Steve_freereeder

A moral tale on the benefits of regular practice: There was a young lady named Sarah, Whose concertina did scare her, But she stuck to her squeezing, And the bellows kept wheezing, And wrong notes got rarer and rarer. Keep it up, m'Lady. You're doing fine!

The programme is still available on BBC iPlayer but only for a few more days (7 days from the date of broadcasting) so hurry if you want to watch it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fm..._Steeleye_Span/

I responded to Nils Meyn, the originator of this thread and received an explanatory e-mail. The concertinas belonged to Mario Kliemann, who lived in Germany. Sadly Mario died a month ago and his brother Norbert is now selling off Mario's collection of concertinas. Nils Meyn is, I assume, acting as contact person for this forum. Marien Lina from the Netherlands is another member of this forum. Marien has visited Norbert and seen and played the concertinas and has also bought the Wheatstone. At the time of writing this, the Suttners are still available for purchase. They have Jeffries layouts. Hope this makes things clear. There is no mystery. Just sadness of the death of a family member.

M'Lady.... I agree with Dave. Try sitting in a chair with a firm back, like a dining-room chair. Make sure you don't slouch, and lean into the chair back for support. Sitting cross-legged on the bed to play is not a good position.

John - I have sent you a PM.

Lots of good advice here, Dan. Good luck with your choice of instrument, whether you plump for Anglo or English. I'll add a couple of my own opinions based on my own experience as a teacher.... 1. Don't go for the Morelli. It is little more than a toy. You will rapidly be disappointed and frustrated with its sound, sluggishness of response and poor quality of workmanship. It has been said by many people here that the best instruments for beginners are the Rochelle (anglo) and the Jackie (English). I agree totally with this. Both these models are well made and are 'proper' instruments, and really good value for money. With either of them you are unlikely to be held up initially because you are struggling against poor quality and workmanship. 2. If you choose to go down the Anglo route, my advice to any beginner is to go for a 30-button 3-row instrument straight away (like the Rochelle), rather than be tempted by the apparent simplicity of a 20-button 2-row instrument. Why? In a 30 button C/G anglo there are the same standard two rows as on a 20-button anglo, one in the key of G nearest your wrist and the next row in the key of C. The 3rd row, furthest from your wrist, in a 30-button anglo contains not only accidentals (the sharps and flats) but crucially, a couple of reversals for the notes G and A. 'Normally' the note G is found in various octaves as a push-note on both the G-row and the C-row; similarly the note A is a pull-note on both the G and C rows. On the 3rd row of a 30-button anglo, there are usually at least two buttons where this push-pull arrangement is reversed so that A is on the push and G is on the pull. To a beginner, this might seem very esoteric (and there is not room and I don't have the time currently to explain fully why here) but those G and A reversals are a couple of the most useful buttons on the concertina, and can greatly facilitate many sequences of notes and chords. I thoroughly recommend that using these reversals be learnt at a very early stage. It really helps in learning the chordal style of playing where the left side of the concertina is important for chordal accompaniment at the same time as the right-hand side is mainly used for melody. And if you are attracted to the Irish style of playing which tends to use mainly melody and fewer chords, you will soon need those C-sharp accidentals found on the 3rd row for playing tunes in the key of D. Yes - you can get a long way on a 20-button 2-row instrument and have a lot of fun with it, particularly if it is of reasonably good quality, but you will have picked up a fixed fingering technique which you will then have to partially unlearn if you are going to get the best out of a 30-button 3-row if and when you subsequently decide to upgrade. And unlearning a habit is much harder than learning it in the first place! Good luck with whatever you choose to do. The really important bottom line is to dive in one way or another and get playing!

I think Peter was referring to the frequency with which 'Witney' seems to gain an 'h'. Perhaps this is a result of some hidden desire to unify the spelling in line with that well-known Yorkshire fishing port beginning with 'Wh' which hosts an equally well-known folk festival in August each year. You're not the only one to do it, by a long chalk.

