Alan Day

The top end of a Melodion is exactly identical to the right hand of an anglo ,it is therefore easy to swap instruments of this sort.I did try at one time to play a Jeffries Duet at the same time as an anglo,but gave up,it did force me however to play duet style on the anglo so it was not a complete waste of time. Regards Alan

Hi Dave, John Kirkpatrick`s concertina has Aluminium reed shoes.Very light and with John playing it I have no problem with the sound. Al

I was not at the auction today at Sotherbys but I thought you may be interested in the final auction prices Lot 312 Jeffries GD Anglo (not in concert pitch and needed springs and pads etc @ £2700 Lot 313 Jeffries AE Anglo ( ditto ) @£2400 Lot 309 Jeffries Bpf Anglo (see Rogers article)(ditto ) @£ 2900 Lot 306 Lachenal English (see my article) @£720 For all the above prices add sales commission and VAT UK rate 17.5% It would be nice if whoever did get any or all of these lets us know what the insides were like. Regards Alan.

Hallo Craig, It is a great idea and even from my tape there is a great response for this type of tutor.Why I restricted mine to twenty button was ,there was not one available and the other I would not be bothered with too many variations from one concertina to another. (See Alex new posting.)even so I expect some variation even on a twenty button box.How can you overcome this variation with your tutor,introducing another row? I just wish when I started playing the concertina this type of help was available ,many from my era were self taught and frantically listened to John Kirkpatrick`s records to obtain how it should sound. I wish you every success with this tutor and I know from experience how difficult they are to put together. Regards Alan

I agree welcome back Dave. Al

Roger, I think you will find that all the Jeffries are in old pitch and the concertina you are interested in is in BpF.Made for a lady I should suggest. The only concertina in the auction that I would recommend to someone who is not a restorer is lot 306 Lachenal English,its a good quality Lachenal and in concert pitch and seemed to be in good working order. Regards Alan

A good tip for hardening brass is to gently hammer the suface along it`s length.I found this usefull when buying some brass wire for springs which did not spring and by gently hammering along the length of the wire, it became hard and springy.I cannot remember the technical reason why this hardness occurs ,but I think it was to make the molecules all face in the same direction.It is part of work hardening which is unfortunately the reason why brass reeds eventually become brittle and snap off. Regards Alan

Hallo Jack, From my purchasing days in the metalworking trade ,I seem to remember that the brass sheet suppliers sell brass in three hardness types,Hard,Half Hard and soft. The hard beng the one you would want about 20swg. Regards Alan

Hallo Helen, They cry when I play my concertina.Earplugs are sent out with the tape to protect humans as well. Al

Hallo All, My discussion with Sharron is this,I do not play Irish music and I could not advise her as to what instrument would be the best for that type of playing a twenty,thirty or forty button anglo.I would have thought, but I did not know that the more buttons the more options.For a really fast run without changing direction alternative directions of playing,changing keys etc.As I have said I do not play Irish music so I suggested this topic. For the music I play then give me a 38 plus every time,but would you need it for Irish playing ? For Sharron another facter is wieght,thirty plus and unless it is aluminium reed bases then it would start to get too heavy. Regards Alan

I can understand the difficuly with this request,but I would be interested in other players comments on my reply to Joachim. As you know I have recently made a tape for beginners anglo, in it I take fairly simple tunes and explain how they are played.This is comparativly easy for a simple tune and the chords to be explained and where to find them.It is much more difficult for a more complicated tune.Lots of things have to be taken into consideration,which direction are the chords in, does the tune let you play that chord in that direction.Do you have to play the tune in an opposite direction because of this.Have you sufficient air to play that note and chord in that direction.It goes on through the tune untill you reach the end. I can honestly say that some full chorded tunes can take weeks to sort out.An example, "Morning has broken"(Cat Stevens) with full chords.How could you explain to somebody how to put that together,it would be up to the individual player and the layout of his concertina to work out. Joachim is under the impression that he is boring you ,but I think it is much more difficult than he thinks. What do you think. Regards Alan

Would this be to match something you were wearing Paul? Al

In your opinion how do you think they compare to Jeffries anglos? I do not think there is much in it. Loved your sign off Al

Robert your posting reminded me of words that were said at a non religious funeral I went to recently.It was a quote by George Bernard Shaw and I am sorry that I cannot quote the words exactly but it went as follows, That life is like a river,its starts as a stream quickly darting twisting and turning down a mountain side,until it joins a river and then steadily and sedately moves through the countryside at a slow leasurely pace until it opens up into the sea. Alan

It is strange this music and emotion.As an English man the American National Anthem does nothing for me, but I must admit when the Queen asked for it to be played soon after 11/9 in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, I joined in with the tears of the American visitors and others that stood outside to watch. Regards Alan

