Bruce McCaskey

A few recent videos you may have an interest in: HUP Milltown - Noel Hill, Tony Linnane and Alex Finn https://youtu.be/dMTBRMMf6JY https://youtu.be/PvfDx1OQ0hM There are several other recent HUP videos out there well worth watching, such as this one with the Mulcahy Family https://youtu.be/3i5PltzFWKk Noel Hill and Brian McGrath at The Gathering Festival 2016 https://youtu.be/g60ZLNDRSB8

Alex Wade and Alistair Anderson in a concert performance at the recent Annual General Meeting of the International Concertina Association. Good music and quite a contrast of styles. http://youtu.be/o-sVYXtw21s

Very interesting information in both, and much to ponder.

Yes, just watched the "Consairtin" episode too. http://www.tg4.ie/en/player/home/?pid=4873168596001

I was doing research on another concertina related matter and encountered this lengthy interview article from a 2015 issue of Living Tradition magazine. It offers considerable perspective on how she started with the concertina and influences on her playing, as well as projects she's been recently involved in. http://www.livingtradition.co.uk/articles/edelfox

If I interpret your intent correctly CrP, I think you are suggesting that one should consider the adjustment and perhaps inconvenience involved when one considers switching to another concertina. I agree that there will likely be an adjustment needed. I'll relate my own experience and thoughts on the matter. I currently have three concertinas by three different makers and two different tunings between them. One is in standard Wheatstone layout, one in modified Wheatstone layout and the third in what I would call a modified Jeffries layout (with 38-buttons). One has what I would characterize as pin buttons (County Clare type) and the other two have larger plastic buttons with slightly different shapes. There's even a slight difference in spacing between some of the buttons and between the wooden hand bars and the buttons. Each instrument has its own nuance of playing mechanics (button and bellows pressures required) and reed response. I can play any of them, but my approach to each needs to be tailored to get the best result. Nothing big, but slight differences in finger positioning, finger pressure and how the bellows action is timed with the button pressure and duration. The only exception I've noted to this is when I've had two relatively new instruments of the same model by the same maker. Of the ones I have now, I find that whichever one I've played most recently is the one I play best. If I switch off to another, I'll do a passable job of playing it from the start, but it takes me one or two playing sessions to achieve my absolute best command of the instrument; to get the cleanest cuts, the crispest triplets, to get just the sound I want from the reeds and to feel I'm playing my best. For that reason if I'm planning on playing for others in a paid setting, I make a point of sticking with the same instrument the last few days before the performance. I think there would be some adjustment for anyone switching from one concertina to another, whether between 30-button instruments or 30 to 38-button instruments, but they will adapt quickly. It may take a few days or a few weeks, but it will happen. While it's appropriate to recognize such a change may have a short term impact on one's playing, if the instrument you are considering switching to is in good condition and what you would like to have, it'll be worth the minor inconvenience to adjust.

I may be forced to get one of those. I recently sold one of my Carrolls and so now have an empty spot in my concertina collection. At least that's how I'm explaining it to my wife. She used to give me a hard time about having more than one concertina, but after she started playing harp six years ago she found reasons to buy additional ones in variations and is up to four now. I figure I'm OK as long as I don't have more concertinas than she has harps, and in that light I'm one down. Edited to add: One of the reasons I'm looking at baritones is that I've been playing Anglo with my wife on harp as well as with a group that includes harp, flute and whistle. While the standard Anglo concertina seems to blend well with the harp as a duet, I feel that the sound of it gets lost in the larger group setting with an enthusiastic flute and whistle playing the same notes. I've been thinking a baritone might add a richer depth to the sound of a group.

I'm having a bit of trouble interpreting your positional reference of "in front of" as I think of the extra button version adding a button above the G/A in a physical sense. Regardless, the extra button models add buttons in various locations but don't change the 30-button core button/reed locations. If you play just the 30-button core section of a 38-button, everything will be in the same relative location as on a standard 30-button instrument. The part that throws some folks at first is that the presence of the extra buttons confuses them in locating the 30-button core section. If you don't look at the buttons and just locate your fingers by sound (left ring finger on middle row C, right index on middle row C, all your familiar buttons will be just where you expect them to be for the Jeffries system. You could indeed ignore the extra buttons.

