bellowbelle

Here's my second take, which is much better than my first: https://soundcloud.com/moonsagotunes/metsakukkiawoodlandflowers

Thanks, Jim and Tootler. I've got the song much more in my head now, too, so maybe 'take 2' will be better. I do play a lot more by sightreading now, more than I used to, because I worked on that -- but no matter how much I do that, I've got to have a good play-by-ear memory of the tune in my head before it starts to sound like anything.

This was a struggle and I hope to re-record it, but meanwhile, here's what I played today: https://soundcloud.com/moonsagotunes/metsakukkia-flowers-trampled-will-be-redone There's some extra noise from the bird, but next time I'll try for a quieter setting. I'm not too happy with this recording but I am still getting the song comfortably into my memory. Maybe a few more tries. UPDATE: I did redo this.... https://soundcloud.com/moonsagotunes/metsakukkiawoodlandflowers

Can't wait to give this one a try! My hands have recovered a bit so I think I can jump back into the game at least for this month. I will hopefully include the foot bass, too. (For the record, I'm part Finnish (don't speak it) and it was a part of my culture growing up, though most of those people have passed on.) I play my foot bass every day, but only in the last few days have I been able to press any buttons or keys very well (since a few months ago), and then of course I have to shovel a ton of snow, which doesn't help! We are really buried, here. I'm hoping the flat parts of the roof don't cave in.

Such a cute knit hat! I used to crochet a lot but now it's a bit difficult for my hands (haven't even been able to play my concertina all winter, though things may improve as it warms up). I sent this thread to my daughter... she makes a lot of very cute hats (though, mostly crocheted) and sells them. I believe we are both on ravelry.com (or, were). A few years ago I made some crocheted (brass rings/beads/etc) 'concertina holders' -- tube-type carriers/dust covers, decorated -- that I really like. Really miss being able to work on those. I'm hoping to make something similar but by doing something like paper clay and decoupage (easier on my hands). So, while my hands are a wreck, I have been playing just the foot bass. But I'll add the concertina again if things get better.

Well, I hope my whole entire winter won't be total 'discontent,' but I am dealing again with the usual hand/finger problems (skin, arthritis, I dunno, neither did the doctors I consulted). No matter what I do, it seems that winter, even if I can actually stand the cold quite well as I do, makes it impossible for me to play my concertina or type or whatever, most of the time. I can still walk my dog while he pulls on the leash, but I can't press buttons. But, I am playing the foot bass every day, and singing, while that crazy cockatoo of mine dances on top of his cage. My feet still work. But -- no socks, thank you. I don't want to fight with them.... It's turned out to be a lot of fun, anyway, playing the foot bass. Eventually, like in summer if/when my hands are better, I'll add the concertina again. Hope all you recover and can play again soon!

Oh, thanks! Well, that's okay... comments are optional! I have never had a parrot (cockatoo) before, and 'rescued' this raggedy-looking one about two months ago. It's been re-homed about 4 times (too loud for most people) and at some point in time started pulling out it's feathers, and it looks like someone clipped the wings incorrectly (I don't know). The eyes are not totally black, are a brown color, so it's possibly a female. If I can ever manage to get the bird to the vet's office, they could tell me more. I'd THOUGHT I was going to pick up a cockatiel, so I was a bit shocked to realize I'd promised my future to a 'too, but so far I don't regret it and Whisper is a wonderful companion. LOVES to dance to the concertina, and also loves the foot bass, which I've played more of lately. How this bird has remained so kind and loving after suffering whatever has left it looking so war-torn is beyond me! If I can get some cute videos I will, of him/her dancing to the concertina.

https://soundcloud.com/moonsagotunes/hello-from-whisper This is not played on one of my Morse concertinas but is on an old Bastari English concertina. I was playing for my bird to dance and he threw in a few 'hellos.' Whisper is my cockatoo. 32-second mp3

Hi Mark, I'm saying 'hi' since I'm in eastern MA -- in the Worcester area. I'm not sure I can be of much help, though -- it's hard for me to commit to events and get around, even short local stuff. But, hello, anyway! Ken, I couldn't get that link to work. I don't know what type of thing you're interested in, Mark, but I know that in Newton or near there, once a month, some West Gallery Quire types get together at a church and do that old type of music. There was one concertina player there, at least when I visited, a couple years ago or so. Try this link -- http://www.laymusic.org/wordpress/?page_id=500 I've thought of that a few times and may yet get there again but right now.... can't do.

