Ken_Coles
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Posts posted by Ken_Coles
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The second edition of Dave Elliott's Concertina Maintainence Manual is available. Thanks to Dave for providing this resource to concertina players! Check the great front cover, shown on the
On the Museum page you can check a new contribution: a 1984 Crabb price list scanned and sent in by Peter Stephenson.
Ken
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The _beer_ of course.
You're too commenting too fast for me! I was trying to edit my post to make it clear I meant the beer, and my old computer was hanging up on me.
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Here's some archaeology for you:
Looks like a Bastari? with the same metal ends we see now. And bellows papers, too. Carling Red Cap must be pretty good beer, the poor fellow appears to be holding it upside down. Let's get it for the next Squeeze-In!
Ken
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This is fascinating! After reading the article by Goran, I took my English (I mostly play anglo) and tried holding it with two fingers on the rest-grip-slide instead of one. It is like a different world. I may be tempted to keep my playing so simple that I can do it with the two middle fingers! (not a tall order in my case)
Ken
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An authenticity debate similar to the one described here comes up at our local reenactment. It is called the Feast of the Hunter's Moon, and recreates a sort of trade fair between the French and the Indians at a frontier fort in French (later Spanish, then British, then American) North America. The fort existed here on the Wabash River from about 1716 until G. Washington ordered it burned in 1790. Working as a musician, I of course cannot use any free reed, and my skills on fiddle or whistle are insufficient, so I help the owner of our booth in making and demonstrating musical toys to children. Great fun!
Authenticity is enforced among vendors and performers, though the "police" are carefully called "quality control." We do OK because my boss used to be on that committee, so they don't hassle us when a plastic sheet is peeking out from under one of our tables, etc. The double standard involves paid musicians who play the main stages. There, everything from a Quebecois BA to brass instruments with valves to electric keyboards are the norm. C'est la vie.
I'm getting interested in a new farm museum nearby, where they are recreating the 1920s. Not only is that part of my own family history; I bet I could play my anglo there!
Ken
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Bill,
Some other boilerplate advice, after going through the well-used intellectual/tradition arguments, is actually try the various types. Since you want a surprise gift , how about engraving and gift boxing a nice certificate good for one free trip by luxurious family car to Birmingham, where Bob T. will give you a shot at whatever he has around the shop, and for subsequent purchase of a concertina. The choice is so personal that unless you can afford to buy *several* concertinas for your dearest, she needs to give this personal input/reaction.
In my ideal world, at least. Just a thought.
Ken
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If you have a girlfriend to howl at you, you are better off than some of us!
Seriously, if someone wants to compile this info, and submit it, _and_ wait their turn in line to have it posted (we have, as always, several months work in the "in" box, not to mention some of our good friends here pointing out potential programming improvements that have already occurred to us, but which we haven't made yet
) we will certainly look for a place to put it. Ken
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I finally have a chance to check in here and say, "Thanks to Tom and everyone else at the festival." I told Jeff Warner (a decent EC player himself) they did a good job on what must be a very big organizational effort. Chris S. is indeed a great AC player. And Ken S. as always does amaze me. You can play any style convincingly on any system if you work at it like he has. Thanks also to Tom and Charlie for producing an Anglo Saturday for me to noodle on (a Stagi F/C -- never seen another one).
Tom Hall noted:
Special thanks to Ken Coles for his support and for his songs at the Saturday sing-around. Maybe he'll post some of the pictures he took (hint, hint.)I'm not exactly a singer. I've just started, while I'd love to listen to more from any of the accomplished singers I heard there. As for the pictures, I need to finish the roll (conventional film) before scanning it in. I guess I need to find something else to take pictures of around here. That was easier when I had a job and a class full of kids to take pictures of.
As always, nice to put faces and personalities to some Web persons, and to meet Bob Frost from the Angel Band -- hope their trip to Ireland was good!
Ken
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I don't know if it is a "style," but Father Charlie Coen is from eastern Galway, and his playing (learned in the traditional manner) is a bit different from the Clare players I've heard. I'm sure Gearoid O. could tell us all about this subject. Has anyone read his dissertation on concertina styles in Ireland? But I'm gettin off topic, sorry.
