michael stutesman

Thankyou for all your input. I thought the story of the lawyer seen busking on the street was particularly good. It's a shame that busking has decreased overall in recent years. It seems to be more accepted in other countries than in the U.S. Michael

I have a strong interest in busking and 'street music'. I would be very interested to hear of anyone's experience busking with the concertina. Any first hand experience and tips would be most welcome. Michael

Anyone care to venture an opinion as to why changing the valves would change the tuning. It makes no sense to me.

And he's one of the best. Valves are usually installed with the split (hairy) side *down* against the reedpan. I can't imagine Steve installing one backwards. Vavles tend to curl toward the "skin" side rather than split side (one of the reasons their installed split side down). I recommend NOT oiling the valve. Just replace it. Oil may attract dust and/or make it adhere somewhat to the reedpan. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why hair sheep is used for valves - hair sheep have far less oil (grease/fat/lanolin) than do wool sheep. -- Rich -- I think we are using the term 'hairy side' differently, or else I am totally confused as to which side of the valve shoud be against the reed pan. I was using the term 'hair side' to mean the side of the leather that the hair grew on which is actually the smooth surface of the leather. I think you were using the term 'hairy' to mean the rough or split side. Is this correct?

Steve Dickinson at Wheatstone did the valve work. I still wonder what actually makes the valve curl. It seems to me that it would have to be shrinkage of the hair side of the leather. This makes me wonder if there isn't something you could put on it to relax the fibers like lanolin which is the natural oil in sheep leather.

does anyone know what makes valves curl? My english concertina had new valves placed ten years ago and one of them is now curling up (the much used low D of course).

Thankyou all for your input. I never guessed I would start a 'hot topic'. I took the plunge and ordered an edeophone from Chris Algar and she arrived today. She may be eighty years old but she's drop dead gorgeous and sings like a bird!!

I don't think the sound of a Jackie would be a handicap for a child learning. The only drawback I see to a Jackie as a starter instrument is that the distance between the thumbstrap and the pinky rest is a bit on the long side which could be a problem for small hands. However,I think the pinky rest could be moved a little without too much difficulty.

I have a theory that since Mr. Lachenal pioneered techniques for mass production of concertinas that there might be less variation in quality between Lachenals than between Wheatstones. (even though there is still significant variation by all accounts). I would think that adapting mechanized techniques would create more uniformity than having everything handmade. I haven't seen enough instruments to test this theory. Any thoughts?

Thankyou for all your input. Unfortunately I live in the states and traveling to Barleycorn Concertinas would add a bit too much to the price.

Sticky-backed velcro. A strip of the soft stuff about 2.5cm long on the concertina, and the long bit is the "rough" stuff with the sticky scraped off. I've been sticking velcro on my concertina for many years and (I just checked) can't see any marks on the wood underneath where velcro used to be. Depending on your concertina type/finish you might want to be careful though. I have the strap so it's got just a little bit of tension in it when the bellows are closed. Also, my guess is the strap wouldn't work well on a standard treble, since it obviously limits the amount the bellows can extend. The idea is that although it means you have to change bellows direction more often, the stability is such that it doesn't matter when you do. I don't understand why you think it might not work on a standard treble. Because the instrument is smaller than a tenor treble?

Your playing appears so effortless. Very beautiful. I've never seen a concertina played with a strap like that. How is it anchored?

I am contemplating purchasing an Edeophone and would appreciate any comments from members who own one. I've heard the tone quality described as 'more like a clarinet' than a Wheatstone. That sounds very appealing to me. Does anyone know of a good recording of an edeophone?

Thankyou all for your feedback. I've never had a raised end concertina in my hands. In pictures it looks like the buttons would be higher with respect to your thumb and little finger which is why I thought it might play differently. Evidently this is not the case.

I would like to know from you english system players if playing an instrument with raised ends makes a big difference in how it plays versus an instrumnet with flat ends. Michael

I've had my Jackie a little over a year now. Like you I wanted to improve my reading. I am particularly fond of waltzes which I sometimes play for dancers. They work very well on the english concertina. Might I suggest 'The Waltz Book' by Bill Matthiesen as a nice source of melodies for your practice. The slow tempo and relatively simple melodies make good pieces for learning. regards, Michael

I've had my Jackie just over a year and it's been great fun. I agree with savouring the anticipation and waiting until Christmas....but it's not a popular approach in this country. Immediate gratification is more the rule.

Hmm. If you hold the concertina, using the pinkie rest, I'd say, play with the same finger and use it as an embellishment. If you are sitting down, holding your concertina on your knee, and use 4 fingers, you may try to tilt the instrument forward a bit and use two adjuscent fingers on two dajuscent buttons. Or learn to lift fingers fast enugh, so you'll use two fingers for G/D, but you remove one, that's in a way, fast enough, so it wan't matter. But from my limited experience, as you start learning 3 note chrods and melody, the question about which fingers to use, will fall off by itself. But why would you play Morris tunes on an English? Just for the heck of it? I don't think you'll learn anything special. You already play them on two instruments! Go forward, challenge yourself with the unknown. I think there is a general rule of never playing two consecutive notes with the same finger, even if you can get away with it with a slow tempo tune it's better to practice using separate fingers. If it is the same note G,G,G you would alternate index and middle fingers. In the case you mentioned G,D,G I would use the middle finger to reach up to the D.

Hmm. If you hold the concertina, using the pinkie rest, I'd say, play with the same finger and use it as an embellishment. If you are sitting down, holding your concertina on your knee, and use 4 fingers, you may try to tilt the instrument forward a bit and use two adjuscent fingers on two dajuscent buttons. Or learn to lift fingers fast enugh, so you'll use two fingers for G/D, but you remove one, that's in a way, fast enough, so it wan't matter. But from my limited experience, as you start learning 3 note chrods and melody, the question about which fingers to use, will fall off by itself. But why would you play Morris tunes on an English? Just for the heck of it? I don't think you'll learn anything special. You already play them on two instruments! Go forward, challenge yourself with the unknown.

Sorry I've not posted before and am learning how. How much do you want for you Lachenal?