mikenielsen

Sold.

For sale for beginners: DVD: Learn to Play the Irish Concertina by John Williams. Includes a small booklet with the tunes in it. $10. Extra for shipping out of the US. CD-ROM: Mad for Trad CD-ROM tutorial by Niall Vallely. $10. Extra for shipping out of the US. please email me at harpermike@gmail.com Thanks.

Sold. Thanks everyone for your interest. Mike Nielsen

New price: $1700.

Well, I just decided that I don't have the drive to learn tunes on it. My first instrument is the harp and, although it is not much as a session instrument, I still find that learning tunes on the harp comes easy and learning the same tunes on the Anglo with all the push pull business and fiddly fingering is not my cup of tea. I got the Morse because I thought maybe the Stagi's stiffness was holding me back but when I got this wonderful box, I actually spent less time learning new tunes than when I was struggling with the 20 button Stagi. It is a bit sad and if nobody gives me my price, I might take it as a sign from the Celtic music gods to give it another chance. I don't know for sure.

This is exactly the model that they sell for $1950 now. It was made in Sept 2007. Perfect, like new condition. No flaws or damage. I want $1800 plus shipping. Call me at 902-224-2372 or email me at harpermike@gmail.com. Thanks. Mike Nielsen

I am in the perspiring plodder camp at this point. But I can appreciate the notion by Mikefule that the patterns gradually burn in and become helpful for more quickly learning other tunes. I am primarily a harpist and that is what happened to me learning that instrument. Riffs on my first dozen O'Carolan tunes that I practiced over and over became the foundation for learning new tunes later on. But Trotsky's comment about the mental tiredness rings a bell, too. I find that I become totally absorbed in my repetitions of tunes and in sorting out my errors to the point that, when I stop playing, I actually want to take a wee nap. One thing is for sure at this early stage of my learning how to play the concertina--I am using my brain in a whole new way. Developing the peculiar muscle memory that is needed for even a moderate tempo reel is quite a mind-body challenge, at least at my stage. Hang in there Trotsky! We will make it. (at least until they eventually gun us down in Mexico decades from now). Mike Nielsen

Okay, it sounds like I better not get into the habit. Thanks, folks. Mike

Thanks everyone for your help. I am going to be playing mostly Irish reels, jigs and polkas, so I reckon I will keep the wooden bellow end anchored on my left leg. I appreciate the advice. Mike

Here is question number two: On one of the tutorial tapes I have, the teacher says never allow the bellows of the instrument to run on your pants leg because it will be worn out more quickly by this. He says to rest only the left wooden end of the instrument on your left pant leg. But my friendly local concertina pal says for sure balance the instrument on the leg, letting the bellows rest on your pants. She claims that if I use the technique on the tape, I will tire much more quickly and get cramped up. Is it possible both are right? Mike Nielsen

I have two questions but I am going to present each one of them separately. I am new player. Just got my Morse Ceili (after huffing and puffing on a Stagi C1 for around 5 months). I don't sight read... I play entirely by ear, listening to and memorizing the tunes. I have tried playing purely by touch (eyes gazing at some vague space in front of me) and by touching and looking at the keys. I seem to play more accurately when I combine sight and touch. But I worry if this is some sort of bad habit to get into. Any opinions on this? Mike Nielsen

Okay, no offers. I am sending it to the Button Box. Thanks for looking. Good lord, am I ever loving my new Morse Ceili. The difference in tone and playability is like night and day. Mike

Thanks guys. I just sort of want to clarify that I have already researched what the good tutorial stuff is. I am just fishing for people who want to part with used tutorials on Irish style playing that they have burned out on. I see myself spening about $150 on al the good stuff and I am looking to get them a little cheaper. I know that when I was learning harp, I used a fair number of tapes, books and DVDs and that I eventually sold this stuff to others. From the perspective of the cost of postage, this probably only makes sense for people living here in the US. BTW, a concertina is a strangely rare commodity up in Cape Breton (as is a harp!) I get to sit in on Acadian singing sessions on Tuesday nights and Cape Breton fiddle sessions in a garage on Saturday afternoons--I play accompaniment on bouzouki. Yes, it is trad music heaven. Mike Nielsen Dover, DE USA

I am a newcomer to the concertina. I only have a Stagi 20 button right now but I have a 30 key Morse on order. I am headed up to a rather remote part of Cape Breton for a few months shortly and I want to get some tutorial stuff before I leave. I have the DVD by John Williams and the tutorial by Bertram Levy (though I don't think that one will help me all that much in my quest for learning Irish session tunes). If you have finished using concertina book/CD or CD-ROM stuff and want to sell it, let me know via email at mikeindover@hotmail.com I am mainly an aural learner so books with no tapes/CDs are not much use to me. Thanks.