I have really enjoyed the TOTM (and ThOTM...theme of the etc.). My drop in participation has mainly to do with my my hands/fingers suffering especially in the winter. I have stretches of time when it's difficult to press the buttons, at least not if I intend to do anything else I have to get done that day. Also, sometimes I just don't want to get comments or critiques or carry on discussion for whatever reason (...just as, in 'real' life, I often just simply don't feel like chatting with people but not because I dislike them or anything). But, there's no option to turn off comments, due to the type of forum set-up. Not a big issue, really, just saying. Either way, I still print out the tune and add it to my notebook, and I try to listen to the recordings posted.

-- But, I've had to cancel. Maybe I'll make it there next time.

I have had to cancel. I will hopefully make it again another year.

Don't forget Willie Nelson's version of 'All Of Me,' too.

I 'agree,' if that's the word, with this idea about melody vs. chords, or melody with chords. Thing is... I do really love chords, too, and all those pretty ones like the ninths and elevenths and whatever... but I think they need to fall into place as a complement to the melody, on the concertina. At least, for me. I mean, unless the piece was written to show off something about chords, I guess. Well, my point is not meant to be about whether to use chords, but how to use them. And in particular with tunes that have complex or "unusual" rhythm, if they're not being used in a way that emphasizes and enhances those rhythms -- if they obscure or distract from those rhythms, -- then they're better left out. I don't know that I can help with that. They're all simple MP3 files, and all in the same directory/folder on the same server. There shouldn't be any difference in how your browser handles them. Sorry about not further explaining the polska, but since it's been a topic of discussion lately -- even to having it's own thread, -- I thought any questions would already have been asked and answered. The polska is considered to be the Swedish national (folk) dance. The tunes and dance have a repeating 3-"beat" stress pattern that is normally notated as 3/4. Waltzes are also normally written in 3/4, but the details of the stress pattern are different. You ask about 1-2-3, but it's not that simple, since the stresses are rarely all equal. I.e., 1-2-3 is more common for a waltz, while 1-2-3, 1-2-3 may be more appropriate for polskas. And even that is misleading, since boldface only allows me to indicate two levels/intensities of stress, while a tune in 3/4 may well have three different values in a single measure. Does it always start on "1"? Musically, no, though in a dance the first step will (almost?) always be on "1". But some tunes (not all) may have one or more "pickup" notes, which act as preparation for the first "downbeat"="1". Maybe I should say a bit more about the concept of "in 3", but I think that should be a separate post, so for now I'll stop here. I've listened to a few polskas here & there online but sometimes I can't pick out the rhythm from the recording (audio or video with dancing). I think that if I'd been there for real, of course, it would have been easy! Not that the recordings are that bad, but it's just so much easier if it's live. And your recordings, the MP3s, are fine -- I just have some limited connection ability here. (Working on that!)

Just remember that "too big" doesn't mean "too many inches." You don't need to crop, you need to reduce the file size in one or both of these ways: Decrease the resolution: For an image intended to appear on a computer screen and that likely will neither be blown up or printed, you don't need 300 dpi. 72 dpi is probably fine. Decrease the number of colors. Especially for a drawn avatar, you probably don't need "millions of colors." A photograph may not either. Experiment and see if minimizing the number of colors yields a tolerable image. If, like me, anyone has trouble figuring out how to best go about decreasing the file size of an image without changing the size (or, at least not by too much) -- you might try a photo site like PBase. I think they still have a free membership up to a point, then there's a tiny cost if you upgrade. What you'd want to do is upload your photo to the site, then on the editing page find the menu for selecting the option to recompress the photo. Then, VIEW the photo, and below it there will be 4 options - small, med, large, or original. 'Large' is actually usually the best choice as long as you did recompress the photo. Once the view is the 'Large' one, right-click and 'save image as' -- etc. THAT image will probably work out for an avatar (it will be resized again automatically). If not, try grabbing the medium or small, maybe. I'm not saying there's no better way to do things, but it's worked for me.

