gcoover

Quite a lot of sea songs and shanties can be played on the 20-button Anglo, but of course the 30-button gives you more options for different keys which might be important for matching the ranges of certain singers. Shameless plug time: Sea Songs for 20-button Anglo Concertina has 96 songs, excerpted from Pirate Songs for Concertina and Sailor Songs for Concertina (both of which also have songs for 30-button Anglos). And yes, the whole sudden shanty phenomenon is great to see, perhaps building on the interest in Sea of Thieves and Assassin's Creed. Sales of The Pocket Sh

Bertram Levy is back! His Anglo concertina tutor, The Anglo Concertina Demystified, is now back through Rollston Press in paperback and Kindle in a print-replica edition of the 1985 original. But instead of cassettes (remember them?) and CD's (also becoming a thing of the past), it now has QR code links to the audio files. And there are a lot of them, 74 in total. It's written for the 30-button C/G Anglo, and he uses his own notation and tablature system, numbering the buttons 1-15 on both sides, and using "i" and "o" for push and pull. He also indicates the fingering h

I also just now gave it a try in the key of C and didn't find any problematic C chord issues. There's a fairly advanced arrangement in Sailor Songs for Concertina in the key of D with only one long-ish section on the pull if that key works for you. Riding the air valve is good when you can plan ahead, and you can also leave out some of the left hand harmony notes which take more air. Leaving out the third works really well (no need for full chords). Also, you can play brief staccato chords, just tapping them for emphasis, no need to play big heavy lengthy chords. It's very common f

The version in the video is essentially in the key of C, perfect for Anglo, and easily playable with harmonies on a 20-button. It was on the original list of tunes to put in the books, but lost out since it is obviously still in copyright. Hopefully you can pick it out from this video! Gary

Here's the source of James's birthdate of 1879, from the man himself, complete with some really charming misspellings: www.genealogy.com/ftm/b/a/r/William-Barney/FILE/0010page.html

Just wondering if anyone is familiar with Arthur James Richardson and his brother Harry (Edward Willian Henry Richardson) who both played concertina around 1900-1920 or so? I stumbled across a newspaper article from 1905 mentioning a performance in Honolulu by James on "the Anglo-Chromatic and English concertinas" accompanied by his daughter, Miss Elsie Richardson. His set list included: Selection from Il Trovatore, "In Happy Moments" (Maritana), "Scenes that are Brightest" (Maritana), "Cherry Ripe" (and old English ballad), Patriotic airs, Selection from Les Cloches des Corneville

A most excellent choice for a starting book, even if I am a bit biased! You'll find the tablature is the easiest to follow, most of the tunes have corresponding videos via QR codes, and there are now well over a dozen other books that utilize that same notation and tab system, including 75 Irish Session Tunes for Anglo Concertina. There is an absolutely bewildering array of tab and notation systems out there for Anglo, so be careful before you purchase - it's hard enough without trying to mix the different notation systems. But having said that, the Anglo is very much a

I asked John what his formal title is, now that he is semi-royalty, and he replied he can be addressed as "Your Memberness" - while bowing/curtseying, of course! Gary

The really beautiful version of "Sweetness of Mary" played by Tricolor (Anglo concertina, guitar, octave mandolin) and The Corona (piano, drums, pipes, string bass) seems to have completely vanished off the internet... but the good news is I was able to grab a copy of it before it disappeared. The bad news is it is 34MB, but I'm happy to share it via WeTransfer if anyone wants to send me a PM with their email. Gary

How about showcases instead of competitions? Gary

It's amazing what turns up on the internet sometimes... A couple of months ago I stumbled across this c.1985 promotional photo of my old band, The Four Bricks out of Hadrian's Wall, on eBay. The really weird thing is although we recognize the venue (Rockefellers, in Houston, TX) none of us had ever seen this photo before, or have any memory of when or why it was taken, or by whom, or why everyone is holding my concertinas and melodeon (which they didn't play)! And... why am I hanging from the ceiling? Gary

The ever amazing Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, absolutely phenomenal playing. The

Fear not, it's hiding in the three little dots in the upper right corner. Re: playing the Jeffries Duet, Stuart Estell makes the interesting comment "I find it much more manageable than the Maccann keyboard in remoter keys. The Maccann makes me think, the Jeffries just lets me play.” And yes, it appears the last Jeffries Duet was made in the 1970's by Crabb. But now that there is The Jeffries Duet Tutor, perhaps it might help those struggling towards mastery like Gavin's and Michael Hebbert's playing. Or, just playing for fun - I find I spend a lot of time just experim

Re: the link, if you cut and paste it, it works. Gary

That sounds too high to me, for that price maybe get a new McNeela Swan or Blackthorn? I'm sure (and hoping) others will chip in about what else might be good at that price point. Gary