hjcjones

The problem with accordions, in English folk music anyway, is that all too often the people who play them seem content to play in quite a limited way. When someone brings an accordion to a session, my haert sinks because the likelihood is that they will play in a very turgid fashion with little rhythmic emphasis. And although they have 120 bass buttons, they'll ignore most of them in favour of a simple and unimaginative 3-chord trick. Fortunately there are exceptions to this, but not many, at least that's been my experience.

By the great Jim Garrett, he of the rocket-shaped guitar and well-turned pun. Star of Blackmore Folk Club (is that still going?) and other insalubrious dives.

Also continuing the discussion on terminology from the earlier thread, I wonder whether this "trouble" over "treble" isn't simply different usage between UK and US. I also play recorder, and the instrument which in the UK is known as a "treble" recorder is known as an "alto" in the US. Similarly there is the "descant" (UK) and "soprano" (US), both different terms for the same instrument. Since the concertina was an English invention it is perhaps not surprising that it adopted English terminology.

That may be true for "single note" Irish-style playing. For playing chordally you'd need to find button options for all the notes in the chord and the melody. It's still a useful way of balancing the air, but you can't rely on it all the time. For harmonic playing I would say the opposite to Micheal - careful and well-judged use of the air button is the mark of a skilful player. There are also different dynamics - I find I get more attack if I play on the push rather than on the pull. Perhaps that's just poor technique on my part, but I try to control my bellows so that I can be in a position to push or pull as best suits the music. To return to the topic, playing quietly requires good bellows control to keep a steady flow of air through the reed at low pressure. It also requires good reeds, so you may be limited by the performance of your instrument. Using the air button allows you to move the bellows faster while reducing the pressure, but it's only part of the technique. Anyway, it's a concertina, it's meant to be loud!

I doubt they are picking out concertina cases, it was probably just random. If anything, I'd expect a terrorist trying to smuggle a bomb would want to use inconspicous luggage rather than something that stands out as unusual.

I've other (non-musical) plans for the weekend, but if the weather is vile I might go to Shrewsbury. Does anyone know where the sessions are?

Do Crabb straps often have a logo? Neither of my Crabb concertinas have them, and I can't recall seeing one that has - although admittedly I've not been looking.

The link I provided above to the sound files doesn't seem to be working, so I attach them here:

How much are you asking for your concertina ATB Bob I'm asking for offers over £3500

It's helpful to have a "home position" where the fingers usually rest, so you know where you're starting from. For me this on the top 4 buttons of the C row. And it makes a certain amount of sense for the fingers not to stray too far from this position. But to make it a rigid rule would not be helpful. For a start, there are 5 columns and you've only got four fingers, so one will have to share. If you move up to an instrument with more buttons you may have 6 or even 7 columns, but you've still only got four fingers. It's important to get the right fingering for a phrase, and if this means using the "wrong" finger then that's fine - the right one is the one which works for you. Sometimes the fingering of a phrase will be affected by the fingerings of the phrases leading into and out of it. It's possibly not applicable to Irish music, but there's a nice little run from G-A-B on the push (or F-G-A on the pull) which I use a lot. 3rd finger on 3rd button C row, index finger on 2nd button accidental row, middle finger on 2nd button G row. To play this using the one-finger-per-column "rule" would mean jumping the middle finger from the outer to the inner row - it simply wouldn't flow. There are plenty of other examples. "Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise"

That weekend probably still works for me

I'd like to second everything that's been said. A wonderful weekend, and quite unlike most festivals, as Dave says, it's more like a family gathering. Mark rightly insists that its not a concertina festival, and indeed there is much more, but concertinas were particularly well catered for this year, with some fascinating workshops. I spent much of my time in the sessions in the Royal, and concertinas clearly outnumbered the melodeons, which is not my usual experience! It was good to put some more faces to names and to at last meet people I have exchanged views with on here. And of course to meet old friends and play good music. Thanks as always to Mark and Joan, and looking forward to next year.

This has been gone over before. It has been suggested in this old thread (scroll down to Theodore Kloba's post at Aug 7 2006, 03:44 PM) that the word "concertina" rings alarm bells with security personnel, especially in the States, because a certain type of barbed wire is known as "concertina wire". Tell them its an accordian.

Here's a link to some tunes played on my G/D Crabb anglo.

I'm offering my 38 key G/D Crabb anglo for sale. It was made by Henry Crabb in 1924. It has 7 fold plain bellows and a lovely sweet tone. It includes a case (not the original, I'm afraid). I'll be taking it to the Bradfield Traditional Music Weekend on 9-10 August. I'll try to post more pictures and sound files later.