Ken
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Allan et al.,
I need to put up some info about your book (and at least one other recent re-release from a C.netter) on one of the static pages. If you want to collect any typos I can include that...maybe we can even format it into a page folks can print out. I have Allan's book, and passed it around at the Portsmouth festival (interested reactions from several accomplished players of EC). Even though I can barely play English system, I couldn't resist tackling "Old One Hundredth" (or whatever it is called). Good fun.
Ken
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My first Lachenal was/is a rosewood/bone/steel-reed 30-key C/G with 8-fold bellows. I have not seen another like it. It is a worn instrument, but the reeds are quite responsive compared the the average Lachenal I have used. The one thing it needs is (you guessed it) a new bellows...I haven't decided what (how many) to put on there.
Ken
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If your budget is small (say, under US 200), you will do better mail ordering from a known, reputable dealer than off ebay, since you likely will be buying a new, imported imitation. But that's just my approach; perhaps others will give you a different strategy; I haven't bought one this way recently.
Ken
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Even though I barely play English, I got a copy this last Sunday when they came out and it is fascinating reading. Now we need someone to do this for each of the other fingering systems!
Ken Coles
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Thank you. Sounds like I (and maybe some of the rest of you) have a good reason to drive up early on Friday!
Ken
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I am still in Mass., so it seems I ought to go up to New Hampshire this weekend. Any advice for us, Tom Hall, or anyone else? I may be sans my anglo (in repair shop
), so it could be a real challenge. But always worth listening also. Will there be any musical events Friday?Thanks,
Ken
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In response to the question:
Are there similar events like the S-I on the west coast?There have been attempts -- I remember someone trying to do one in Wash. state that was cancelled. I would love to do one for the Great Lakes region. But it is clear (Rich can correct me if necessary) that lot of logistical work, the right location (quiet, with a range of accomodation from cheap to fancy, and a bar), and a sponsoring business are really needed. So far this combination has not come up elsewhere in the U.S.
Ken
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I will post some general remarks eventually. But they will be general. All three makers we compared are improving their products so much and so continually that they will all be better before you know it.
All eventually
Ken (on the road)
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I added English two years ago to my Anglo and one-row BA playing. It is great fun and I enjoy it. No confusion at all, it is just a different instrument. Duets, watch out, you're next. Of course practice time is limited and rationed, so progress is not exactly fast!
Don't let apprehensions about confusion stop you (though I'm glad I was well past beginner on anglo, I think that was crucial). Apprehensions about time and money...that's another matter.
Ken
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Michael Reid wrote:
.As always, the late-night lounge sessions with David Barnert and others were one of the highlights. Sometime past midnight (i.e. early Sunday) I noticed that we had six concertinas, perfectly balanced: 2 English, 2 Anglos, 2 Haydens.Let's see, Doug Barr and I were the Anglos, Rich Morse and David Barnert were the Haydens, and Ken Sweeney - and it must have been you Michael? I should have introduced myself - were the Englishes. I noticed this too, and reacted the same way. Where were the Maccanns? (singing "hearty" songs in the other room!) We only had one Crane player at the S-I; a beginner dispairing of finding a teacher...
Ken
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Hi folks,
I turned down David's generous offer to look over his shoulder Saturday (hey, it was a weekend off), but I am now at a friend's on Cape Cod (will be job hunting this week).
Had fun, and at the last minute organized an Anglo Beginner's support group when I saw none of the real experts (i.e. the Kruskals) were present to talk about chord playing, etc. It went OK (thanks to Frank E. for helping out). Everyone got an appropriate sense of the typical choices you make when starting out, but of course no firm answers.
Bob, the black box got to the BB after they left Friday, so it didn't get to Bucksteep until Sunday. But the red one was there. I ragged everyone to try it, but it was not easy to get them to write in the book after playing only a few minutes. I did get some comments, and if I have the time and energy, will write more about the Edgley + Morse + Tedrow times we had. For all of you, each of these makers is curious about our reactions, and I will try to generalize later -- it's very late right now.
