gcoover

For those of you interested in learning this fun tune, the dots and the Anglo tabs for "In the Toyshop" can be found on p.54 of The Anglo Concertina Music of Alan Day, published last year by Rollston Press. There are lots of other great tunes in the book too, with QR codes links to Alan playing them. Gary

Looks like I used the Arial font for the Button Map circles. Gary

If any bellows causes you to struggle, it prevents you from breathing life into the tune. Unfortunately, cheaper instruments typically have stiffer bellows and slower reeds, which only compounds the problem. As for what you can expect at the upper end, I once had the wonderful opportunity to play Adrian Brown's new baritone Dipper Anglo, and for the first time ever, I didn't even feel the bellows, absolutely magical. With luck, someday you'll find something in between that suits the music you want to play. But in the meanwhile, if you can get the Rochelle to sing for you, keep at it and know it will make your next instrument so much more enjoyable. Gary

Since the topic has strayed into Welsh music, here are a couple of tunebooks that are highly recommended by Mick Tems and those who do Welsh folk dancing: Blodaur Grug, and Cadw Twmpath, each with 100 traditional Welsh tunes and published by the Welsh Folk Dance Society. At the request of the good folks at Marcus Music, an Anglo book with tablature for Welsh tunes is in the planning stages but might be a year or so away. Gary

Since most people are only familiar with piano accordions, I just tell them it's a forerunner to the accordion. Maybe throw in something about Charles Wheatstone since they might recognize that name. Gary

I think it was Spiers & Boden who made this very popular about 10 years ago. Here's the always amazing John Spiers playing it on concertina:

I love the idea of your boss thinking you are furiously typing away and working really hard, when in reality you are just playing your favorite tunes and listening on headphones!

It looks like the Freestyle2 could be easily converted into a practice Anglo or Hayden Duet (and maybe even a Jeffries Duet) by removing some of the excess buttons and reassigning the rest. And the white Go60 that Aeolina mentions could perhaps be configured to mimic a Crane or Maccann Duet. A nice challenge for all the boffins and fettlers amongst us! Gary

Just in time for Christmas, from Barbara Steinger of the Akkordeonschule Aarau in Switzerland, a new concertina book: 55 Christmas Songs from All Over the World for Anglo Concertina (Rollston Press, 2025). All have melodies in musical notation with chords, plus the same easy Anglo tablature used in Rollston Press books. Available now from Akkordeonschule Aarau and from Amazon worldwide. Enjoy! Gary Here's a list of the tunes: 1. Aba Heidschi Bumbeidschi (But go to sleep) 2 Adeste fideles (O come, all ye faithful) 3 Alle Jahre wieder (Every cold December) 4 Am Weihnachtsbaum (On Christmas trees) 5 A szép Szűz Mária (Sweet Maria rocked her son) 6 Corramos, corramos (Let’s run, let’s run) 7 Der Christbaum ist der schönste Baum (Of all the trees in forest green) 8 Entre le bœuf et l’âne gris (Next to an ox and a donkey grey) 9 Er is een kindeke geboren op aard (A little child on the earth has been born) 10 Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (A great and mighty wonder) 11 Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen (The time is come, let us sing the glad story) 12 Es kommt ein Schiff geladen (There comes a galley, laden) 13 Es wird scho`glei dumba (The night is approaching) 14 Fröhliche Weihnacht überall (Merry Christmas, everywhere) 15 Hei, tonttu-ukot hyppikää (Hey little elf men jump) 16 Hola, Hola (Hello, hello) 17 Ihr Kinderlein kommet (O children come quickly) 18 Il est né le divin enfant (Christ is born, let us dance and sing) 19 In dulci jubilo (Good Christian Men Rejoice) 20 Inmitten der Nacht (At deep dead of night) 21 Jingle Bells 22 Kaj se vam zdi (Lullay, sweet Jesus-Child) 23 Kling Glöcklein, klingelingeling (Ring, sleigh-bells, ting-a-ling-a-ling) 24 Kommet ihr Hirten (Come all you shepherds) 25 La Ronda de la estrella (The star round) 26 Lasst uns froh und munter sein (Let us be happy and cheerful) 27 Leise rieselt der Schnee (Snow falls silent and deep) 28 Les anges dans nos campagnes (Angels, from the realms of glory) 29 Lulajże, Jezuniu (Lullay, sweet Jesus-Child) 30 Macht hoch die Tür (Opens the door) 31 Maria durch ein Dornwald ging (Now Mary went a-wandering) 32 Mennyből az angyal (The angel is from heaven) 33 Morgen Kinder wird’s was geben (Come tomorrow to the party ) 34 Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus will come tonight) 35 När det lider mot jul (When it is suffering towards Christmas) 36 När juldagsmorgon glimmar (When Christmas morning glimmers) 37 Nesta noite Natal (This natal night) 38 Noi siamo i tre re (We are the three) 39 Nu är det jul igen (Now it’s Christmas again) 40 O du fröhliche (What a blessed time) 41 O laufet ihr Hirten (So hurry, you shepherds) 42 O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree) 43 Pásli ovce Valaši (Shepherds keeping watch by night) 44 Quando nascette Ninno (When Jesus Christ was born) 45 Schneeflöckchen, Weissröckchen (O snowflakes, how gently) 46 Still, still, still, weils Kindlein schlafen will! (Still, still, still, the baby lies quite still!) 47 Stille Nacht (Silence night) 48 Süsser die Glocken nie klingen (Hark to the bells in the steeple) 49 Tochter Zion, freue dich! (See, the conqu’ring hero comes) 50 Venid pastorcillos (Come little shepherds) 51 Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her (From highest heaven I come to tell) 52 W żłobie leży (Infant holy) 53 Was soll das bedeuten? (What can this be happ’ning) 54 We wish you a Merry Christmas 55 Zu Bethlehem geboren (In Bethlehem’s dark city)

