HelenG

Can you video it? What would you think would be appropriate musical accompaniment? When I have to eat mine I think something like "The Swan" from "Carnival of the Animals" would be appropriate. - W p.s. HelenG - don't you realize how easy abc is - you really should go through a learning exercise to interpose an intermediate stage to get what you want. Hi - thanks to everyone for all the info - I've tried reading ABC and have all the instructions, but I find it quite hard to get the tempo right - also with solfa which I've had a go at. Trouble is I want to write stuff (ie. baritone parts/accompaniments - easy and infantile not hard and Mozart-ish) potentially for other people who find it much easier to read dots - as I do.

Hi - sorry about this, it is sort of related to concertinas in a way - does anyone use an easy, and reasonably priced, music writing software package that they can recommend? I'm a complete beginner in the field who fancies having a go at swelling the already copious amounts of tunes out there - and also perhaps translating ABC format into something recognisable. I've heard of Sibelius and Finale but they seem to be a bit too professional for me, and I've also had a look at Melody and Harmony Assistant. These both seem good but it's difficult working out how easy they are when they won't let you do some things without paying for them, which I don't want to do until I'm reasonably sure I can use them. Advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone - I've just bought an old brass reeded Maccann Duet from Chris Algar to do up, and am not sure where to start - do I start with bellows, which need a bit of TLC - I think they need new top runs throughout, and possibly other bits and pieces, although the insides seem OK. Its outside coners are mostly damaged to some extent - but so would mine be if I was 100 years old! Can I get away with patching them all, or do I do the whole thing - if I , do I have to take the old top run off first, would it make a better job if I did or would it weaken it? It needs new valves and pads obviously - the pads seem to be joined directly onto the leather beads? no smaller discs between them, so do I put the new ones on in the same way? Can I take the red leather baffles off and clean them as they are filthy? I've been using a stiffish paintbrush to clean the insides of the action box because it had a bit of soot in it, is this OK - it's the only thing I can use to get between the bits and pieces in there, or is there a better way without taking everything off and starting again, which I'm not about to do! The reeds seem great - they don't seem to have been touched to any great extent, even though there are 2 steel ones in there that are a bit rusty - they also seem to be roughly in tune at the moment, although I know they're likely to change a bit when cleaned etc. I thought that the springs were OK but I think that one's gone now, so should I replace all of them? I've had a lot of helpful advice from Pete and Chris, and I'm not going to start the task immediately, but any suggestions would be gratefully received.