Dieppe

There's no snow there, eh!? P

I had the flu a few months ago and I had to be careful not to hear any tunes while feverish because they would be stuck in my head, playing over and over again for... until the next tune. It was horrific!

I'll be there!!!!!!!! Should I bring my concertina?

You mean like this Midi Concertina?

It kind of looks like a Stagi. It looks decent enough for a beginner, IMHO. Others may be more verbose on the topic though. Going from accordion (piano accordion, I assume?) to English would be easier than PA to Anglo, since the bellows direction doesn't matter. At least that's been my experience going from PA to concertina. (I've tried both.) You'd likely be able to sell it for about what you paid for if it doesn't work out for you or when you decide to upgrade.

So it is not likely to be worth $200?

Hehe... Sorry I wasn't more verbose, but "Yes" definitely on both those things! Sometimes ornamentation is part of the song. A grace note that is just supposed to always be there, and sometimes it's just something you do to give it a little more oomph. And sometimes you learn a song frontwards and backwards and somehow an extra trill, or 3rd or 4th note added at a point just feels right. So yeah you can learn it with adding ornamentation, and you can learn it without and add it once you've mastered it. It's all performance anyway, right?

Yes.

What's with the guy on the right plugging his ears? --- Patrick

What Leo said. The mouseover pictures come up odd. But hey, pictures! --- Patrick

It looks very nice! The "Technical/Making of an Anglo" page looks a little funny on Firefox, but I don't know why. Gorgeous pictures of gorgeous instruments though! And instrument guts! Patrick

To be fair to Mr. Carroll: He'd specially wrapped it in a protective foam bag to buffet his tough, hard-shell guitar case. He thought it could survive a bomb toss wrapped that way. Then he only discovered the damage at a sound check the next day. --- Patrick

I found this tale also searching for books with "concertina" in Google Books. I think this is supposed to be "humour." FRANK AND THE FOX. Frank was a very studious and clever little boy. He took the keenest delight in music, and when he had mastered his lessons, he was very fond of playing on the concertina, and singing to his own accompaniment. He could already play "The Bells go a-ringing for Sarah!" with considerable finish and expression, and since his Uncle Doddlewig had presented him with half-a-crown for his performance, he had given the air with variations, and the song with every description of embellishment, all over the paternal mansion, and in most corners of the ancestral estate. To tell the truth, his family were getting somewhat tired of his continued asseverations concerning the tintinabulatory tribute everlastingly rendered to the excellent young woman. And had he not been so markedly encouraged by rich old Uncle Doddlewig, there is every reason to suppose that Frank and his concertina would have been speedily suppressed. Frank heard his Papa lamenting that foxes were so very scarce, that recently they had had no sport whatever. "There must be plenty of foxes in the country," said the Squire, “but they won't show." Now Frank had been reading about Orpheus, and how he charmed all the wild beasts with his melody. It was true the boy had not a lyre, but he had no doubt that his concertina would do as well, and he was quite certain he had seen a fox while taking his rambles in Tippity Thicket. One day when he had a holiday, and his Papa had gone a hunting with his friends, he strolled off with his concertina to endeavour to lure a fox out into the open. He approached the hole where he had previously seen the fox, and sat down, and began to play vigorously on his concertina, and to sing at the top of his voice, "The Bells go a-ringing for Say-rah! Say-rah! Say-rah!" Presently he saw a huge Fox poke his nose out of the hole. He was delighted! He sang and played with renewed energy, and began to walk away, still singing and playing. The Fox followed, snarling, and snapping, and appearing very angry. The more he played, the more the Fox snarled and snapped. At last the animal became furious, all the hair on its back stood on end, and it began to make short runs with its month open at the young musician. It sprang upon him! He was terrified! He dropped his song and his concertina at the same moment, and scrambled up the nearest tree. The Fox's fury then knew no bounds ; he trampled on the concertina, he bit it, he tore open the bellows, and having reduced it to a shapeless mass, bore it away to his hole. When the coast was quite clear, Frank descended, and slunk borne. The next morning one of the keepers found a dead fox. It had apparently died of suffocation, as sixteen ivory concertina-stops were found in its throat. Frank now has entirely ceased to believe in Ancient Mythology, and has been even heard to hint that he considers Dr. LEMPRIÈRE a bit of a humbug. From: PUNCH, Vol CII, Published at The Office, 85, Fleet Street, London, 1892. http://books.google.com/books?id=sz1XAAAAM...IGomGzATp0PSKAg

"Jimsey Demsey" by George Wharton Edwards. An interesting short story I ran across while searching Google Books for "concertina". --- Patrick

Is it me, or do the folks who play "our" kind of concertinas, the hexa/octa/dodecagon-sided concertinas as opposed to the square Chemnitzer Concertinas and have more of a love for the ebony, ivory, rosewood, silvery, ended leather bellows type as opposed to the mother-of-pearl, rhinestone, sparkly, campy looking types of concertinas? Okay I'll admit that I love my old Wheatstones, with their beautiful, natural varnished look... but when I see pictures of those other kinds of "concertinas" I just cringe a little. Is it just me or do others feel the same? --- Patrick

