Anna

Ok, so it's not about our actual instruments, but it's such a joyful idea I had to share it. Facebook has a campaign to get bendy buses to make accordion noises. How brilliant would that be?! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=833...gid=13768396222 Discuss? Anna x

My Jack English Baritone has arrived! Exciting! However, I have noticed on the low notes that there is a sort of twangy bouncy echo/sustain to the notes which is not apparent on the upper notes, or at all on my Rochelle Anglo. It's really noticeably 'boingy' on the end of the note. Is this dodgy sound because it is a cheap concertina, or because there is something wrong with my specific instrument? It is brand new, and I thought I would ask here as the sales person who sold it to me (a reputable UK outlet) isn't a concertina person so I'm not sure he'd know. Thanks! Anna x

Thanks! One question - is 'flap a big maccan' anything like splicing a mainsail or thar she blows or whatnot? All this in-squeezebox speak does sound rather nautical to my untrained ear!!

Does anyone know where I can find the music, with chordy bits and fingerings, for both a 30-key Anglo and a 30-key English? My other half loves a bit of cheesy pirate (awaits slew of cheesy pirate gags)

Gulp! Such speedy helpful responses! Thanks! However so much variety of response - double gulp! I'm just going to have to get practising and see how it goes aren't I? I like a degree of logic so I'm hopeful. I liked the idea of the lower tone of the baritone - I sing, so if I can work it out, that is better for me. If I can't however I'll end up with a house full of concertinas and will have to get a barrelful of fishermen round once a week to sing shanties and play them for me!! Can someone explain something about a duet to me? I don't know anything about them. Why is it called a duet and how does it differ from other concertinas? Thanks all for your friendliness and wisdom as ever! Anna x

I have failed to make sense of my anglo. The changing notes on the squeeze thing is still messing with my mind two years on. So, I'm having a go with a Jack baritone beginner's English instead. My theory is there is less to worry about because you only have to worry about the buttons rather than the note changing on the squeeze (so technical in my descriptions!!) Is this wise, foolhardy or other - do you reckon?! :-) Anna x

That's so sweet Matt! I hope she loves it. Thanks to the rest of you. I'll have to do the piano cross-reference thing I think. Anna x

Hello all, A long, long time ago, I took you lovely helpful board people's advice, and got myself a Rochelle Anglo 30 key entry level concertina. Hoorah!!! I then moved house, lost the tutor book which came with my instrument, couldn't make any sense of how to play a scale or how to get the keys to work in some sort of chromatic fashion I could make sense of without the book, and fiddled around with my dulcimer for a year instead. I really wanted to learn to play my concertina, so I asked The Music Room folk shop if they could recommend an alternative tutor book (a replacement Rochelle book is a whopping £25). They told me to get a Mick Bramich book because he's a clear-writing guru. I asked which one they would recommend to an absolute beginner, and they said his Absolute Beginners' Concertina book, which is written for a 20 key Anglo, but that it didn't matter, because the first two rows nearest my hands would be the same notes as a 20 key Anglo. They know I have a Rochelle because I told them I did, and because I bought it from them. I thought they knew their stuff. But I have my Bramich book, and the notes he says to play are absolutely not the in the same order as the keys on the first two rows - or any two rows next to each other - on my Rochelle. Help?! Is this the wrong book for me? Did they mis-advise me? Any tips on what to get to learn to play my instrument? And are concertina key layouts an inexact science, varying from make to make, instrument to instrument?! I'm just as confused as I was 18 months ago! Thanks, Anna x

And I'm rather fond of bats. Can we just drive away the cats who insist on leaving, er, presents on my lawn? Are there any concertina gatherings you know of in London, UK?

Oh the concertina has some lovely notes on it! Just not when *I* play them together! A boat! Are there many boat-dwellers on here? Concertina boat gatherings. What a lovely thought!

I have my lovely new Rochelle! I went for the Anglo because something in my tiny mind told me it would be easier to make different notes on a push/pull than an English. How silly I am! I am making an UNHOLY racket! I can murder Three Blind Mice. Hell, TWELVE blind mice! It's exciting though! By this time next month, I may even be able to play Merrily We Roll Along! Slowly and badly. Good job there's no sound on this forum...! Anna x

Hello! I'm delighted to have stumbled across a site of experts! I've grown up loving Irish and English folk music, and have always wanted to have a go at learning the concertina. I have come into a small (very by concertina standards! - £200) amount of money and have done some net research. I was surprised that concertinas are so specialist - I had very wrongly assumed there'd be some cheap or second-hand entry-level ones out there, but most of the ones I have found are Lachenals and Wheatstones which are quite scary money for someone who is a) generally poor and b ) not sure whether they'd stick with the instrument to justify a £500+ outlay. I thought as a 'folk' instrument, they'd be making them to fit the pocket of the humble man or lady! Silly me! I'm keen to learn Anglo, and thought a 30 key one would be a good place to start, because of the C# issue you get with 20 key models. Does anyone know whether the entry-level Scarlatti has a niceish tone, and what the bellows are made of? Would this see me through for about five years til I could save for a 'proper' concertina? I think they're under £200. I have also seen some pretty East German models on ebay - 20 keys and floral paper bellows. I remember my friend had one of these, and while being very basic, I wondered what your advice would be on maybe giving one of these a shot to start with. They're in the £50-£100 bracket - although my friend picked hers up in a charity shop for pence! What is the deal with paper bellows compared to leather? Or are they plastic? I am having trouble finding info on bellows - quality, tone etc - regarding the different materials used to make them and the effect on the instrument depending on the materials used. Sorry If I'm 'swearing' on here due to my newbieness with talk of Scarlattis and paper and the like! But we all have to start somewhere. I throw myself on your kindness and wealth of knowledge and hope you can offer me some advice. Anna x