I took the red one with me to visit a friend in Boston Sunday afternoon (I left my Morse for a repair) and my friend and I had fun talking, singing, and playing in the park. She even tried it (never played before) and some strangers came up all excited. One had just ordered a (cheap) anglo for her (I gather boy) friend. A nice date, nicer thanks to a Tedrow concertina. What more can you ask (no, let's not answer that one!)
I won't be checking in much this week, maybe at start of Oct; livlihood (search for same) comes first!
Cheers,
Ken
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I haven't looked at your chart yet, but you may be interested to compare it with the one William Meredith posted here several years ago:
He could add some minor chords, but it shows some of the structure of Wheatstone's invention.
Ken
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I believe Frank Edgley can tell you; I heard he was planning to build a copy of this layout and may already have done so (unless I've mixed this up with some other project). If he doesn't see this thread you might ask him directly.
Ken
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Check the new article by Geo Salley, on how he got started with the concertina years ago, complete with photos of some of his concertinas, both sublime and odd. Clicking on the thumbnails of concertinas brings up bigger versions (up to 150KB, so allow time to download if you use a slow phone line like I do).
Adventures during the Concertina Revival
Ken
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In the playing for Dancers thread, Cornelia asked
What exactly is contra dancing?Well, contra dance was the most accesible kind of dance for me, when I first tried it 22 years ago at a tender age in Washington, D.C. It was real big with young people in the 1970s, and I sometimes wonder if we have all aged as a crowd, as the folks I see at contra dances are all my age (now 40s), though maybe this is in the Midwest U.S. only!
The dance is done by two couples who execute various figures as a foursome, commonly for a 32-bar dance, after which the couple will "progress" up or down the line of couples and do it again with a new couple. The moves are taught before the dance in a walk-through, and a caller calls the moves throughout the dance (at least my favorite callers don't stop calling in the middle of the dance!). Some would compare it to square dance (descended from the old quadrilles, for four couples), but the culture is quite different. Much square dancing in America is codified, some folks wear fancy/silly (take your pick) costumes, and live music and even callers can be uncommon. Contra dancers I know are a decidedly informal lot, the moves are ones you can learn if you can walk, and they are very good about helping beginners feel welcome right away. Live music is almost universal - I can't remember ever contra dancing without it. I can't tell you much about the history of contras, perhaps others here can. Someone told me it has ancestry in the British Isles, but much of it seems to be a North American form. It is very big in New England, and I learned it in the Hudson Valley of N.Y. in the mid-1980s. It was a huge singles activity there, and hundreds of people would show up for the dances. Eileen Ivers used to play for our dances! (for 50 bucks, maybe?) I bet she doesn't have to do that anymore!
The music might be a moderately fast fiddle tune or something similar. Over the last quarter-century Contra dance music has become a form of its own, with well-known bands like Wild Asparagus, or the more recent rave, Flapjack. Many original tunes have been written for contra dancing. To get back to the thread topic, I got my first chances to play in a contra dance band this summer, once at Pinewoods and twice at a local dance weekend, and I enjoyed it, though it took focus and stamina.
Gee, we should really start a new thread if anyone else wants to expand on this.
Ken
Anglo- Right Hand Little Finger
in General Concertina Discussion
Posted
Without changing this to a thread about NHICS, let me briefly note that I went not once, but twice with a clunky, double-reed, 20 button C/G Stagi. I'm not aware that any one else started out this low! If you read my little report on the learning page written about this 6 years ago, I report that neither Noel, nor any other teacher I ever have had on a musical instrument, made my instrument an issue. The only comment he ever made was that I should consider getting an instrument with the missing notes (back then that meant 26 or 30. I soon did). The value of getting lessons as a beginner outweighed any drawback of a minimal instrument, as I avoided some bad habits I might otherwise have developed.
Frank had that 24 (now on ebay) at the Squeeze-In. Like all his work it was very high quality, but the accidentals layout was different enough that I didn't try to figure it out in the short time I had to play it. But I have had no issues switching Lach and Jeff layouts, so I'm sure this difference is not a long-term issue for you. If the price difference with a 30 is enough to swing it, get the 24, I would say.
Ken