Pete Dunk

Closer examination of the pics reveals the inscription Aeola but the seller obviously missed the diphthong in the intricate lettering. So, an early Aeola then, very interesting!

This is a strange item. Fretwork like a pinhole Aeola but only six sides. Action looks like Wheatstone but seller claims it's marked Aola? Only four fold bellows, what an odd little thing it is. It's only about 15 miles up the road from me but the massive damage makes it hardly worth the trip to take a look. Anyone have any suggestions about what it is? Is it an Aeola prototype?

The Fotheringay Album is still available.

Well done, but go back to the tunes regularly and remember to home in on the problem parts of a piece and sort it out. It doesn't do to practice your mistakes! As to the debate raging in the barely related sub-topic, I would have thought it warranted a thread of its' own by now.

There seems to be a glut of Cranes on ebay at the moment, here's another one. I can't see how a 48 button model with tatty bellows could hope to bring that kind of money. If anyone is seriously interested I might be able to go look at it as it's not too far from me, no promises mind - it's a busy time of year!

Is that what you see when there's too much vodka in the Orange Blossom Special?

It looks as if the seller has been bombarded with info! He's only about 15 miles up the road from me but I've been busy this weekend and now won't get chance to go over and take a look at it before the auction ends. I wouldn't really want a small duet anyway but it might have been interesting to take a look.

Interesting that the first query was from Harry Geuns. If you get his email addy from his website he will probably be able to give you a lot more info.

Just goes to prove that a little knowledge................

I see this one allows multiple tunes in one file which is a bonus. Hello Robin, it was me that got you playing the Cheshire Waltz. I felt quite proud when it moved from the 'guest' list into the 'session' list. Pete

Prompted by a discussion about tune books in the General Concertina Discussion forum I was going to recommend a book published by the good folks at the Lewes Arms Folk Club only to find that the whole thing is available for download in various formats here. What you don't get by downloading the files is a nice tune book full of little notes about the tunes at a very modest price. When I can find the proper link to buy the book (they do like to hide things!), I'll post it here in case anyone fancies a copy. For the benefit of those forum members from other countries, Lewes is a historic town quite close to Brighton on the south coast of England and the area boasts a thriving community of traditional music players who are able draw on a large repertoire of 'local' tunes (as well as playing favourite tunes from elsewhere).

It's a new one to me Chas, thanks for the link.

I couldn't agree more although I have to confess to being a sheet music junkie and have quite a large collection of tune books. Those I find most interesting are the reprints of old manuscripts that represent the repertoire of a musician or a collection of tunes from a particular area. Some, like The Lincolnshire Collection (which also contains two and three part arrangements), bring to light wonderful old tunes like the Cheshire Waltz which were long forgotten. These are brought out, dusted off, then given a new lease of life and are more widely known than they ever were. Some tune books like 'Airs for Pairs' do offer arrangements and only contain twenty or so tunes, it's just a matter of being selective with your purchasing I suppose. The internet is a wonderful resource but it's easy to get sucked in to collecting as many tunes as possible regardless of accuracy of transcription or even interest in the tunes themselves, again it's a matter of self control and being selective. I've used ABC quite a lot but not enough to know it thoroughly or often enough to remember all of the basic rules so I have to go back and refresh my memory before using it. The ability to write a simple text file and run it through a converter to produce a top quality printed sheet of music is a wonderful thing! The main drawback is that you have to proof read it very carefully because it's very easy to write the kind of musical nonsense that the error trapping in dedicated notation software prevents.

I didn't realise you were the vendor. 'Appen I'll try a handful out of curiosity...

Another Crane, this time a Wheatstone 48 key Ledgers say a 1934 model 70? Few of the pricelists I can find even mention duets and no model 70 to be found. Is it a model 7D?

If you point to your own name at the side of your post you'll see a down arrow, click it and select 'view member's posts'

This looks quite good but the seller's feedback (as a buyer) looks a little odd. Accepting paypal though. So many 'tinas and not enough money.

The 48 button Crane is a duet not English. Buying vintage concertinas on ebay is fraught with danger for the inexperienced. There are few real bargains to be had and many need a great deal of (expensive) work to make them playable.

Here's a Jackie 30 button on ebay. It will knock spots off the Scarlatti and the last one sold on ebay a few weeks ago for less than £100. You'll be very disappointed with a Scarlatti, I wouldn't even grace it with the name 'instrument'. The thirty button layout does give you limitations but you'll need a lot more wonga to get a playable 48 key. Search around the forum for many other discussions regarding entry level instruments.

Valmai Goodyear thought this subject to be worthy of its' own thread so here goes. A recently released tune book and CD set are available here. As it is a reprint of a player's repertoire some of the tunes will be familiar to all, but the vast majority were unknown to me. Forgotten for 150 years it's a feast of material waiting to be brought back to life.

William Winter's Quantocks Tune Book is here.

I seem to remember that you play an English, I've just tried to rest my palm heels on the ends of my concertina and it's nigh on impossible as well as extremely uncomfortable! Now I'm wondering if you are putting your thumbs right through the thumbstraps which is considered to be incorrect by the vast majority of players. The tips of the thumbs should be just visible beyond the straps, which shouldn't be too tight. I suppose the palms would be roughly parallel with the ends as a starting position but the hands as well as the fingers move around when playing. It might help if watch the English Concertina for Beginners series of videos on Youtube. After watching the first one click on 'More from this user' to watch the whole series. Your hands probably ache after an hour of playing because you are practicing for too long! Play for 15-20 mins maximum and then take a break of at least ten minutes. As a beginner you need to build up the muscles used for playing slowly and steadily or you'll end up with some form of RSI. Hope this helps. Pete.

I just don't understand why MIDI concertina has bellows, while not "silent trainer" Erm, the whole idea about a midi controller is that it emulates a particular instrument, otherwise what's the point? In this instance the bellows provide velocity data in order that the musician has control over expression. Sometimes I wonder if you are simply an obsessive/compulsive convinced that concertinas are simply bandoneons gone wrong. Then again a bandoneon midi controller would be very similar to a concertina midi controller. So, in your strange world how would a bellows controlled wind instrument work without bellows? I think you would end up with a very early synthesizer without the benefit of 'touch sensitive' keys.

Don't give up! Have you tried to find other players in your area? Learning in isolation is not always fun. Here is a link to Frank Butler's tutor book which you may find helpful. G'wan give it another go.