On pages 10 and 11 they have the layout for the "Triumph Concertina". (Does it go around saying things like accordions are for him to "poop on"? Okay maybe 2 people will get that joke. ) Anyway it's like the English layout got fatter by a column. A duet, is it? Does it have enough sharps and flats to be fully chromatic? --- Patrick

I followed much the same path you did except I went to the English from the Anglo a few months in. I just like being able to "think music" and have the notes go... the push-me-pull-you of the anglo was too frustrating to me. Going to the English, it's been 2 years now, made all the difference in the world and I'm never turning back! Though I'll admit there's some thought about a Duet, but... neah I like my EC! --- Patrick

I suspect that the nickel silver reeds are just louder than brass reeds though? --- Patrick

Hmmm... baffles you say? I'm going to have to open "Barry" up and take a look then! But yeah, wood thing in there... I guess to best answer to being drowned out is to drown them in return.. go figure.. heh. Nice looking 'tinas!! --- Patrick

I have its older brother from 1851, with ivory buttons... and it just sounds so lovely! We're calling him "Barry" (from "Baritone," of course) and I just love playing it! But yeah, some of the lower reeds do take a bit of time to speak, but it's worth it I think! I do wish it was louder as I easily get drowned out by 3 guitars and a banjo. (Who wouldn't?) My photos are Here... and would love to see yours! --- Patrick

Well, I started with a $50 POS Chinese Anglo, and eventually moved to English. It's not bad to start with cheaper instruments, decide you like it, and move up, IMHO. I might say to someone who is 100% certain that they want to play the instrument that buying the $1k-$2k instrument would be a good choice because they *could* sell it later if they change their mind... IMHO there's nothing wrong with starting with a "student quality" (and I use the term here loosely) instrument to see if it's really for them. I'd have choked myself if I'd spent $1,000 on a quality Anglo only to then figure out I needed to play English... Much like guitars and violins have the student versions, why not with concertinas? Besides, leave the more expensive quality instruments to the people who REALLY want to play them! I mean that a little tongue-in-cheek, of course... but there's nothing sadder than an instrument in a glass case, or a box, not being played. As it is I've told my wife that if I die, and provided my concertinas don't go with me, to SELL the instruments if she's not going to play them. She doesn't need to hang on to them as a keepsake or anything, and we've no kids to pass them to... so give someone the opportunity to learn and to pass it on! In either case we need more concertina interest in this world! --- Patrick

My concertinas are "previously loved!" --- Patrick

Ryan, whereabouts do you live? Perhaps there's a fellow concertina player around who could check it out when you get it? --- Patrick

Learning music theory can be a good thing. Look into the "Circle of Fifths" sometime, if you get a chance. If you can understand that then that'll go a little ways to understanding, well.. more stuff? --- Patrick

How to tell what key a song is in? Well, you play Anglo, so rule of thumb would be if you play a note along with a song and it sounds horrible.. it's probably not in the key your Anglo is. So try the next row. Repeat until you run outta rows! Seriously though, sometimes the key a song is in will be the note it starts with, or the second or third note. Okay, a little too vague. Most trad. Irish music is in D, but sometimes in G, and a rare sometimes in C, with very rare sometimes in F. If someone is playing guitar, and they're not capoed, it's unlikely they'll play in F or Bb, as I've heard that B-Major, or maybe Bb Major is a difficult chord to play. Or so I've been told. I play English, with lots of sharps and flats, so I usually just play around with notes that sound right hoping for a song in C, I'll usually start with a G. A G note sounds okay in songs that are in C, D, G, and sometimes F. If G doesn't work, then there's probably more sharps or flats than I wanna play. But then I'll work my way up and down the scale, just listening to what works and what doesn't. Does F need to be F#? Then maybe it's in D or G... but if I work my way up to C, I figure out whether C needs to be C or C#, if it does and only F# and C# are the accidentals then I know it's in D! If I'm having to use a Bb, then I know it's probably in F. Sometimes an Eb will show up and I'll know it's in Bb. Minor chords... those are another ball of wax, but basically I'll know that the third is flat, and sometimes the 7th (I think?) There's a lot more music theory to it, but really it's a combination of knowing some music theory, having sharps and flats to play around with, and having an ear for what sounds wrong and what sounds right. With a little playing around I can usually have something going for a song I've never heard by the time the chorus comes around. (Unless it's in F# Major, or in a key with more than 2+ sharps or flats!) One thing I have learned though, guitar or banjo capoing aside, is that most of the time when people are playing musical instruments---particularly folk instruments---they'll tend to be in the simple keys for that instrument. A recorder can play in C, but can add an F# or C# can be in D or G as well. So be aware of the instruments you are playing with, their limitations, and that goes a long way in figuring out the key signature. It's really only snooty composers of songs that will put it in F# Major or some other nasty key signature with 4-5 sharps or flats---they don't have to play the blasted thing! --- Patrick