Daniel Bradbury

Ah HA! my first chance to be REALLY pedantic..... The ladybird or lady bug is actually a beetle (order Coleoptera) not a bug (orders hemiptera and homoptera). The moth, of course is of the order Lepidoptera!

I don't know if it is on CD, but Bertram Levy's and Frank Farrell's "Sageflower Suite" is just a lovely realized piece of music. Other nice ones I like listening to include: Noel Hill's recordings, Callan Bridge - the Vallely Brothers, Clare Concertinas - Tommy Mac Mahon and Bernard O'Sullivan Jackie Daly - Music from Sliabh Luchara Jackie Daly and Kevin Burke - Eavesdropper Both of the Rosbif recordings with C-net Alan Day Both of the GIGCB recordings (again with Alan on concertina) and many others too numerous to remember

You are probably right, Jim. Its just that on most Anglos, the strap narrows down at the thumb end. Thanks.

Not knowing much about the Duet system by Jefferies, I have a question about this instrument. It appears that either the air buttons are played by the little finger or that the straps are on the wrong side. Which is the correct assumption? I guess I could have gone to one of Jim's referenced web sites, but out of laziness I pose the question here.

Just yesterday I received the "Clair Concertinas" featuring Bernard O'Sullivan and Tommy McMahon. Many fine tunes and the two concertinas together sound very sweet.

Just a thought, but you might take a listen to Jackie Daly. "Music from Sliabh Luachra" or a couple of cut on the "Eavesdropper" recording with Kevin Burke. There could be some tunes you would find interesting.

Thank you Jim for letting me know that the Spanish Ballroom lives on in resurected glory. I dearly loved the musty slightly run down style of the the old ballroom, but know it had to be either renovated or demolished. Thank God that the park service chose for it to live on.

The Spanish Ballroom (sigh). Fifteen years ago I attended and sometimes played in the pick up band at Glen Echo. I had come from the West Coast where a "large" contra dance would have perhaps 50 to 60 people. What an amazing thing it was to see 200 or more dancing. Edited to add: The Spanish Ballroom is/was one of the finest dance floors in existence. Just a wonderful room. Is it still there? I seem to remember it was to be renovated. Just to make this a little more interesting, what are each of your thoughts as to the fine dance venues you know of? SUCH GOOD TIMES!!!

You might also consider getting the "Amazing Slow Downer". Its a computer program that lets one slow down any music from CD (provided you have a CD player on your computer) or audio file. You can actually play along with your favorite musician! Since many tapes and older recordings may not be in pitch with your instrument, you can separately adjust pitch. More importantly, it is a tool that lets you listen to a piece of music VERY slowly, allowing you to clearly hear the individual notes being played. So, in summary, you may adjust tempo without changing pitch, or adjust pitch without changing tempo, or both. You can also loop sections to either transcribe or memorize certain musical phrases. Altogether, this is a superb program that is quite inexpensive. Just search the web for Amazing Slow Downer. I believe that others will offer their opinions about other programs that do the same thing (this is, after all, C-net). I only represent this program as a good one that has served me well. keep squeezin'!

Hello Steve, Is this the Suttner that you had last year at NHICS? If so, what a beautiful instrument!

Patrick, I have a Jefferies anglo that I bought in 1984 or 85. I was in California then, relatively low humidity. I have carried that instrument with me throughout many years of living and working in many countries including the western deserts of Pakistan, South India, Sri Lanka, Sumatara, West Africa, Swaziland and many areas of the United States. Other that not leaving it in hot cars or exposed to the elements, I just keep it in its case in my various domiciles and/or hotel rooms. I have never worried too much about it, just showing it the respect a quality instrument deserves. The only problem I seem to have had is that the glue on the original pads would sometimes give way with the humidity changes, but those were easy to repair. I'm not suggesting you ignore the conditions, just to trust that a quality built instrument should be able to handle a range of conditions without trouble. I would guess if conditions are comfortable for you, the instrument should be comfortable also. regards

I hadn't read your post closely enough before my first reply. I too wholeheartedly recommend Alan Day's tutorial. It is very clear and friendly to those learning by ear. I would recommend, though, that you take the opportunity to learn to read music while you are learning. It's not that difficult and often an invaluable tool.

One of the students at Noel's midwest class last year had a recent Dipper wooden ended concertina. It was as loud and as bright as any Jefferies there! Absolutely beautiful instrument.

For Irish Style, Frank Edgley's Book and CD "The Anglo Concertina - Handbook of Tunes and Methods for Irish Traditional Music" ranks up there among the best. Although written for the 30 button, there are many many tunes that can be played on the 20 button, and almost all the technique taught is relevant to the 20 button. Frank is a C-net member and advertizer.

You need to take the plunge.... make the committment. Check Frank Edgley, Bob Tedrow, The Button Box. Believe me, you won't be dissappointed in a couple of years for spending too much money today!!!!!!

Jim, Did you really say end of sermon in your third paragraph?

Michael, in a word.... YES

I agree with Jim that he is really playing the instrument. I picked it up from that "long gone" look on his face. Its a look I recognize on many players, and my family recognizes on me.

Hello Henk, Great Job! Great organization. I can, however, see this becoming an overwhelming task to maintain, and, as it grows larger, to even search. One alternative would be to give one or more listings for each player which directs the browser to their web page(s) where the tunes are stored. The additional fields could give the information about style(s) played, instruments played, and a description of the music to be found, including representative tune lists, biographical info, etc. That way one is only maintaing a list of contributors rather than trying to keep up with all the tunes. Feedback anyone?

Stephen, The best way solve this problem is to record a .wav file and then convert it to mp3 using any of a number of converter programs. Many are available on the internet and some shareware is very inexpensive. There are probably some free ones out there if you look hard enough. In general, they work very well and are easy to use.

You Know, I was one of the first to bring this up in a previous thread after the change-over. Many people responded, and someone even mentioned that they added it to their signature. I too find it unfortunate when I want to know where someone is from and cannot determine it from their log-on. It may be too intrusive, but what do people think of directly e-mailing someone you wish to know where they are from and requesting they fill out that part of their profile? Is it too rude? I'm just not sure what else one can do.

I've been working on "Blue Rondo a la Turk" by Dave Brubeck. This is on an Anglo and fun to figure out. Wow! I finally made advanced member!

And to think, I lived in Bakersfield for years. Now I'm on the other side of the country. I would love to hear Basque music on the Accordion. Is there a tradition of button accordion in Basque music? While I was in Bakersfield, I was listening to Norteno music and looking for a Mexican Box Teacher. Best of Luck with the festival, wish I could be there.

You can't to better than Frank Edgley's books with accompaning CD's. One of the best collection of standard tunes around. If you are new to the concertina, his instructional book would be very valuable. He is a member of the forum and an advertisiing sponsor of concertina.net. Dan

I too find myself driving along the highway tapping out tunes on the steering wheel. I actually spent some time forcing myself to play an imaginary concertina. It was a struggle at first, particularly imagining the bellows direction, but well worth the effort. Dan