Pete Dunk

We received the music for this workshop on Wednesday, over thirty tunes! There's some really interesting stuff, rhythmically quite challenging at times. I've got a feeling I'll be playing catch up all day because there's no way I'll have them all off in time.

I'd be patient if I were you. If Chris doesn't have/can't find a suitable concertina, don't be too ready to jump at the first thing you see! Despite the Salvation Army support, Crane/Triumphs were always the least popular duets (apart from Jeffries) and therefore rarer of the concertina family. Bide your time and wait for the 'right' instrument, this is not a thing to be rushed into. there'll be another Amherst festival next year.

They do happen with alarmingly increasing regularity don't they? Now where the hell did I put my specs?

Whoops, silly me! Blimey, £17/0/0d in 1920 was a king's ransom! To put this in perspective I left college in 1971 aged 18 and my first weeks wage was £15 less deductions which left me with £10.61p in my wage packet. It seemed like (and was) a lot of money at the time because the deal included 'all found' as it was known then. To the uninitiated that means I lived in with all meals provided. This was of course over 50 years after the time when a model 22 cost £17; a pretty sobering thought that!

Here is a Wheatstone price list from circa 1920. It shows that the concertina was built to a high spec and cost 17 shillings at the time (written as 17/- when I was a lad ); air valve and wrist straps would have been extra I would imagine.

This info is there for you to confirm yourself on the Wheatstone Ledger page you posted a picture of. First column is the date, second column is the model number, the diagonal line drawn on the page shows that four identical concertinas were made or sold on that day. The next column describes the actual 'tina, NP - nickel plated ends. Hex -hexagonal. 48 keys. SVWS - single valve (air lever on r/h side) and finally Wrist Straps. The leather wrist straps are missing from yours but the fixings look to be still there. I've just taken a close look at the second picture you posted, the nickel plating is in very poor condition indeed being either worn away or badly pitted all over. For my money that would severely detract from the value; one off re-plating is, as I understand it, an expensive specialist repair. This doesn't affect the playing of the instrument of course but most people want their concertina to be reasonably pretty too.

This is a model 22 with raised ends that are showing some wear on the nickel plating, could be a very nice instrument indeed when fully serviced and tuned. There's not enough detail to name a specific price in it's present condition but a dealer is likely to offer you less than a private buyer because he has a living to make. Pete.

Oddly enough I was thinking of putting these two together for my first 'proper' video on youtube. P'raps I'll have to think again!

Yes, it's amazing how nervous you get isn't it? You can tell yourself over and over that there's no pressure because it can be re-recorded infinitely and there's nothing forcing you to put it up on youtube anyway. Still the gremlins of self doubt creep in, but it was well done anyway. Nice 'tina btw, is it a Lachenal New Model perchance? Pete,

I think you'll find that anything with the word 'concertina' in the listing will come up when you search for the word concertina. Sadly a great many non-musician types refer to a set of bellows as 'the concertina' so you'll turn up a fair few accordions with 'the concertina in good condition'. 'Tis very annoying! As for a separate heading for concertinas that would be grand but the number of listings probably doesn't justify it.

Scroll down this page for a few pics. They should give you a good idea of how baffles are fitted. Pete.

Hello Badger, of course we care, that's why people pitched in with replies! I have a Jack that's almost a year old and I love the sound of it, but yes, it is pretty loud. There is such a thing as a concertina mute, a set of baffles; fitting them would normally involve removing the concertina ends and installing something like stiff card on the inside of the fretwork. Traditionally these would have tiny bits of cork underneath to create stand-offs so the baffles weren't so efficient that they cut the sound off entirely. Remember that the Jack is a baritone instrument with some quite large reeds inside; these reeds take quite a lot of air to get them going so it isn't as responsive as a treble. It does however have a delightful and gloriously sonorous tone, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Enjoy. Pete.

