Jody Kruskal

Playing by ear is grand. Do it! Other ways of playing can help you figure out difficult stuff, but it all comes back to your ear and the sound of the music you are making. Listening to your ear is core.

Michael - glad to hear that you are getting on with your Anglo. I think you misunderstood me. I was not suggesting that your new Minstrel is junk. Not at all. I had a look on-line and it seems like a fine box. Rather, I was recalling the many times I have picked up a junker in a shop and although the quality and condition was poor, I could still get music to come out!

Wow Ted! What a delightful and detailed description of what I do every few weeks or months (or years if lucky). Often It's just a matter of cleaning the offending reeds with paper as you suggest to make them play cleanly and in tune. I prefer paper money for this task. The bigger the denomination the better. $100 dollar bills tend to be crisper and cleaner than ones. Instruments with proper concertina reeds in shoes and slots will afford better access, whereas the waxed in reeds or reeds on a zinc plate can be harder to get to. Still, the process is the same. Find the guilty reed and gently mess with it to clear the obstruction be it fluff or corrosion. This fixes 99% of the problems. As for the OP thin high reed sound. Don't worry too much about it. Someday you might get a better instrument... which will have it's own idiiosyncrasies. The concertina is a gathering of idiophones and though makers try to get the instrument to sound like one thing, that is an illusion or perhaps a goal, depending. Although you can clearly hear that the harmonics, volume and timbre are alarmingly different for your problem note... it is very likely that you are the only one who hears it. If you could step away from your instrument while playing it, the sound would get all mushed up by the environment and the offensiveness of those misguided reeds would pretty much disappear. Remarkably, he concertina sounds quite different to the player than to the audience. Try recording yourself and listen to the result and you will likely hear what I'm talking about. Or perhaps not, as every instrument is different. As always, the performance of your music trancends whatever piece of junk you are playing on. The energy you give to it is the conduit of your soul and the instrument is secondary.

Here it is... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAiif-W04Ig

It's an Irish polka called: Oh, Those Britches Full Of Stitches This young lass is playing it rather slowly, so the polka beat is more along the lines of Martin Hayes who plays a very moving version, rather more like a slow jig or air. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKtCBkxFks Thank you to The Session for the link.

Nice, I want it!

https://www.facebook.com/cuteol/videos/531539553894557/ How to call cows.

I want to revisit my latest Old Time fiddle and concertina project. Luke and I got two fine reviews for our "Waiting for the Boatsman" recording that I would like to share: The following reviews have been gently paraphrased and greatly condensed: “Music played for its own sweet sake, and very sweet it is, too. Lovely stuff and a real delight!” - Rod Stradling / Musical Traditions, December 2017 http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/boatsman.htm "Kruskal’s skill (on the concertina) creates a wonderful hybrid, one full of a rich palette of tones and a buoyant rhythm that perhaps even a Southern string band would struggle to create. (With his) unique colorings of fairground calliope and ragtime piano qualities, Kruskal becomes almost a blues harp player. A very good recording with lots of variety. Superb!" - Bill Wagner - Old Time Herald, December 2017 Listen to clips, buy the CD or download mp3s here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jodykruskal6

A thought/query from the lower end of the 'ability spectrum'. Apart from the fact that it's clearly a bad habit to be too 'tense' when playing, I wonder if it might also have an adverse effect on health as well as on playing skill/ability. I say this because recently I have been suffering from a very painful right shoulder. This is a hangover from the days when I spent 4-5 hours a day at a computer keyboard, and it's getting to the point where I may have to consider cutting down on my playing time because while playing I feel that I am 'tense' - and it hurts! When I consciously try to 'relax' while playing, the problem is less significant, but I'm finding difficult to do this. It requires a conscious effort to relax, which takes my mind away from the music. How do I train myself to automatically relax while playing? Yoga? Meditation? Tai-Chi? Large shot of single malt? Is it reasonable to expect the ability to relax be beneficial in terms of improving the pain in the right shoulder? Roger PS: I missed DJ's post first time around, but let the question stand... Dear lachenal74693, Long ago, I did some work with a practitioner of Alexander Technique. Very helpful to me and many musicians with issues you describe. A quick search came up with this person near you. http://www.alexanderteaching.co.uk/

