yfried

The Old Fashioned Slow Way.....great video of Bob Tedrow and Jason Burns at their concertina and guitar shop. Yvonne

It was interesting to see that Ella Mae O'Dwyer appeared to be playing the air button with the index finger of her right hand. I was also struck by the fact that it looked like she had some arthritis in her joints. I wonder if she had decreased range of motion in her right thumb, and that is why she was playing with her right index finger.......or was she self taught and she taught herself to play the air button that way? Yvonne

Has anyone on the forum used the following Score management systems? Forscoreapp for iPad or MusicReader? http://www.forscoreapp.com/ http://www.musicreader.net/ Has anyone used the Footime Page Turner from Bili Inc? http://www.bilila.com/page_turner__ipad There was a recent article in the New York Times about the Borromeo String Quartet and the use of these types of products. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/arts/music/16string.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=borreo%20quartet&st=cse If you have used them, any pros or cons about their use? Yvonne

The recording was done for Wally Carroll. :-) Yvonne

Seamonkey and Firefox both use Html5.0 rendering engines. HTML 5 does not support the frameset tag. It's been deprecated. So using them just causes both browsers to skip rendering those parts. Also, there's a DOCTYPE declaration error which is further confusing the browser. Use the W3C's validation page for more info and hints on how to fix.... And now, back to our regularly scheduled thread.... Also doesn't work in either Chrome or Safari. :-( Yvonne

Not available in my area :-( Yvonne

Try it now... I think I fixed it... Paul I'm going to try a few funny things: Looks Great........ Yvonne

I think that 'comfort' is key, along with being relaxed. This is almost exactly the playing position which I adopt. Regards, Peter. http://www.youtube.com/user/ConcertinaTuition#p/f/1/4esXds_v6xk Thank you for the video reference......that is very helpful. I'll also look at the rest of your videos as well. Yvonne

Yes, you are right.......I was sitting in an unusually low chair (not comfortably) but because the laptop taking the picture was on a low table........what brought this all up was that I was trying to test posting a concertina video and was relatively "horrified" by how sloppy the technique looked. I've always looked at experienced players and just presumed that my technique looked like theirs and was surprised at how all over everywhere the ends of the instrument and the bellows were during my playing. I should probably try this in a normal chair where my feet are flat on the floor (I am 5 foot 2 and normally consider myself on the "short" side). Thank you for your comments. Yvonne

In this movie, it looks to me like there is too much play or looseness in the way that I am playing the concertina. The bellows seem to be at angles rather than straight on a lot of the time. The Lady's Pantelettes Typically, I place the concertina on my left thigh with the point of the hexagon on my thigh. I am wondering if my hand placement is incorrect. Here are the 3 ways that I could hold the concertina: Pictures of Hand Positions The most comfortable one for me is the one at about 140 degree angle. The one where the point of the hexagon is pointing towards the sky. If you have any thoughts, I would appreciate it if you would share them with me. Yvonne Playing a Bflat/F Carroll Concertina #052.

Thank you all for your comments. The thought of opening my eyes while playing, especially in front of people, introduces a whole new level of distraction........makes me think of trying to do high jumps over the bar when I was in high school. Seems particularly difficult and challenging. But I definitely will challenge myself with that :-) Yvonne

I have been playing the Anglo concertina now for 5 years. In the last 8 months I have finally learned how to learn a piece by ear. Before that I always had to read the music and play the piece over and over again and eventually I would have it memorized. I find that I am learning patterns of fingerings, little runs of notes that seem to exist in different tunes that I've learned. I close my eyes and I'm able to play a set of 3 reels that I learned by ear. I hear the music as though I'm not actually the person playing the notes. Yet I can vary my phrasing and alter the sound of what I am hearing. I am no longer struggling trying to find which button plays which note on the push or the pull. So, is this feeling that I have, when I close my eyes and play the concertina, and it sounds like music and I can't believe that I'm the one making the music.....is this feeling that I have what it feels like to be at one with the instrument? To be a musician? Yvonne

Go for it and have fun, Yvonne. You can always put up a sign that says you are donating the $$ to a local charity. Then it's a win-win for you and an organization that needs the $$. You can also put up a sign that says you're a poor physician in need of money. ... Sure. Tell 'em that due to the economic downturn, there are too few people who can afford private health care, so private physicians are also suffering. Or you could have a sign that says something like Laughter Music is the best medicine, but I also provide more traditional forms of treatment. Very cute.........Thank you......... Yvonne

I have given a lot of thought to buskering. I live in Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and there are tons of people walking the streets in the summer. What has held me back was my lack of repertoire and because I am a physician, I have thought that if people who know me, see me, they'll wonder what the H I'm doing in need of money. But, after reading your post, I think that if my impulse is to actually do it, I really should. I think it will give me confidence about playing in front of others and what a great time I might have talking about the concertina! Thank you for your post. Yvonne

Beautifully played!

Oh, I don't know about that humidity. Irish Arts 2009 had great weather for 5 of the 6 days I was there. Day temps in the 70s to low 80s (fahrenheit) and the evenings could be pleasantly chilly into the 40s. I camped by a rushing stream in the beautiful Catskill Mountains and attended dynamite sessions at night led by the Kane sisters, Blackie O'Connell, Edell Fox, Caitlin Nic Gabhann and many more. Yes, there were bleary eyed concertina classes as well, mornings and afternoons. (Are you eating your heart out yet, Yvonne?!) Yes, indeed........eating my heart out :-) The rushing stream sounds especially appealing! I was seriously considering the trip....just couldn't pull it together. But, maybe next year! Yvonne

Yes, I second the recommendation of Greg Jowaisas. He's done excellent work for me. Tuned and repaired my Jeffries and was reasonably priced. Yvonne

Thanks Leo. Isn't the Internet Wonderful! Get to hear the music and avoid the humidity :-) Yvonne

Michael, Love your pictures on the plane over NYC. Great shots! What a privilege to fly there and see everything from the air. Also, got a big kick out of your pictures of the food on the airplane alternating with the iPad :-) Yvonne

This is my 4th year playing an Anglo. I play a lot faster now than I did last year, primarily due to having a much better concertina. What I enjoy doing is warming up for 20 to 30 minutes playing scales: C Scale, G Scale and D Scale. Maybe later I'll work on the A Scale. I play up and down the scales, first slowly and evenly with the same volume of sound. As my fingers warm up, then I try playing faster. Once I've warmed up, I find it much easier to play the tunes that I'm working on at a faster pace. Yvonne

How about taking a tin whistle on the trip to play when you are lonesome for your tina? It would still be a challenging instrument to learn, very mobile, not expensive and not as impactful if stolen. Yvonne

This will be my 4th time (started playing in 2006). I love the experience! I think that Bruce McCaskey has put together a wonderful website: http://www.angloplayer.com/index.htm And, there's information on concertina.net, as well (from 2000) : http://www.concertina.net/nhics2000_west_cw.html

Very nicely done. I like the jazzy sound of the concertina. Reminds me of music that I might hear in an artistic movie. Yvonne