I didn't get as far down as the chart Chris! I used the Geoff Wooff formula shown higher up: For the Anglo system: (serial number divided by 4176) + 1850. Just goes to show how inaccurate the various dating methods are, or perhaps the method I used is discounted elsewhere in the text - I didn't read through it all.

According this page it should be circa 1859. There are a number of methods for calculating the age of Lachenal concertinas but you should bear in mind that they only yield a rough guesstimate at best. Pete.

Hello Eric, have you tried swapping the pair of reeds over to ensure that it is the reed itself at fault? Is the valve still soft and flexible? Just a couple of thoughts. I have to say that the description you have given sounds like a fouled or failing reed to me. Hopefully one of the real experts will be along before too long to add their invaluable advice. Pete. Edited to add: Whoops! Greg beat me to it!

Oh you don't get off that easily you know, you've raised our curiosity. Given that there aren't many concertina players in the region what caused you to take up the concertina in the first place? Once you'd made up your mind to play concertina why English rather than anglo or duet? Most importantly, tell us about your concertina!

Oooo! Sally uses those when she's card making, must remember to filch a pack and pop them in the 'tina case.

I'm finding the change of tone in this thread increasingly annoying, effectively racialist in fact. Grouping together a number of countries spread over an area in excess of half of the globe and suggesting they are one and the same because they happen to share a common 'main' language is nonsense. Expressing the opinion that this isn't a truly 'International' project because a great many nations aren't represented is a misnomer. The 'English' concertina was invented in England by an English physicist, fact. That it's use spread beyond these shores is testament that it was well conceived and worthy of general use. Diversification into duet patterns and the creation of 'Anglo/German' types to offset the challenge of European mass production proves that the portability and versatility of the instrument was popular and therefore profitable, to a degree. So what is Alan to do in his quest to produce a representative collection of the best in 'English' concertina playing, offer the best players he can find with the most diverse repertoire, or pander to the sensitivities of someone with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide who doesn't want to believe that this is a worthy instrument, largely but not exclusively played by English speaking or western European nations? In saying this I am incredibly aware of the concertina enthusiasts from other parts of the world who contribute so much to this forum and without whom we would be so much the poorer. All are welcome here and all are equal; but some just might, if they push it far enough, be more equal than others.

What's an anglo? Just had a go on the guitar, now I'll be wearing a neck brace for a week!

If you want to see proper players close up, check out Danny Chapman and Pauline deSnoo!

G'wan, you know you want to! It'd be great to see and hear the kitchen table project in action too, I've spent many happy hours browsing all of the pics and one of these fine days I'm going to give it whirl myself. Pete.

I know I'm going to get some stick for this but I made a short video this morning that illustrates what Henrik is talking about. I thought it would be easy to do but nerves got the better of me, I can play slightly better than this, honest. Despite my comment about abandoning the finger rest to do this I found it was frozen in place! Oh well, you'll get the general idea anyway. Fingering demo.

As someone once said, there are no stupid questions just stupid answers. I echo the previous comments, as you move away from the gentle tempos you really need to find logical fingerings to cope with fifth jumps (D to A for example) and repeated notes; if you're honest with yourself even legato passages at slow tempo aren't as smooth as they could be - you have to sacrifice something if the same finger plays consecutive notes whether it's on two different buttons or the same one, although in some instances you can use bellows technique to get around the latter. Perhaps the best thing you can do from here is to relearn the tunes you already know using a better fingering method before moving on to harder or faster pieces, that way you can concentrate on the problem at hand instead of having to cope with too many changes at once. Do you have a proper tutor book (there are such things for free on the net) or a player who lives locally who might give you a few pointers? Best of luck with your practicing and welcome to the maddeningly frustrating world of English concertina playing! Pete

It's back again. This time with a £200 drop in the buy it now price. I think it would do better with a much lower starting price meself.

Some of the high pitched reeds don't (and shouldn't) have leather valves, I think you are mistaking the open slot for the inner reed for a missing reed. It's academic now anyway, the item ended without any bids.