I have to start off making it clear that I don't own a 38-button Jeffries. That said, I have spent a few moments on a borrowed one some years back and I currently have a 38-button Carroll. As to the left side G/A, on a 30-button, there are two buttons on the left side that offer those tones. The one at the top of the middle "C" row with G on the push and A on the pull, and one on the outer (sometimes called accidental) row, one down from the top, that offers those pitches in the reverse direction from the C row button. I assume you are asking about the one at the top of the C row, but regardless, I've never seen either of those relocated on a 38-button instrument. You might refer to the appropriate chart on this informative website. The maker lists a G/C Jeffries 38-button layout, but it is a C/G layout. I think he was just confused as to naming conventions. http://www.korbo.com/piedcrow/diagramindex.htm

Great sound, I've been thinking of a baritone myself. Well played, loved the bit at 2:52 with the air.

Yes, there is a difference. This is something of a complex topic, and how you perceive the difference varies with the individual. I don't know what sort of concertina you may have purchased for the price you mentioned but most good quality mid-grade instruments are made with accordion reeds and the best quality ones are made with true concertina reeds. There is a difference in the construction and the sound of those two types of reeds. I find that the American pubic at large seems to prefer the sound of the accordion reeds but those that are more familiar with the instrument and the music typically played on it prefer true concertina reeds. The sound is also affected by the type of material used, and whether the ends are made of wood or metal, the latter usually has a brighter sound. If I can be forgiven for oversimplifying the topic, there are various types of concertinas too. In the Midwest the term usually applies to a large instrument often used to play polkas. This forum however is home to those that play (for the most part) the smaller six-sided Anglo (a button makes different sounds as you change the bellows direction), English (a button makes the same sound as you change bellows direction), or Duet. I doesn't know much about the latter and there are different types. I think the buttons make the same sound in both bellows direction and the left side is typically used for accompaniment while the melody is played on the right. For people just starting out, the Rochelle (Anglo) and Jackie (English) models are decent quality beginners instruments. I haven't priced the Jackies as I'm an Anglo player, but you can sometimes find used Rochelles for around $300 and new ones about $450. Here are links to videos that demonstrate both: Jackie: https://m.youtube.com/watch?autoplay=1&v=HWvlLCzvJ98 Rochelle: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p1KgE92aAi0 Don't let Bob's dog influence you, it'd likely respond just the same to either type of concertina. As to which type you might want to learn to play, I recommend the Anglo. I'm biased however, so I suggest you explore the topic and decide for yourself. I'll offer the following perspective for what it's worth; decide what kind of music you want to play and that in turn will guide you to the best match in concertina type. If you want to play Irish and American folk music, I believe that Ango is the best fit. If you want to play classical, show tunes and hymns, then English is the best fit. I don't know enough about Duets to really categorize the type of music that best fits, but I don't think it's as well suited for Irish as the Anglo is. I think the best advice I can give you if you are just starting out and don't have access to different types of concertinas is to go to YouTube, search on "concertina" and start listening and reading the descriptions offered. You'll still have to filter out some clearly unrelated instruments, but you'll be in the right neighborhood. Listen to the type of music played and the sound of the instrument. If the description doesn't offer details, look at the instrument to determine if it's an Anglo or English. If the players thumbs are inserted into small leather loops and the rest of their hand is free, it's an English. If the end straps go across the back of the hand and the thumbs are free, it's an Anglo. Well, it could be a Duet, but there aren't a lot of those, so I'll say it's almost certainly an Anglo. After you've watched and listened to several dozen videos you should be on the road to developing a sense of the sounds of concertinas and the types of music most often played on them. A final word here, the difference between a decent quality beginners instrument and a good quality mid-grade instrument is that the latter are much easier to play (less effort involved), more responsive, usually better looking and they cost more. Figure to pay $1,800 or more for a good used one and another $1,000 for a new one. Likely this was a whole lot more than you were looking for Ron, but I hope you find something useful in it. It's the sort of information that I would have liked to have known when I first started exploring concertinas. Perhaps others will respond and offer further insights or contrasting opinions. Either way, it'll help refine and guide you in making selections.

From reading older threads, it seems there has been a past scam attempt on eBay related to the sale of one of Captain Salley's concertinas. The link below includes some discussion of it and also includes one photo of that concertina sitting on what I take to be its case - it enlarges with decent detail. I've been comparing the bellows and end colors to the one offered on eBay now. The bellows and end colors appear to be considerably different but there are some similarities otherwise. I wonder if the tunings are different between the two? Apparently the first one went south of the equator. http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15428&p=146401 Interesting comments here (recovered via the wayback machine) plus photos of both ends (near top and bottom of text) of the one that apparently went south displaying the number 215. There's a third photo that I think is the same instrument, but the color is a bit different. https://web.archive.org/web/20131111052139/http://www.concertina.net/gs_adventures.html If the numbers were issued sequentially, then I take it the one currently offered on eBay (number 117) is several years older.

Interesting looking, and to my mind an unusual way of describing the instrument. I wonder what the story is on it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Rosalie-Dipper-Bellows-117-Concertina-Squeezebox-Accordion-and-Book/291738846194?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D36469%26meid%3Db1dd39a1d9654231a72c83098da22b52%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D131787962019

Attempted to get proper capitalization in the thread title but decided it was a losing battle with the software. Apparently only one capital permitted per word. I took a couple of week-long workshops with John Williams some years ago at the old Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp, nice to see him again. Wish I'd had a chance to meet Dympna. Bought her first CD some years ago and really like her sound. I'd watched all the videos of her I could find and had it in mind I might someday get to a workshop she was teaching but missed that opportunity. Very sad she's passed but glad she left her music for us to remember her by. Don't know if others are aware, but Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin recently posted a photo of a tune written in remembrance of Dympna and according to Gearoid, the composer Úna Grogan Ruddle has donated it "... to be shared, learned and played." In that light, I don't think I'm violating anything by posting a copy of it here.

Selections from a memorial concert for Dympna O'Sullivan held in the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis as part of Consairtin on 2nd April. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DSsJK0PLg&feature=share

The Soviet Union play has a very flashy style. I note what I took to be fading at points in some of that group of recordings and I assume it is the result of recording media degradation. Don't know what they used to record with, disc (record), tape or wire recorder I imagine. If it was one of the latter two, neither holds up well for long term retention (20 years or more) so it's good they got these into digital storage.

A canine music critic. I'd find it quite distracting to play anything with such a companion on my shoulders, but she has the best seat in the house to hear the music as the player does.

I liked the rehearsal video especially, with no sound system amplification involved the camera picked up the sound of the group very evenly and warmly.

Looks like Mikefule responded with good advice while I was composing a lengthier message. Apologies for the redundancy.

Concertinas vary in characteristics such as how much air they use and the capacity of their bellows. Then too, some have leaks that can reduce their effective capacity. I assume however that yours has no excessive leakage so your difficulties likely are not rooted in any flaw in the instrument. That said, practice and experience will aid you in resolving this problem. I'm not familiar with the content of the book you mention, but running out of air is a common problem for beginning Anglo players regardless of the tunes being played. Between figuring out the right button, the appropriate finger and the correct bellows direction, new players tend to use a lot of air. Slow and chorded tunes are more difficult to master in this regard because they use more air. Rest assured that as you become more experienced with using the air button, the tunes become familiar and your pace picks up, that problem will go away. Also consider that playing more softly uses air at a slower rate, so reducing your volume might help. Thoughtful use of the air button is an essential element of Anglo playing. One of the things you learn early on is to use it while playing to expel excess air or take in much needed reserve as appropriate for the needs of the tune. By the time you have learned to play several tunes you will find that your use of the air button will be an almost automatic response as you notice the need to adjust your air reserve. You may encounter some tunes where you will need to anticipate the air demands of certain passages and prepare your bellows before you start the passage. For example, if you know an upcoming passage requires a lot of air, you'll want to use the air button on preceding notes played in the pull direction to acquire extra air. Assuming your book indicates the buttons to be used, I'll not suggest any changes to your approach to tunes in that source, but I do want to mention one more point on the use of air topic. As you gain experience you may find a few tunes where your choice of buttons may aid you in air management. Some notes are available in both bellows directions. On a C/G tuned instrument (likely that's what you have), C, D, E, G, A and B are usually available in both directions, although not in all octaves. On occasion, you can deal with air management issues by choosing notes in the direction that relieves the problem. I don't suggest you seek this route as a common recourse, but I wanted to mention the concept. I use it very rarely, and typically only in slow chorded tunes that demand a lot of air. On occasion you may also find it useful to explore alternative direction notes when you are seeking elements of chords, that is, two or more notes that are played at the same time. Coming back on point, follow the guidance of your book and if you run out of air while learning, take a moment to use the air button to adjust as needed and go on. It won't be long before you'll be playing well enough that air management won't be an issue.