Why? Are you afraid of them? Do you think they are going to somehow corrupt you or sexually assault you? Are you so insecure in your own masculinity that you have to make fun of them? Are you a racist? Would you publicly express your worries if the two respondents were black or Asian, etc? Or are you prejudiced against disabled people? I hope not. So why pick on people who do not fit in with your safe, 'normal' ideas of binary gender? Grrr. And yes - in case you are wondering, I am one of those respondents. Bigoted comments like yours make me so angry.

another one I've been working on http://www.soundlantern.com/UpdatedSoundPa...3&Path=null Brilliant! I'm glad you've posted that. I know that you've only been learning a month. You are really starting to improve now! Keep it up.

Next door neighbour's cats tend to keep out of my garden now.

David, Thank you so much for that. What a lovely thing to say. It is much appreciated, especially coming from someone such as yourself in Ireland. I am English, born and bred. When I first started playing and listening to traditional music of any sort, back in the late 1970s, going to folk clubs and sessions meant nearly always Irish, Scottish or American music. It took me several years to realise that there was a vast, almost hidden, tradition of English music. It seemed as if we were ashamed of it somehow. It was the preserve of morris musicians who tended to be (and still are ) regarded by the general public as rather quaint or worse. Otherwise English music was something that had become fossilised, collected and stored away by Cecil Sharp and others, or squirreled away into formal classical music by composers such as Vaughan Williams. But gradually I began to be aware of the dance music of my heritage and culture, thanks to the tireless work of John Kirkpatrick and a few others, and also playing alongside Barry Callaghan in the same dance team. Now, fortunately, the tide has turned and there are some great English bands and solo performers who, if not quite household names, are not far off. I love and admire Irish music, and of course I have had plenty of opportunity for playing it, or at least trying to imitate it. But - it's 'not in my blood' and a second-rate imitation is all it will ever be. On the other hand, the traditional English polkas, marches, quicksteps, jigs, hornpipes and triple-time hornpipes somehow speak to my condition (to borrow a Quaker phrase) and when I play them I feel, as you say 'full of life' with the 'great lift and vitality' that English dance music has. I know that not everyone will agree with me, but it works for me, because it is in my blood. Apologies for this rather lengthy and somewhat off-topic reply, but I could not let David's nice post go unacknowledged. Thank you, David. Steve

Well - it HAS to be the Trumpet Hornpipe (aka the Captain Pugwash tune)! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7XIIO-fyUEw http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hpIlLqfd_xI&...feature=related http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9lU6TluWRM0

Have a listen to the likes of Alastair Anderson (sorry can't find any YouTube clips just at the moment).... or Simon Thoumire http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LiSnLR6Ojuk

Here's Tom Fowler's Hornpipe from the Winder MS. Brian Peters plays this version on anglo. X:1 T:Tom Fowlers Hornpipe R:Hornpipe M:4/4 L:1/8 O:England A:Lancashire B:Winder collection K:G Bc|\ dcBA Ggfg | e4 d4 | \ cdcB ABAG | F4 E4 | \ DEFG A2B2 | c2de d2c2 | BAGA D2F2 | G6::\ d2|\ g2bg e2ag | f4 d2ef | g3f edcB | ABAG F3E |\ DEFG A2B2 | c2de d2c2 | \ BAGA D2F2 | G6 :|

The Fayre Four: http://www.concertina.com/carlin/fayre-four-sisters/

It would be at least a 3 hour train journey. Oh, come on! 3 hours train journey is far for you? To where you can see other concertinas, and sign for a beginner's class, and talk to others directly and ask gazillion questions and have them answered? Do you want to learn or you want to waste your time? Mischa: It's not necessarily the travelling time that makes a person think twice about a long train journey - it's the cost of the fare too. LDT: There are almost certainly other anglo players living relatively close to you who could give you some tips. I suggest you contact Katie Howson of the East Anglian Traditonal Music Trust: email: info@eatmt.fsnet.co.uk http://www.eatmt.org.uk/ or else see her (and others) at the TMD in Stowmarket on 30th August. She may be able to put you in touch with (relatively) local players. No apologies for batting on about it again, it's a great organisation!