Whilst a side-by-side technical comparison might be interesting, I'm not sure it would tell you what the instrument would be like to play, and even less whether it would be the right instrument for you. When you're comparing instruments of similar build quality, so much comes down to personal preferences and what feels right for you. I've played some excellent instruments (and not just concertinas) which were undoubtedly fine instruments but which just didn't feel right to me. I sold a melodeon, although it looked beautiful and sounded great, because it didn't feel right to play. Whether this was the weight, or weight distribution, or the stiffness of the bellows, or the action I'm not sure, but I never really got on with it, so it went to a good home. I recently had the chance to play someone's new instrument. It was by a reputable maker, it sounded good, and he was thrilled to bits with it, but it just didn't do anything for me. Nothing at all wrong with it, just different personal preferences. I once spent a whole afternoon going between two different music shops trying to decide between two different guitars. They were both the same make and model, but each was slightly different to play. I kept trying the two until I was finally forced into a decision because the shops were closing!

I long time ago I remember seeing some Chinese musicians one of the after-hours sessions in the Balfour Arms at Sidmouth. One played a cheng. It looked like a cross between a miniature organ and a teapot, and sounded amazing - and similar to a concertina.

I think a lot of people did that when they started out, irrespective of whether or not they played harmonica. Most manage to break the habit fairly quickly. I thought the Richter scale was for measuring earthquakes. Still, I can see a connection ... Anglos are made in particular keys (most commonly C/G), and although they can play in other keys they are most comfortable in those most closely related to the home keys. This is particularly true if you want to play chords as well as melody, since not only does the logic* of the keyboard break down as you move away from the home keys but the chances of finding all the notes you want to play at once in the same bellows direction gets increasingly remote. As Chris says, most of us get around this by buying even more concertinas - EC players have to work harder at finding an excuse for this As you are a harmonica player then I think you'd find the anglo fairly intuitive. However if you want to play chromatic music or in lots of different keys then EC or Duet may be more suitable. *yes, there is one in there somewhere

I don't think you can say whether one system is easier than another. For some, the anglo is the most intuitive, but others can't get their heads around having a different note on each button and the push-pull bellows action required. Others, myself included, can't get their heads around having the tune alternate from one end of the box to another. Try to get your hands on the different systems and get a feel for them. What kind of music do you want to play? Is there a player whose music has inspired you to take up the instrument - what to they play? It will also depend on what kind of music you want to play.

I think it's generally a pretty good guideline that a beginner on any instrument should get the best instrument they can possibly afford. It's tempting to start on something cheap for obvious reasons, but the reason better instruments cost more is that they're better to play, and sound better. This is particularly true of mechanical instruments like concertinas.

Dan, that cutting is an absolute gem!

If you listen to a tune played on both systems, they will probably sound different because of different styles of playing. If you were to listen to a single note played on each system, would you be able to tell the difference? They might sound different because of differences in the reeds or reed-pan etc, but could you consistently tell an Anglo from an English?

These sort of mics are usually omni-directional, so they may pick up other sounds besides the concertina. I tried it once, but it didn't seem to work very well. However I used the same mics inside the instrument with better results.

A popular system is Microvox - you get two electret capsules which fit on to the instrument with Velcro pads. You also need a battery pack. They're not the greatest sound, and I've found them a bit prone to feedback, but they're fairly cheap and widely used. As it happens, I've got a surplus set (2 mics with battery pack) which I've been meaning to put on ebay - PM me if you're interested. A better solution which I now use is a pair of AKG C416 L gooseneck mics. The sound is much better, but they are more expensive, and again you need either a battery pack or a phantom power adaptor. I attach these using velcro luggage straps around the ends of the concertina so I don't have to stick anything to the instruments (which I have to say I'm not keen on, on aesthetic grounds). It makes it a bit more fiddly to swap between instruments, but it's worth it. I third solution, which I used to use, was to fit mics inside the instrument - similar sound quality to the microvox but without the velcro pads: http://www.hjcjones.freeserve.co.uk/music/...ertina/mike.htm If you're swapping instruments, then of course you need to fit separate mics to each.

I think what really irritates people about the budget airlines is all the hassle. You can never find a flight at the advertised price, when you do find a reasonable price they then load lots of extras on to it, and going through their website or phone booking procedure is invariably a nightmare. When you come to fly, they're often unreliable and their customer service is sometimes non-existent. But they are a bargain. The attitude of the boss of Ryanair to complaints is that "you've got the flight for bugger-all so stop whining". You can see his point. If you want service, go to one of the mainstream airlines. You'll pay a lot more, and chances are it will still be rubbish. You've got to pay a hell of a lot more for an upper-class ticket before you see a difference, and even then there's no guarantee - ask Naomi Campbell I'll continue to go for the cheapest flight I can get, within reason, but I'll keep my expectations accordingly low.