My dear old Aunt died about a year ago,she was a lovely lady who looked after me a lot when I was younger and even when I was older she allways wanted to fatten me up.Shortly after she died I wrote Auntie Ada`s Waltz in her memory and I cannot express my feelings when after about three times playing it in a session all the musicians joined in.Unfortunately her sister Jean my mother died a few months later and I now play the two waltzes together.One strong way I can keep their memory alive. I am sure you feel the same way Eric whenever you play your friends tune,I can fully understand your emotions. Kind regards Alan

Many years ago I had a Linota to tune which came from an owner who lived in Devon.Up to that point I had never seen an Anglo made by Wheatstone only English.It was metal ended and the buttons were in excess of forty.Although at that time I owned two Jeffries after it was repaired I can honestly say it was the best concertina that I had ever played,the tone ,speed,everything I liked about it.I thought at the time if a similar one became available I would buy it.Five or so years later one became available in Free reed and after much rushing around selling my unused instruments,I purchased it.I never took it out for fear of having it stolen ,in my mind it was more valuable than my Jeffries ,but market forces are such that my valuation has been proved wrong.I thought it was only me who liked this instrument ,but I was relieved to hear from a new friend on this site that he also loves Linotas. Have you played one, what do you think? Mine is featured on my site click on to one of my concertinas and it being played. Regards Alan

Certainly Paul if you wanted to play solo you would not get droned out by a melodion. Getting back to the subject I tried to answer this when I first saw it and I could not put into words my thoughts.Ben you just cannot realise how lucky you are and to sell it on I can understand ,but years to come I am sure you will regret parting with this wonderful instrument and from a family member .Please give this some serious thought.I agree with the suggestion of getting it renovated and then think again. Regards Alan

Hallo Peter, Funny thing I looked at this concertina today and liked the look of it. The bellows if you look closely are repaired but are seven or eight fold. The decoration gold blocking is the same as Jeffries,but the nameplate hole is identical to my Wheatstone Linota. The description is a bit worrying about the reeds but if it has not been played for some time then it is possible that they may be rusted up,but it is a thirty button instrument. I found it interesting that the very nice twenty button wooden ended fretted Lachenal is being sold by the same person who has the last bid for this one.At the current prices I reckon he is doing well. It is very much a risk for the state of the instrument I would have preffered it with the bellows opened.Whatever the state there is obviously some restoration work for someone here. Regards Alan

Hi Alan, Is it not possible to change octaves and play your bit in low and higher octave? There is always a point in the music where changing octaves sounds Ok.Scan Tester did it all the time and as he was always playing in octaves nobody could tell the difference.Why not give it a try. Al

This subject has been discussed in length before.I have tried internal fitting of mikes and I can confirm you will not be happy with the result ,especially when you use the air button ,which amplified, sounds like a compressor pipe coming loose. I use two good quality mikes on stands, but set them some distance from each end to reduce the restriction refered to and far enough away to reduce the effect when the bellows are compressed or open, but it does stop you moving or dancing around the stage.It is also worth while turning the treble down and the base up to improve your sound output Another method I have tried is to set up mikes attached to the concertina which is about 150mm away from the instrument at each end in a loop.This idea gives you the movement but unless the mike is central to the ends some reeds are louder than others.I have strapped mikes onto the back of my hand without success. On the previous postings a top quality mike was mentioned but where do you put it. Answers only on a postcard. Regards Alan

Hallo Eric,Rohmylly and Helen, Music is on it`s way. Be good Al

A tune normally consists of the basic tune plus ornamentation.I try to find the basic tune ,play that and then gradually find out what the ornamentation is, in that way it is possible to play along after hearing the tune only a few times through.The more difficut bits might take a bit longer. Regards Alan

Hallo Jim, After reading your posting out came my concertina to play it.I have not played it for years but what a great tune. It really lends itself to full chords not low note then chord paticularly how it is danced. Do you still dance it with a pint pot of ale and finish up by pooring what is left over your head? We used to dance it in a pub with low beams and have to duck under each beam as it was danced.Your little posting has brought back a lot of memories. Ta Al

Hallo Jim ,RohmyllySharron,and all We all get on board by clicking onto the name of the person you want to contact and send them an email where it says click on. I could not tell you the names of many of the tunes on my tape even if you asked me ,some I heard on that night and at our last session I did not hear them played at all. I am not personally interested in detail just listening to the evening and the tunes you are playing and where you are playing them.I also could not care less about the quality of playing.We all make mistakes and if you want to hear some, mine are on my tape with others.I would not even mind a slowby as I might even start playing a bit of Irish music. Please do not worry about quality and if you cannot offer a session tape I am sure somewhere in your music colletion you have something of interest. Participation is the main aim of this idea. Join me and Daniel and lets swap some lovely music. Regards Al