gcoover

We can certainly put in some introductory bits for those who may be starting on G/D as their first and only concertina - good suggestion! Gary

Yes, there are probably a million tunes out there in a lot of different books, but our goal with this book is to help G/D Anglo players join in on the most common English session tunes. I don't play G/D myself, so I need to rely on the good graces of those who do and who are also willing to share their playing with others. Come on, all ye G/D players - I need dots, tabs, mp3s, photos! (send to info@rollstonpress.com). Gary

Yes, let's see how the G/D players out there play the standard English session tunes. And it doesn't have to be beautifully notated like Jody's tune, here's an example of one of the many tunes I worked on with Adrian Brown for "A Garden of Dainty Delights" - pencil scratching is perfectly fine, and you can just send a photo (like Adrian often did). Whatever's easiest for you, and I'll find a way to make it work. Gary

Perhaps it might also come from the piano/keyboard tradition of pushing a button/key and getting a note? Gary

Lovely - that's your first free sample! Ok G/D Anglo players, send your pdfs/mp3s/photos to info@rollstonpress.com and I'll start processing them into tunes for the book. Just make sure they're common English session tunes, and traditional, or if published after 1923 we'll need print permission from the composer. This is going to be great fun! Gary

Do any of you all fancy collaborating on a book of English Session Tunes for G/D Anglo? There's been a lot of discussion here lately about preferring G/D Anglo for English sessions, but as you know there are no books out there to help others play along who might have these instruments and are just learning. I'm thinking G/D Anglo players could submit their favorite session tunes and how they play them, then I'll put the ol' Coover Tab on 'em, give everyone credit (can even plug their local session), and then package it up into paperback and Kindle. And here's the best part - all proceeds would go to CNET. A nice way for all of us to give back and help others at the same time. Arrangements wouldn't need to be fancy, single note melodies would be just fine. You could mark up printed music in whatever notation/tab system you use, or even send an mp3 that I can pick apart. How about photos too? You or your session. Let's make it something like the old "Readers Tapes" from the days of yore, and with luck, we'll get a nice geographic spread from all across the UK and elsewhere. What say ye? Let's crowdsource this thing! Your humble scribe, Gary PS - I might even do a follow-up book for the same tunes arranged for C/G...

Thanks for thinking it sounds nice through my laptop's built-in microphone - hardly the best quality recording device! And I live in a noisy place so tend to play a little too loudly and less expressive when recording to try to overcome the traffic noise. I've played a lot of hybrids over the years and most have a very distinctive accordion-y sound in the lower ranges that I don't particularly care for - not quite sure how to describe it but they typically lack the clarity and punch of concertina reeds. Having said that, I'd put my Herrington up against any concertina-reeded instrument for sound quality (and volume), and my Wolverton as well (which has a slightly warmer tone but plays incredibly evenly both loudly and very quietly). Wolf is exactly right, it's much better to hear and check out the various models in person if possible, one of the many reasons the various concertina gatherings are so important. I totally lucked out on the Wolverton, buying it sight unseen and unheard - yikes! I always like buying instruments from people I know (Harold was a longtime friend and Jake allowed me to use one of his arrangements in Anglo Concertina in the Harmonic Style), and since my Herrington's coil springs(!) were showing signs of imminent failure I had to move quick. I tried a couple of vintage instruments but they just didn't measure up. Couldn't be more happy with the Wolverton - it's absolutely gorgeous and plays wonderfully - thanks Jake! Now, as to the insinuation that I'm a "great player"... my lawyers will be in touch! But I do like showing folks that you don't need a terribly expensive instrument to be able to play songs and tunes you like. For years I thought I needed a big expensive Jeffries until that one fateful day when I transcribed my first tune and realized it worked on my 30-button Herrington hybrid and sounded just fine. Gary

Taller handrests can help make that G-row easier to reach too. I find 1" high works best for me. These can either be specially ordered, or you can sometimes add a shim under the shorter handrests. Gary

Although I've owned but never really played G/D Anglo, I've tried with little success to find someone willing to author a tutor that I'd be interested in publishing. I keep beating on Jody Kruskal (who's a phenomenal G/D player) but he doesn't think there's a big enough market to make it worthwhile. Perhaps there is someone in the UK who plays G/D and could help with a book of common session tunes? Of course, the previous comment is very true about accompaniments being hard to quantify between so many players, but if the D/G melodeon is as dominant as many say, then one could tailor a tutor to match typical melodeon chord choices - "G/D Anglo for D/G Melodeon Players"??? Gary

Could be a decent starter instrument, if steel reeds and in tune (maybe can ask the seller, or ask for photos of the insides). Retuning is not cost-prohibitive, but it can run a couple hundred dollars or more if it also needs new pads and valves. Bellows look fairly good, but then we're only seeing them from two angles. Buying on eBay is a bit of a crapshoot (voice of experience), but I've sometimes even called sellers and had them play the odd note over the phone to check the tuning and pitch with an instrument on my end. Yes, the colored buttons would classify this a less-expensive "tutor" model originally. I'd stick with Wheatstone or Lachenal instruments if possible (there are others but you'll see these most often). You might occasionally run across the "May Fair" concertinas made by Wheatstone in the 1950's which will be in your price range though definitely built as budget models in their day. I'm sure others will chime in with additional suggestions, hope this helps! Gary

That would be Robin Beanland, composer and musical director of Rare, Ltd. (the company that created "Sea of Thieves"). And he did it all on a wheezy little 1860's Wheatstone or Lachenal EC, seen here with the music to "Grogg Mayles" which he so kindly allowed me to include in Pirate Songs for Concertina. Somewhere there's a video talking about how they selected concertina and hurdy gurdy for the soundtrack, but the exact link eludes me at the moment. Gary

Yes, Microsoft's "Sea of Thieves". It's exciting that two of the most popular online games about pirates and cowboys both feature the concertina - probably the best PR concertinas have had in years. And who knows, they could very lead to an unexpected and very welcomed renaissance! Gary

A lot of the EC's in your price range will have brass reeds (somewhat quieter), only 4-fold bellows (very limiting), and some of the 1860's ones will have spruce "baffles" (making them even quieter). Although some really good ones can appear on eBay, they can often need repairs and retuning which ultimately makes them more expensive. I would trust Barleycorn, Button Box, Greg Jowaisas and some of the others here on cnet for excellent advice and potential selection. Gary

For a lot of traditional music, it often sounds better when you just play the open 5th (leave out the far end of the triangle). And on the EC, you can often play that with one finger mashing down both buttons. Gary

Speaking of patterns, you can also think of EC chords in terms of triangles - I think these charts by William Meredith have been posted previously but here they are again. Chords can also be played outside the root triad, and across the two ends, but that's a little trickier to show, better to just experiment and find what you like! Gary