Ken_Coles

My own experience is I have no use for the straight across handlebars that are so fashionable that they are all you can get on many models of bikes. They cock my wrist and bring back the inflammation in my carpal tunnels (originally aggravated by concertina playing). They were designed for kids mountain biking up and down staircases, not the rest of us. I'm not interested in leaning way over to use racing handlebars. For me best are the sort that were common 50 or 60 years ago - they bend toward the rear of the bike and can be adjusted so my wrists and forearms are in a fairly neutral position. Ever since losing concertina playing during all of 1999 (which included my only trip to Ireland to date) to carpal tunnel inflammation, I have no patience with non-ergonomic equipment and refuse to use it. Ask my employer, who has provided one new desk and one new desk chair so far. Ken

Happy music and good health to you, Dirge! Ken

You know, I'll bet Michael throws really interesting, great parties. 😎 With a great music mix. Ken

Do keep us posted! It happens I will be in Europe in September and would gladly make a detour to be present at such an event. Ken

Posted by @Paul Draper on 23rd of March 2024: See this thread.

Jody, Was this your inspiration to become a musician? 😎 Ken

I have Morse number 036 which was also one of the first 40 (IIRC) that had porous material in part of the bellows. Rich and Co. went to the usual goatskin leather after that. I've had the gussets fixed by Bob Snope. It still plays great after 23 years of continuous use as my traveling box. Ken

Leah sums up how I still handle it. But the medical attention and physical therapy were essential - self-diagnosis/treatment wasn't/isn't enough in many cases I know of. I hadn't had issues for years and then we moved to a fancy new building where I work. The desk moves but can't be lowered a much as my old computer table, so I do spells on a stool instead of the silly fancy office chair the taxpayers bought for this building. It wasn't broke, and they fixed it. So using my wrist braces a bit. Good luck but do talk to an expert. Ken

I don't split them in half; I use about 3/4 of the tube. I originally had them higher at the thumb end, but now use them other way, as that raises my short fifth finger and lets it reach the standard-spaced buttons on the concertinas I play now. Experiment and find what works for you. Here's one version of how to do it (he says with false modesty). I did this for a rather different reason than too-long fingers. I now flip them from the way they are shown in the photos (wide end at bottom). Ken

Next year I will be retired and finally able to come! Have fun. Ken

The person who posted this ad, IIRC, asked to have their account removed, and Paul did so. My guess is they sold the instrument and had no further interest in discussing concertinas. Ken

It looks like you are playing an Italian concertina? Some of them (such as the last one I owned) have the buttons quite close to the wood handles. Have you tried any other makes of anglo concertina to see if they fit you better? Welcome to concertina.net! Ken

Generally you let it go dormant. I see your one post is a for sale ad. We generally leave those up as a guide to the market for those who come after and wonder about recent asking prices. Ken

Time can be the hardest medicine. I lost all of 1999 to playing concertina when I got a fairly bad case of carpal tunnel inflammation. I did get back to playing and have done it ever since, with a lot of stretching to manage the condition. Good luck on your journey and juggling all the advice you'll get. People do come out the other side in many cases and get back to what they were doing. Ken

There was indeed another post in this thread, then the poster edited it to say "oops never mind, I misread but it looks like I can't delete this comment entirely." I didn't see the original question - it had been edited out. So I took the comment out, assuming it would make the thread easier to read. I was unaware so many are using the notifications. I would not remove a germane/relevant comment. Ken