Just wondering... do you start off trying to include chording, or do you play them -- at least at first -- as melody only? My own feeling is that the particular attraction of these tunes is in the variation of stresses within and among measures, and that common chording patterns tend to usurp this with their own, more "ordinary" emphases. And on a single concertina, in particular, it can be impossible to separate the two, the way one might with one instrument playing melody and another playing a more subdued backup. I 'agree,' if that's the word, with this idea about melody vs. chords, or melody with chords. Thing is... I do really love chords, too, and all those pretty ones like the ninths and elevenths and whatever... but I think they need to fall into place as a complement to the melody, on the concertina. At least, for me. I mean, unless the piece was written to show off something about chords, I guess. Jim, I like all your 'Theme' stuff but some of it I have to play later when my internet connection is stronger... the last two don't want to play right now on my Chromebook. Also... sometimes, since I don't have much of an education re all the different kinds of (names for) tunes -- it can be a little hard to immediately grab, from a recording, how it would be best counted. So, feel free to give a little note about a count-out, if you want... like, would I count '1-2-3, 1-2-3,' and does the first note start on a 1, etc.. If you just say '3/4 time,' that's easy, but when you say 'Polska,' etc., I'm not sure exactly what that means, re the timing.

Well, lucky me, the piece I put at Soundcloud this morning just happens to be 'in 3!' I didn't know what the Theme Of The Month for August was until after. It's something I wrote a long time ago and you may have already heard it, but this is a new recording, and with the Geordie baritone English (which, for the record, has the same basic keyboard fingering, layout, as the treble, but a deeper tone). The Crows Know Me I have the dots for it somewhere, but I can't remember if I put it in 3/4 or 6/8 but that's about the same thing. It's just a short little tune, really. I could probably add a verse or two, sometime. Maybe...

I went to the store for a piano accordion (which I played, somewhat). But, once there, I saw a concertina. I thought of how nice it would be to not have to strap something right onto me, and how my back might feel better... Deliberately went for the English system, charmed by the opportunity to have left and right hands be more 'equal' -- with the piano accordion, the system is that the melody is played by the right hand and the left hand plays chord buttons. I do not regret my decision... have thought maybe I would have liked the Anglo as much, but I don't know.

Ha... the picture was a square, then I added the hexagon shape. But by the time it'd been edited, the points of the hexagon were clipped. So... it's a pointless hexagon. Uhh, sort of....

Well, at least it's a hexagonal selfie (resp. would be without the clipping) Wendy...! The hexagon shape was another free feature in the picmonkey.com editor, in the section for adding frames, under 'shapes' or something like that.

Well, coincidentally, I just changed my pic today. I have a Chromebook and I used picmonkey.com, the freebie services there. That may be enough in itself, though I do use my compression settings at PBase.com. So, after picmonkey, I re-upload my pic to PBase where it will be automatically recompressed, for smaller file size (but still a large pic). THEN -- I download the large size version of that again, blah blah blah, get a file with much less size to it. Sorry if that's all confusing. So, I dumped my blue moon pic and now I have a 'selfie' in place. I'd actually decided to not use the new pic but I'd already lost the other one, so -- whatever. Now, to go to all the millions of things I've got to do besides posing in front of mirrors under cake pans with bunny ears...

Hi all... Yup, I did manage to get this recorded all 'as is,' no real edits, and both instruments were played together. I can't tell you how many tries it took me, though... maybe about 30? 50? I decided I didn't want to have to splice out anything, I just wanted one straight recording. So, that meant several attempts. The bass pedally thing... yup, a real live "basse aux pieds", made by Harry Geuns. I am STILL kind of getting used to it, even though I've had it a while. So, even if the tune is simple, there are 4 main challenges, for me: 1 -- How well I actually know the tune, inside and out 2 -- The concertina goes one way 3 -- The foot bass goes another way 4 -- How recently have I been to the gym? I have in fact been getting to the gym more often. Love it. Gotta "keep fighting back" -- (the sore back).

Thanks, Sarah. I'll try to make a decent video sometime. I'm lucky there wasn't one of this session.... I think I looked a bit like a struggling hermit crab on beach sand... I had things falling on the floor around me and everything.

Okay, here's so far: http://box.com/PackingtonsPoundTOTM It's difficult -- for me -- to record the foot bass just right. There's some extra noise. This is of the foot bass and the Geordie baritone English. I may end up re-doing this, but I'm busy so this may be it, for July!

Hmm, well…. I do have a used 48-key Bastari, made in Italy. But, it does need a slight tune-up. I think I've seen one like it, tuned-up, offered for about $900. (but that's without any shipping costs…). I'm guessing you may do better closer to you, but you can ask me about it later if you wish. I bought it because I do like the sound of the Bastari, sometimes, even though I usually play my Morse concertinas.