And then there are some whose only goal is to play at breakneck speed, regardless of whether it sounds musical or not, thinking it makes them the best musicians. Who was it that said: "You should never use the tune to show off your skills - use your skills to show off the tune"? Gary

More please! Awesome combination. Gary

Just a quick update - two weeks ago I spent a delightful day in Milan with Dorian, seeing the sights, hitting the cafes, and talking and playing concertina in the big park behind Sforza Castle. Although he was initially looking for something like a Rochelle, as a musician he really needed something less frustrating, so luckily I was able to get him up and running with a nice 1950's metal-ended Wheatstone. He's a quick study with a high level of interest - I expect we'll hear some great playing from him in the very near future! Gary

... and done! Gary

Now available in paperback and Kindle - The Anglo Concertina Music of Scan Tester, with foreword by Will Duke. 104 pages, A4 size, with 45 QR code links to the playing of Scan Tester and Will Duke. This is the musical follow-up to the 2024 reprint of Reg Hall's excellent 1990 biography of Scan Tester - I Never Played to Many Posh Dances. As many of you know, Scan is best known for playing mostly in an octave style for stepdances and schottisches in village pubs in Sussex in the early to mid 1900's. The book contains 41 tunes with musical notation along with Anglo tablature, plus four additional tunes with melody only. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Will Duke on this! Will is the custodian of Scan's instruments, and last year he and his wife Chris graciously showed me many of the places where Scan lived and played music. Hope you enjoy learning his tunes! Gary THE TUNES: The Bird on Nellie’s Hat Broom Dance General Jackson Schottische Heel and Toe Polka Jenny Lind Polka Hi-Lo-Schottische Hopscotch Schottische Indian Polka Irish Washerwoman Last Figure of the Lancers The Man in the Moon The Monkey Hornpipe No.1 Stepdance No.2 Stepdance Not for Joe The Nutley Waltz Polka 1 Polka 2 Polka 3 Polka 5 Polka 6 Pretty Little Dear The Reel Schottische 1 Schottische 2 Schottische 3 Schottische 5 Schottische 7 Schottische No.9 Scotland the Brave Seventeenth of March Stepdance 2 Stepdance 3 Stepdance 4 Sweet Smiling Faces Untitled Jig The Vienna Waltz Waltz Waltz 2 Waltz (Untitled) While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks by Night (Tunes with no tablature: The Blue Ribbon-ish Polka, Dame Durden, The Humming Schottische, Seaside Tune)

(I'll talk Dan into doing a Boeremusiek book yet!)