Ken_Coles

I suspect that is one reason. Or, someone with a lot of arrangements may prefer to publish their own book, who knows? As for NESI, statistics in the mailing we got last week lists 11 intermediate and 4 advanced anglo players (self-identified) out of 110 attending. Without Jody (who won't be there this year) I don't know how many, if any, of them are G/D players. I know Alan Preliasco started G/D a couple of years ago, and sold me his G/D Stagi when he got a better one - he is on this year's NESI list. In my experience G/D is still uncommon in the U.S., between the small number of instruments and having little established tradition of playing English session tunes. There are enough players of Irish in the U.S. now to generate classes, lessons, and books, but that has only developed in the last 3 decades. For English tunes on G/D one may need to search in the country that created that tradition. Ken

As an anglo player who reads music I got a fine intro to English with Alistair Anderson's book (it is a personal fit of course). Fascinating, but haven't done much more since - so many instruments, so little time... Ken

Traditional concertina reeds (a la Lachenal or Wheatstone) or accordion-type reeds? Ken

Topic moved to Teaching and Learning. Welcome! Ken

I just spotted this on the thesession.org and it may be of interest. I am not associated with organizing this event, nor do I have other details, but the links may tell you more. (I see a class taught by our own Doug Barr at the same venue!). Ken notice on The Session Workshop announcement

I found the old article with photos, in case it gives you any ideas. It does show how the inserts keep my wrists straight, which is important for my own orthopedic issues, but that is very individual and may not be an issue for you. Ken

There's an ancient article on the site here where I did the same thing (20 years ago) using pipe insulation (6 feet/2 meters for a dollar at the local hardware store). In my case it keeps my wrist straight so I don't get carpal tunnel inflammation, while helping me reach all the buttons. I taper mine from top to bottom - if flat handrests don't work it is cheap to experiment. Ken Edited to add a link to the old essay I should add that since taking those photos I turned the foam over and use it with the wide part farthest from my thumb, but cut them any way that works for you.

Welcome Steve. Please, please, just one thread per topic. When you post, wait a minute for the site to come back with confirmation before hitting "submit" again. Thanks. Ken

Which page do you mean by "opening page?" Is it the page for all the forums? (www.concertina.net/forums/) That just shows the most recently active thread in a given forum in the view I use. The less active the forums (e.g., Suggestions and Help is not very active), the older it will be. Or is the page for a given forum, e.g., General Discussion? (link) That shows the 20 most recently active threads in that forum (in my view, perhaps you can adjust this number in your preferences). And of course, if you choose "Unread Content" at the upper right, that is all you see. Ken

There is already a thread about this instrument - I encourage everyone to post their replies there. Ken

Wow Seth, are you the same maker who does the Swedish and Irish bagpipes? Must not have enough mischief to get into! Ken (already admires your other work)

Florence, It looks like this thread is posted in both General Discussion and in Teaching and Learning...in general, we'd encourage you to just choose one forum for a particular topic rather than duplicating it. That makes it easier for everyone to engage in a single discussion (and easier for administration also). Thanks and happy playing. Ken PS: Edited to add: I turned off the other thread, in T and L. If you'd like this moved from General Discussion to another area just say so here and I'll get to it.

Posted on the SI-Talk Yahoo Group (used by participants in the U.S. Northeast Squeeze in - not sure if the general public can see it) by Angela DeCarlis, 6th of July 2019: Original post "Sad to report that my English Concertina was stolen at the festival I'm at in Bethel, Vermont. "Please keep an eye out on eBay, Craigslist, etc for the instrument seen and described in the email below from Doug at the Button Box. Noteworthy details include the small amount of damage in the woodwork of the right-hand grill. "I'll update the group if the instrument is recovered here at the festival, though I'm not especially optimistic. "Thanks everyone, "Angela" [from Doug Creighton; evidently this instrument has no serial number]: - 6-sided, rosewood ends with fancy fretwork - 6-1/4” across the face (flat side to opposite flat side) - 48 metal buttons (24 each side) - black leather thumb straps - labelled “C. Wheatstone & Co.” - 5-fold, black leather bellows with decorative papers - with molded plastic pelican case, labelled “The Button Box” and with a teal canvas shoulder strap Edited to add: Angela reports that this is a treble-range concertina, and sent me the attached photos. Further edit: I've filed a formal police report. The contact person on the case with the Vermont State Police is Mark Harvey. He can be reached at mark dot harvey at vermont dot gov and has given permission to distribute his email address along with the information regarding my stolen information. Also, Angela agreed to have her email posted here if you have any information: aedecarlis at gmail dot com .

