stevejay

I just got better when I listened, listened again, and didn't over analyze the whole thing too much.

I've once heard you shouldn't really harmonize with tunes you don't really know because it's not session decorum..true to your knowledge? I can harmonize well, that's not the problem, I think some traditional players feel it's against some scripture they have hidden in an attic.. what do you think?

David-Remember a dulcimer in Lark Street Music for the longest time? That was mine. We are going way back now when I lived in Albany- we may know each other

I am simply repeating my previous post because I am 100% sure this works! haven't had much to say lately, but this is something that I realized help me make great strides forward A small sony digital voice recorder. So convenient and painless Advantages- *I can conveniently record and listen back to the songs I know *I can explain the "tricky parts" to myself for future reference *Can use the music to record, then quickly put itaway, never really needing to refer to it again * I can pick the tempo to learn which is comfortable *SOOO much better than notecards to think of songs to play *can categorize songs, but I don't do that *I can bring it to group jam and not freak out about remebering how a song starts... a few notes and I'm in the zone smile.gif *If I'm short on time, I just play along, if not, I add 1 or 2 to the playlist It's FUN Bottom line- I got better over a couple of weeks Hope this helps. the unit I use is a tiny ICD-p210 sony, fairly cheap voice recorder, but it does the job. Not high fidelity, but suits the purpose Thats it. My .02% of a dollar and hopes this helps Steve

Well...that certainly would be more difficult to break a bad habit from 5 weeks to maybe a year! How are they different? Is there any place I can see or check on the web his fingering? I definately want to take the workshop but my best bet is next year...I wonder what I can do to prepare (and not pick up more bad habits) in the interim. I was enjoying the Levy book but would hate to get fixed on a less than logical fingering pattern. I think that having different approaches to fingering is an asset. Each navigation will give you different phrasing, and in the end your sound will be more lively. After a while you just know when to play across the rows for "punch" or cross rows for fluidity imo. Don't worry about it too much, and find your own ways as well, whatever feels right. It's a folk instrument after all, nobody is going to slap your hand with a ruler

Sometimes I will change the key.. 9 Points of Roguery plays easier in G than the D.. you just have to experiment. Old man Dillon is a great Concertina tune if you don't know that one. There are more that work easily than are extremely awkward due to their diatonic structure

Sometimes I will change the key.. 9 Points of Roguery plays easier than the D.. you just have to experiment. Old man Dillon is a great Concertina tune if you don't know that one. There are more that work easily than are extremely awkward thankfully

Not sure what you mean here Steve--do you play the songs in the order in which they come up on the recorder? I have the songs written down by number- I can simply forward to the song I want to hear, or just play them in order from any number desired. Instant practice session, no muss, no fuss somtimes simplicity is key, we all have time constraints in one form or another. Some people used paper index cards to remind themselves of songs they know, but way too much work for me.

sounds like a plan

sorry for duplication!

I think it sounds pretty good- why do you think it doesn't? Just curious

I haven't had much to say lately, but this is something that I realized help me make great strides forward A small sony digital voice recorder. So convenient and painless Advantages- *I can conveniently record and listen back to the songs I know *I can explain the "tricky parts" to myself for future reference *Can use the music to record, then quickly put itaway, never really needing to refer to it again * I can pick the tempo to learn which is comfortable *SOOO much better than notecards to think of songs to play *can categorize songs, but I don't do that *I can bring it to group jam and not freak out about remebering how a song starts... a few notes and I'm in the zone *If I'm short on time, I just play along, if not, I add 1 or 2 to the playlist It's FUN Bottom line- I got better over a couple of weeks Hope this helps. the unit I use is a tiny ICD-p210 sony, fairly cheap voice recorder, but it does the job. Not high fidelity, but suits the purpose Thats it. My .02% of a dollar Steve

Rochelle, no contest The sound rivals some many times the price. Plays tightly, no leaks.

I sort of rethought this whole thing- Instead I will record the songs I know and learn, and transfer them to the computer where I can hear how they sound against each other. Also need to record them to remember them and make verbal notes about various fingerings..........

Try this http://comhaltas.ie/blog/post/foinn_seisiun_online/ Graham ...And for those of us who like it all in one place, this site has the dots....this Monks session is the genuine article, I don't feel bad for letting it guide me at least for now http://music.celtic.ru/Session_Tune_Sets/Contents.htm

Graham, Thanks for the site, it was just what I was hoping for. There are so many tunes, I can find many I already know, and look forward to learning and thinking in sets rather than individual tunes. A good day for my hobby. Steve

Hi I have been playing some tunes in sets now, and it is so much more fun. (well 2 songs anyway) Where do you look for good set combinations, especially for the common session tunes. Sites like "Wild Dismay" help by stating, "we usually play this tune in combination with.... Or- Do you just find a similar tune which makes an interesting tonality change, or is related harmonically? I've been wondering abouts sets for some time. Thanks

I bought it and it was a good help to get one step further. Think it would be good for a rank beginner like me? Paperpunchr It's designed for someone with little or no experience on an anglo concertina

http://www.rileyirishmusic.com/modules/content/music.php The Riley School site offers some decent mp3s to listen to. Don't listen to a midi file if you can avoid it. Some of the recordings are slow concertina tracks, some fiddle, some whistle, and some band, and they're fairly slow sometimes- almost too slow, I lost track of a couple of these tunes, the phrasing took so long I haven't contributed lately not due to lack of interest, but lack of anything to say. Steve

Thanks Bruce, You are correct, I did conclude the question about triplets/embellishments etc has just grown to stale for many to bother with. At this point, I am not too worried about it. I learn the song simply, and add embellishments where I hear them. If a song has a tricky fingering, i'd rather simplify that than worry about it. Maybe the triplet ect will come later In my opinion the best thing is to know the song pretty well, that way if a fingering happens to be tricky somewhere, I'm not fumbling around trying to recall the melody AND the fingering I hope to buckle down with the instrument and commit more tunes to memory. Sometimes all these jigs and reels become a bit blurry and I play the A to one, the B to another!

good day

Bluegrass is mostly defined by the banjo. If the banjo player picks, then it's bluegrass. Bluegrass is certainly a branch of Country, and so is Rockabilly, just less mainstream.

I thought the same, louder than expected. Loud is usually a good sign for most instruments, as long as it can also speak softly. You'll like it more as you play it and it breaks in a bit. I had an old Bastari, and when I got the Rochelle it was like day and night. Have fun with it, it won't really hold you back for quite some time.

I find it odd that Appalachian and American fiddle music get so much less exposure for the concertina. Is there really a history of the music on the instrument, and if so who is well known from the past? I don't think the concertina found all that much favor here in the states historically, but I welcome being wrong Steve