There should be some concertinas there (anglos) for you to try, but bring your own too, as there might be a queue for the EATMT ones. In any case I should quite like to see it now we've heard all about it here

Is anyone from this forum going to attend the Traditional Music Day in Stowmarket, Suffolk on Saturday 30th August? It's organised by the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust: http://www.eatmt.org.uk/traditional_music_day.htm Unfortunately the evening concert and buffet supper are now sold out, but still lots of things to do during the day - tickets still available. As well as hosting some of the Big Session I will also be running absolute beginners drop-in 'have-a-go' workshops, this year on melodeon, but there will be a similar drop-in have-a-go Anglo and English concertina workshops too. Hope to see some of you there. Please come up and say 'Hi!' Cheers, Steve

LDT - here some examples of different concertinas and playing styles on YouTube: These are some of my favourites - no doubt other folks may think differently! Anglo Concertina (plays different notes on the push and pull; higher notes are on the RH side, lower notes are on the LH side) Brian Peters - anglo concertina played in so-called 'English style'. Probably the very best exponent of this style in my opinion! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=blZeRHg6RUM Liam (can't remember his 2nd name) playing a morris tune on anglo concertina also in so-called 'English style' http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx8p5QpLbBM&...feature=related Noel Hill playing Irish traditional music on anglo concertina - some would say the he is the very best in this style. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MWosPa3SuNM&...feature=related Edel Fox - a fine young player of Irish traditional music on anglo concertina http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mMzwjNbioTY&...feature=related English Concertina (plays the same note on push and pull; the notes of the scales alternate from side to side). Pauline de Snoo playing English concertina in 'classical style' http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D_YC_tgZYXg&...feature=related Simon Thoumire playing fast dance tunes on English concertina http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LiSnLR6Ojuk Duet concertina - (various types, but all play the same note on push and pull; the higher notes are on the RH side, the lower notes on the LH side) Robert Dawson playing a very fine Crane Duet: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IGkolUwGA9o JeffLeff playing a Hayden Duet concertina http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RDVrHqQkMC0&...feature=related

Basjan, Potentially, this looks to be a great concertina and I could well be interested in it. However, I would like to know more about it first before even considering putting in a bid. I have already sent a message via Ebay asking about the key of the instrument, but so far have received no reply, which I find a little worrying. I have now asked for further information. Here's my latest set of questions sent via the Ebay message thingy.... Interested in this concertina but I will not bid unless I know more about it. I am still waiting for a reply about which key this instrument is in. Additionally, please could you tell me whether the third (top) row is in the Wheatstone/Lachenal tuning or the Jeffries tuning? If you do not understand what this means, just let me know what notes are played on both push and pull by the top row buttons on the right-hand side. Thanks. The instrument looks to be in very good condition. How old is it please? What is its history? Finally, please can you post some more photos, including the other end, the bellows expanded, and the reed pans of both ends (you will need to remove the ends from the bellows to do this). Basjan, in the light of some of the concerns of some members of this forum about whether this is a genuine sale, would you care to answer the questions here please? It would help allay our fears..... Thanks.

Chris Parkinson demonstrated a note-bending technique for melodeon at Melodeons@Witney a couple of years ago. It works best on a single reed voice (which you can get on some melodeons using a stop to remove the 2nd voice), so it ought to work fine on a concertina, though I've not tried it myself yet. What you do is to apply normal pressure to the bellows (push or pull as appropriate) fractionally before playing the note, and then just press the key a tiny bit, just enough to let some air pass through the reed. The note should sound but be flat by a semitone or so. Once the key is fully depressed, the pitch rises to its proper value. With practice you can achieve a quick upwards glissando on to the main note (at least Chris Parkinson can!).

Blimey - it went for £70! Did anyone on this forum buy it? Why?

Brilliant! And there's me - a seasoned Mac user but I had no idea you could do this in Apple QT. Thanks for posting this, Lawrence.

I asked the seller. This one has a Wheatstone layout.

In Baroque music, a Gavotte is written in 4/4 or 2/2 time and always starts with a half bar (pick up) phrase shown in italics in the example below, followed by a strong downbeat on the first beat of the next full bar. This phrasing pattern is continued throughout the music. For example: 2/2 diddle-diddle|DUM dee dee dee|DUM dum, diddle-diddle|DUM dee dee dee|DUM...... As far as I know a Bouree is in 2/4 time and may, or may not, have an pick-up upbeat quaver: 2/4 dee|DUM dum DUM dum| diddle-diddle DUM dee| diddle-diddle dum dum|DUM..... In traditional French music there are also triple-time bourees, usually notated in 3/8 time and played quite fast. Hope this helps, Steve