Apologies, I was driving across the US the last few days without much internet (nothing fast, certainly) and will get it done. Thanks, Ken Edit added: Threads merged and result put in general discussion.

I started on various Stagis and Lachenals (all Wheatstone or close to it), and later got a Morse (my most-played box) in Jeffries layout. For the notes used in most of my playing only the location of the C# (upper octave) varies, and I can now reset my brain in a few minutes. I suspect guitar players who change tuning (standard, DADGAD, drop-D, etc.) go through something similar. I have a few arrangements of tunes that are the same on both systems, and one or two that are specific to one or the other. Ken

In my limited experience, yes. The experts will chime in and tell you for certain. Ken

Jeff is great, and is as nice to the beginner as the experienced - do check it out if you can! Ken

Topic now here in General Discussion, thanks. They look like nice instruments - some experts will chime in. Ken

Took the words out of my mouth. The software here doesn't allow restricting comments in a single thread to the OP. We can leave a thread open, close it to all activity, or have moderators and admins, who have much wider power than editing their own post. As noted above, Paul and I prefer not to play the schoolmarm, hovering ready to edit at any moment, though we do intervene at times. I'm lucky if my life lets me check every thread on here once a day, and things go their own way much faster than that. And no matter what level of intervention we choose, someone is not happy with it and thinks it could be better. I guess that's life in the big open public marketplace of ideas. Back to your concertinas (or dreams of concertinas). Ken

Fun to see Swaledale again - my wife and I came there from the U.S. last year. That bench at the end of the video is the perfect place to sit and look out on the countryside. Squeeze on, everyone! Ken

Hi Lynda, Sorry to hear of your circumstances. I have a couple of suggestions. First would be to start a separate thread (called a Topic on the web page here) since your question goes beyond dating a Lachenal. Second, a few pictures if you have or can take some are a big help to anyone identifying what you have. If you let us know what part of the world you are in there may someone local who can give you more information in person. A metal-ended anglo with 39 keys (38 plus air, perhaps) could be a higher end instrument, though a lot depends on condition. That number sounds like post-1900 but the experts will tell you more presently. Ken

We could certainly look this possibility. If the recordings are posted elsewhere with links it is just a matter of admin tasks, which I am happy to do. Posting files here would of course be more stable, but we'd have to consult Paul about server space. Ken

It is clear most of you don't suffer from permanent tinnitus - lucky you! I've had it for over 25 years, but most of the time I can (ahem) tune it out. It took me ages to figure out where I got it - I never went to loud concerts etc. Recently I realized it was all those years of sitting in the middle of the brass section of various band and orchestra ensembles. My bet is that yours is likely to be medical, in your ears rather than an issue with your instrument. Do consult an expert and good luck managing it. Let us hope your case is temporary; often but not always the case. Ken

My impression is that one commonly does this (swap individual reeds) in concertinas of traditional construction with concertina reeds (Jeffries, Lachenal), but every Norman I've seen uses accordion reeds, so the push/pull pair go together and can't (easily) be separated. Or maybe i'm missing something here? Anyway, good luck with it. Ken

Ed, I thought I'd edited this into my post above but maybe I didn't hit save: If you have a Lachenal you know about having the owner play the middle row buttons on press over the phone to see what major chord you get (C on a C/G). I've been wasting my time learning uilleann pipes for a while, and last fall I smashed my left hand doing yard work and couldn't play anything for months; now getting back into it. When I'm in Indy on a Tuesday I always seem to go to the Golden Ace session (many old friends there) but will get up to yours one of these days. Ken