gcoover

More commemorative than morbid, just wondering how many concertina "founders" final resting places have been identified? We know Sir Charles Wheatstone is buried in Kensal Green cemetery in London (with a surprisingly plain headstone), and William Kimber's headstone has that wonderfully carved stone concertina and Morris bells in Headington Quarry, Oxfordshire. The hunt was on at one time for Professor Maccann's final stop - any news? But what about Charles Jeffries, Louis Lachenal, George Jones, Harry Crabb, Giulio Regondi, Perci Honri, etc? If anyone can find these folks, it's the sleuths here at cnet! Gary

Hey Steve, just now saw this - well played indeed! Perfect accompaniment for this song, and the "boat whistle" at the end is a really nice touch. Thanks for your kind words, glad the books have helped. This song should have been in the Sailor Songs book! Gary

Yes, that's the best estimate for the original number of Jeffries Duets - some have undoubtedly fallen by the wayside over the years and countless others have undergone conversion therapy into Anglos. The saddest one I know of is a sweet little 27-button mini JD only recently Anglofied and now being offered at a really exorbitant price even with a button arrangement that is still far from standard. How many buttons is your Jeffries Duet, and what is the home key? With the upcoming Jeffries Duet tutor there might actually be a decent market for it! Gary

For Jeffries Duets (C. Jeffries and Jeffries Bros), the best guess after conferring with Chris Algar is maybe 200-300 max, if even that. There are at least a handful of Jeffries Englishes and Maccanns and Cranes that have turned up, plus one mini. As for Anglos, not a clue! Gary

Wow, what great playing and what a professional video! Where do we buy the album??? Gary

Great combination! When I lived in Houston, John Liestman and I worked up a couple of Northumbrian piper duets and the sound of the pipes and the concertina was absolutely magical. Gary

It's chlorides in sweat that can dissolve nickel-silver, so stainless steel ends have been the savior for me. But as to internal corrosion, perhaps due to proximity to the ocean? Gary

Congratulations - especially since it made the cut and did not end up on the editing room floor. And pretty cool to have Mr Macawber/Dr Who actually play it! Gary

For those coming to Old Pal, what sort of workshops would you like me to do? We can work on harmonic style chords, third row demystification, or for beginners we can take one tune from single melody through various types of accompaniment. The Rollston Press books will also be available at the "friends" discount to attendees. It looks like Seth Hamon will also be attending - he's inherited the Harold Herrington workshop and is already working on new models and improvements, so it will be a great chance to hear what he's up to and his future concertina plans. And, I think Dan and Erica forgot to mention the absolutely incredible East Texas BBQ available near the festival site. That's the one food I really miss living in Hawaii (everything here is Korean BBQ, not the same by any stretch of the imagination). We always make at least one pilgrimage to "Shep's", and also find time for good Mexican food too. Good friends, good food and good music - doesn't get much better than that! Gary

A quick update... there's been a fantastic response from Jeffries Duet owners and players, the tutor is approaching 200 pages with super simple tunes all the way to ridiculously difficult, including many transcribed from Michael Hebbert's brilliant album The Rampin' Cat. With luck, it should be available later this month. It showcases the logic and versatility of the Jeffries Duet layout, and uses a notation system that might work for other duets as well. As always, a real treat to pull it all together, with several videos to be posted soon. Gary

I think the OP is looking for song accompaniment instruction, and he's right that it's not covered in any books other than just showing chord charts. For the upcoming Jeffries Duet book I'm including a couple of Nick Robertshaw's songs with his accompaniment notated, but haven't thought about doing this for AC or EC since I don't sing along with them. Do you all think there would be interest in a book of song accompaniments, for either instrument? In the meanwhile, best suggestion would be to listen carefully and try to mimic EC singers like Louis Killen, Tony Rose, etc., and Anglo singers like John Kirkpatrick, Andy Turner, Jody Kruskal, etc. Gary

The gray pearloid one reminds me of the big square "Accordeophone" made by Lachenal, but I've never seen a Maccann duet version. Gary

Perhaps try using alternate fingers on the same note (pushing or pulling in the same direction)? Phil Cunningham (of Silly Wizard) often uses four different fingers on one note of his accordion but that's a little harder to do on concertina. Otherwise, a very light quick touch is what you need, as if the button is too hot to touch. Gary

Sharing a couple of photos of Dave. Happy to announce his book Ditty Box is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Glad to have helped this happen before his passing. Gary