Station Master Kristina was fun to work with at the Train Show. This was just one of many tunes and songs we messed around with. No rehearsal, just informal public performance for five or six hours a day. Sometimes we would have 50 customers and be very busy with the train puppets and wall art. Sometimes zero customers and we would spend our time curating the art on the walls or singing songs for our own pleasure. We came to accept a random cycle of intense activity, and then extreme boredom. What a weird and wonderful gig! Mostly, I played and sang solo and Kristina greeted the new arrivals. When Kristina was free though, there were shakers and spoons, train whistles and hand bells for her to enjoy... joining in on the music and sound effects. It was actually hard work to maintain our energy in the doldrums, in order to be ready for the next influx of excited train children and their families. Often there would be charming small children whose antics and dancing made everyone smile. We did our best to keep smiling, and have a good time for the long haul. What a weird and wonderful gig! ------ Yes, my hand straps have fuzzy sleeves. I sewed them to make it easier on the backs of my hands, where the tendons are just under the skin. I made them a few years ago to deal with a playing related injury and I've grown accustomed to them. My aggressive style, esp. while standing, can be hard on the tendons of my hands and the fuzz adds a cushioning layer that keeps me safe and makes me more comfortable. ------ The Old-Time tune version of "River Stay Away from my Door" (derived from the well known song, as noted) is from fiddler Charlie Knight of North Carolina. Mr. Knight had an interesting take on timing and you can hear him play his eccentric version here: http://slippery-hill.com/M-K/GDAE/G/RiverStayAway.mp3 What brought this tune to my attention was the ear-popping interpretation and musicianship of these folks, Candy and the Canote twins: http://stringband.mossyroof.com/RiverStayAwayFromMyDoor.mp3

"I get that there is a air button but then I'd have to stop playing use the button and continue." Actually, you can use the air button while sounding notes. You don’t have to stop to take a breath.

Hi Faded Ada, I'm self taught too. Bill, that's a good list there! Here's a thought. Set up a mirror so that you can watch yourself play. Notice any contorted postures or weird things you do with your face? This would be extra effort that you don't need. Your body should look and feel relaxed and comfortable and your breathing should be normal. Play with your eyes open and a natural, pleasant expression on your face. Also, here is another bad habit that most of my students struggle with, and that is playing in time. I suggest that in learning a new tune, as soon as you can, try to play without stopping and starting. When you get to the end of the tune, play it again without breaking tempo. Play at one consistent tempo. Play the hard parts of a tune at the same speed as the easy parts. Pick a tempo, no matter how slow, and stick with it. Best of luck with your concertina adventure.

When moms, dads and kids come through the door, they are all greeted by the same question... “Do you want to make a train puppet”? Thousands of families have agreed that making make a train puppet would be just the thing at Ralph Lee’s Train Workshop Studio at the New York City Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, a hands on family activity at the famous New York City Holiday Train Show. Since 2013, streams of children have been making working models of an antique steam engine, while singing songs about the “...little puffer bellies all in a row...” and “Working On the Railroad”. The NYBG has set aside a small room, where for a few weeks each winter, puppetry, song and community arts and crafts mingle to inspire all ages as they create a choo choo train play station and a temporary art environment that grows and changes daily. Is this hard to imagine? It is certainly hard to describe! There are a number of nuanced and fluid activities all going on at once, yet in an orderly fashion. Orchestrating the flow and feel of the room are the Station Master and the Musician. These two costumed characters are dressed in overalls with the archetypal “brakeman’s” requisite bandanna and blue tick cap, a uniform of dubious authority... so mild that it could almost be janitorial. These two manage the room to keep Ralph Lee’s Train Station running smoothly. As the musician, I play concertina, autoharp and sing train songs. I also curate the walls, continually adjusting the art to make sure there is always room for the next train to fit on the painted tracks that run around the walls past the farm, the town, the hills, the mountains and the desert. I also lead the hourly train parade where the young puppeteers dance their trains on a musical procession down the line. Have a listen to station master Kristina and myself as we perform an Old-Time tune with Anglo concertina and Turkish spoons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nf9WOYq8BE

Mike and Riton, Wisely said. I think we are on the same page. I would love to have either of you as one of my weekly skype students.

My take on solving the puzzle would be to remove the L and compare the sound. I think the theory of an "artificial wall" deflector device isn't too far off... Yes, that is me on the right and I remember the keen interest we all had at Old Pal 2012 as Harold held forth on his building techniques and concertina research. What a great character he was... and sorely missed! I'm looking forward to returning to East Texas again this March for the 2018 concertina festival. I agree that the L shaped thing looks like "an "artificial wall" deflector device" or rather, an acoustic reflector device. I wonder if it worked? Correct, only taking it off and listening would answer that question.

Sure, 30 button would be far, far, far better, but 20 will work for lots of great stuff. Limitations are the stuff of invention and you can quote me on that.

Hey Mike, I think you have nailed it when you say... "The lower of the two notes is vamped while the higher (melody) note is held." That's the way I play. Some notes are held, and others are short. Variable button duration, as you say, is a valuable tool to shape a rhythm and to set a melody free from its rhythmic constraints. We want the rhythm and harmony to be there, but we also want to avoid covering up the all important melody in a solo concertina arrangement, right?. Variable button duration is the key to that for the concertina. The amazing Um Pa concept can be played on a a single note ... using the bellows and the button off as a rhythmic accent to do the work. Um Pa is not only about harmony. ex:1 35, 1 35 but rather a basic concept that connects with dancers and the human body in motion as we step through a dance and foot it with a Right, Left, Right, Left. Um Pa can be further understood in terms of range as in: Low, High, Low High or dynamics as in: medium, loud, soft, loud or duration as in: long short, long short. The Um Pa concept has all of these five elements together: Harmony, Rythmn, Range, Dynamics and Duration wrapped up in one delicious all purpose dancing package that makes folks take notice or even scream with delight. Um Pa is the bomb!