I think you made the right choice. Anytime someone you don't know wants your banking particulars it's time to back away. Besides, a courier pickup for something in that price range seems out of place. Better to let the potential sale go, you'll likely rest easier as a result.

Excellent material and a great reference resource.

Good clip there. I only recently became aware of Caroline but have been quite impressed with the videos of her playing various instruments and singing on her YouTube channel. There's even another duet with Susie.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your efforts. I suspect you may never fully recover your relationship with the Post Mistress, likely she'll never again take a neutral stance regarding your incoming packages. I considered for a moment suggesting that you might tell her of the Chinese Erhu (with cobra skin an essential part of its construction) and its long use in Chinese traditional music, but likely telling her about other musical uses for snake skin won't improve her fondness for the topic or you for knowing about it.

From time to time I like to go onto YouTube and search out recent concertina postings. On the assumption that others reviewing this section of the forum might be interested to see what's out there but may not be inclined to do their own search, from time to time I post collections of some of the links I've found. My intent with these collections of links is to showcase examples of what others are doing with concertinas. In that light, when I decided to put this post together today I had just three recent video clips in mind - all placed on YouTube within the last month. However, as I started grabbing URL's and titles, I ran across many other, admittedly older clips that caught my attention and I took time out to watch them. Ultimately I decided to add them in too, thinking that at least some people viewing this list might be inclined towards similar distraction. By the way, some of you may be interested to know that the Online Academy of Irish Music (OAIM) has recently added additional video concertina courses to their catalog. There is a fee involved for those courses, but if you are interested in playing Irish music and don't otherwise have access to an instructor, they may very well be just what you are looking for (http://oaim.ie/instrument/4/concertina). One of the links here is a sample from that expanded catalog (Irish Concertina Lessons with Liam O'Brien). Listed in no particular order: Alfonsina y el Mar (Ariel Ramirez) - Played on Hayden Duet http://youtu.be/fArpHNN6cLQ Galway Winter Busking http://youtu.be/bCJJ7GbFIy8 Mist Covered Mountain http://youtu.be/o6M3goK1Qp0 Amazing Grace http://youtu.be/y-apJInnPuU The Carrigkerry Slide (OAIM) http://youtu.be/PJxQAefQh6o On the Street Where You Live - Jazz Concerrtina http://youtu.be/nglIErcFJkE Duet concertina Solo http://youtu.be/YUHyK49eq8o Irish Concertina Lessons with Liam O'Brien http://youtu.be/LazW3AZObDc Jigs - The Orphan, Clancy's http://youtu.be/ElPjj4mwBFQ Concertina and Guitar http://youtu.be/Gy8L6xAg1Ys Arianna's Tower http://youtu.be/z6T19fm7PoA Concertina Boliviana Pro http://youtu.be/PCE7Ehv4JF4 Irish Tuned Concertina at Bandoneon Meeting Aschau Germany http://youtu.be/F-PFHCPAVg8 Scotland Jig Set {this one starts a little slow, but give it a chance} http://youtu.be/1W2nmQhuro8 Tom Delany and Caroline Keane http://youtu.be/W2FVX818xys Heartstrings, waltz - Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Caoimhín Ó Fearghail http://youtu.be/mJXZhF9wmng Gearóid O'hAllmhuráin, Duane Andrews, Pierre Schryer http://youtu.be/VrsertmcE8c