.I also make playing mistakes, which I then correct all in my mind. I cannot be the only person who can do this and I suspect most by ear players can also do a bit of mind playing,but how about the music readers, is this happening to you? Or am I ready for being carted away,or just a lie down on the couch Al

I agree with Jim and Henk. When you consider that Morgana`s hand size is one inch(25 mm) less than mine and my hands are not large.It would mean that Morgana`s fingers are further back from the buttons and in an ideal situation the hand rests and straps need moving foreward to take up the smaller hand size. Children learning the concertina must have major problems.Paul Groff has to introduce a push key system to enable a childs small hand to operate an air button and playing must be that more difficult with the hand foreward on the hand rest against towards the back where I and a number of other players have their hands. As a childs hand grows adjustments need to be made and apart from strap adjustments there are non available. As Jim and Henk have said, with the discussion re straps here and handles in the History forum surely the time must be to move foreward on this subject. Al

When the world seems a bit miserable. A little play on my concertina and it`s all a bit brighter. Al

Chris,I have just had another look at the hand rest picture,I have never seen anything like it,how interesting. It does not look comfortable to use however and the plating is worn exactly where I would suspect it would be.It is however a lovely looking design and well made.How nice it is where it tapers down to the fixing on the concertina and the hand rest fretting.It is absolutely lovely to look at,do you find it uncomfortable to play or is the design so clever it moulds to your fingers? Al

Whatever the word Jim,well done and many thanks for your sometimes amusing,sometimes witty,advice,help,finding the owner of a lost concertina,slapping my wrist when I have been wrong and when I havn`t (but I expect you were right). Keep up the good work By the way I am still waiting delivery of my prize for being the one thousanth poster. Al

Having a think about what I suggested re velcro,I do not think the total strap pull should be on the handle it would still have to be partly fixed to the side as it is now. I remember seeing someone pull the fretwork off their concertina end and I would hate that my advice would cause that to happen to somebody else.I am sure with a bit of clever design it could work however. Crikey you have got tiny hands if there is no gap between the holes and it makes that much difference to your comfort. Al