Dear Terence, I bet you will enjoy your new rosewood Lachenal 26 key in C/G. Tough decision, but it looks like what you finally settled on is a beauty! Wishing you the best of play with it.

Hi Riton, I understand what you mean by 'full band" and this is the sound I have been striving to achieve on the Anglo for many years with some success. I think of this melodic accompaniment style as containing as many elements of the whole band as possible, yet played on a single free reed instrument. To achieve that goal, the melody and the bass/harmony must both be there, of course, but they must also go hand in hand with internal lines that sometimes reinforce the melody, sometimes the harmony, or the bass or even more importantly...the rhythm. As I practice I try to play an unfamiliar song or tune in several ways, with as many buttons going as possible. Then I mix and match those several ways, switching between them at will in performance. After learning to maximize the number of buttons pressed, the next step is to decide how to keep everything (melody, harmony, bass and internal lines as well as the all important rhythm) going with as few buttons as possible. For instance, these elements can take turns in coming forward in the arrangement. Choosing which buttons not to play is just as important. In performance, I love to explore contrasting density and sparseness. The “full band” is a glorious sound on the Anglo. Yes, it can sound very music box and calliope-ish... but it doesn't have to. There are ways to mitigate that tendency to some degree. To help with that, I like to listen to the piano greats like Fats Waller and the guitar greats like John Hurt.

Quite right. The Wheatstone 40 button is rather a different beast than the Jefferies 38 or 45. How to reconcile these? It seems beyond anything straightforward or universal as these are all discrete systems. .

Hi Adrian, Nice chart there. This is a blank template, right? Ready to be filled in... or did I miss something? BTW, I name those thirty buttons you have so kindly put in the boxes using the same numbering system that Gary Coover promotes. 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6 7 8 9 10 Do you name your buttons this way? If so, then the million dollar question is... What do you call the other buttons on a 39 Anglo?

I just have to add to this excellent discussion... Yes, I agree that if you are playing chords with no concertina melody, then of course, the right hand plays those chords too. There is a world of real estate there on the right hand that needs to be used. Delightful syncopations present themselves when two hands are used for accompaniment. It's easy to learn a two note on the left and two note on the right chord pattern that uses both hands . Once you get it, then there is a world of rhythmic things to do. if you are set free from playing melody too. Call and response, interesting ranges, both high and low, droney stuff, bass notes and bass runs to incorporate, 4, 6, 7, 9 ,11 and 13 pitch extras to a standard triad... the list goes on. I love the thought from Adrian that the range of the specific chord notes is so important in creating an open rather than a muddy sound. A close triad of 1, 3, 5 never sounds as good as a spelling that is spread out. For example: 1, 3, 5 , vs 1, 1, 5 or 1, 5, 3, or 1, 1, 1. This last example has only the 1 note in octaves and delivers tonality without adding complexity to the sound. I've learned that simpler is better...at least half the time. I've found too, that it's variable button duration that turns the conventional idea of "um-pa" into a workhorse of rhythmic and harmonic variation in the accompaniment. The basic idea is that some notes play long (button held down) and others play short (button tapped). The idea of rhythmic movement is expressed in its simplist form as the code phrase "Um-Pa" and the cool thing about it is that it means both a rhythmic" long-short" coupled with a harmonic "low-high." This makes for a a rocking rhythmic background pulse that becomes part of the bellows. A rocking pulsing bellows makes simple tunes come alive and dance.

Yes, it's true. I'm invited back to Old Pal this march. What a fun festival! Here are the tunes on my short list for teaching: My Pretty Little Girl's Gone - from Arkansas fiddler Absie Morrison Simpson County - from Kentucky fiddler Charlie Kessinger Railroading Through the Rockies - from Kentucky fiddler Jim Bowles Possum On a Rail - from The Mississippi Possum Hunters Tombigbee Waltz Astrid Valse These tunes were selected to be quite playable on both the C/G and G/D Anglo. All concertina systems at all levels are very welcome. The Master Class has always been a favorite, where I give mini-lessons to anyone who wants to play. Bring your party piece if you have one, otherwise, just come. Hope to see you soon!

Or this one, Brittany Haas & Lauren Rioux - "Gray Owl / Red & White & Blue & Gold" - Live at Empty Sea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrJBel62r0I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVNzLgUFUgI