Annelies

Thank you all for this fantastic thread. It's like a masterclass in itself. If only wish I'd asked the question sooner!

Hi- I've been playing my English concertina daily this winter in hopes of getting comfortable enough to play at the seniors home with my sister on the accordion. I was very dependent on sheet music from learning flute in a high school band class but have been making an effort with the concertina. I can almost accompany Sharon Shannon playing the Duke of Yorke's on headphones but if somebody enters the room my mind flits off somewhere - maybe that's another issue. Besides playing the same tune a thousand times is there something that can help with memorizing? Does playing scales help? Thanks for any suggestions.

thanks so much for these generous suggestions David and Don, they seem manageable and something I can work on this winter

Hello, I have a kind of musical disability - I can't identify the harmony part in a given piece. For example, in this short lovely tune, La Marine, what is the 2nd part in the bars they hum? I learned to play flute in high school, then taught myself English concertina. Any advice for learning to identify harmony notes? Thanks