Chris Murphy

Just a suggestion based on learning Irish tunes on other instruments (since I'm new to the concertina): You really need to learn the basic tune first for 2 reasons: 1) You'll probably play that tune eventually with some other musicians and need to drop some (if not all) ornaments to get your "version" of the tune to fit with someone elses. and 2) Playing solo you'll want to vary the ornamentation to keep things interesting. So you might play each time through the tune with different ornaments or ornaments in different places. You'll also want to isolate those ornaments in your practice, because what works in one tune will surely work in another tune somewhere down the road.

By "higher" do you mean extending farther from the end plate of the concertina? I've experimented with building replacement handles which are higher (extending farther from the end plate) and sit farther back towards the side (corner) nearest the player. Both of these allow my long fingers a more comfortable arc to the buttons, where the pads of my fingers are farther from my palm, if that makes sense. My fingers are therefore straighter than in the old position. I've done this on cheap Italian and Chinese boxes, where the strap is connected on both ends of the handle, unlike the system on real concertinas where the strap connects via a thumb screw at the top edge of the concertina. With the thumb-screw system, I don't know if you could easily move the handle position without creating problems, although I suppose some solution could be found. I put a post up a while back asking for information on button spacing and handle position of various concertinas, specifically the difference between 20 and 30 keys, trying to deal with this same problem.

Thanks for the info Chris. I've gotten used to playing with the straps pretty tight on my 20 key, which is larger than most 30 keys. When I try to play 30 keys with the straps tight I find to reach the G row my long fingers are curled so far back it's very uncomfortable. I can loosen the straps so that my hand arches away from the handle and I can play the G row more comfortably, but then I find myself grasping the strap (right hand) between my thumb and hand, which makes it hard to use the air button freely. I suppose the solution is to just get used to the smaller instruments, but I was hoping there might be something larger out there. Thanks again, Chris Murphy

Hi. I’m new to the concertina, playing a cheap Chinese C/G Anglo for about a year now. I’m looking to upgrade, not only to get a box that actually sounds like a concertina and the keys don’t stick, but also to get that elusive C# key. Here’s my problem: I’ve played Lachenal, Wheatstone, Morse, Stagi and Bastari 30-keys and I have found that the key layout on all of these are tighter (closer together) than my 20 key. The keys are also closer to the handles. I have big (long) fingers and these seem very uncomfortable for me to play. I’m assuming (hopefully correctly) that adding a third row of keys (even if it’s just one key per side) moves the C and G rows closer to the handles. I’ve seen a few 22-key concertinas on Ebay and elsewhere on the internet which appear the have the same key spacing of a 20 key, with the extra keys added to the C row instead of creating a new row. I have not found one to try in person. Can anyone provide me with details of the differences in spacing of these key layouts, or offer any suggestions for players with big hands. I’m playing Irish tunes and (hopefully not too ignorantly) feel that all I need is that damn C#, not a whole new row of keys I’ll rarely use. And please, I know the obvious suggestion is to get a G/D, but let’s assume I don’t want to re-learn all the tunes I already know how to play on a C/G. Thanks, Chris Murphy