SqeezerGeezer

It's a standard box shaped case opening from the top, nothing unusual. The case fits closely, but there is a little room for the handles. However, the handles are forced in next to the instrument in the case, causing the leather to bend at the top. From your reply about the shelf life for leather handles, maybe I've been lucky they have lasted this long.

I recently had to replace a couple leather straps on my anglo concertina, and I wondered what some of you may be doing to preserve or protect the leather handles. Do you apply leather balm or something similar to keep the leather from drying out and stay supple? If so, what do you use? I also have noticed that the concertina case is causing most of the problem. Is there a way to avoid or lessen bending the leather handles when placing an anglo concertina in the case?

Dazing Daisy Ambling on the Anglo

[Thanks, Jody. Yes, rain is definitely a possibility, so I like your solution.

I guess this is a question for you working pros. I don't normally play my concertina outside, but I have been hired to play for an outside festival this Spring, and would like to use my concertina some of the time. This would involve playing outside most of the day on the weekend in warm weather and fairly high humidity. There may also be some dust raised from foot traffic on bare ground. I do not want to risk an expensive instrument needlessly, so I am asking what some of you who have played under similar conditions have experienced and what problems you encountered. Thanks in advance.

Very nice looking instrument. I am curious about the neck strap. It looks like a fairly easy set up without major modification to the instrument. Is there a source for the neck strap?

The older Morse (both English and Anglo) sound mellower and sweeter to me than the new ones. Whether this is due to aging or a difference in the concertinas to begin with I don'lt know, but I have tried them side by side in the same room, and there is a definite difference.

Oops, I put a period on that link. Try: http://www.myspace.com/cafenoiratlanta

I think this is the right spot to post this. If not, someone will let me know. We've just put up a new page on myspace with some English concertina. Nothing fancy, but I thought some might enjoy listening. It's at http://www.myspace.com/cafenoiratlanta.

Is there a comprehensive chord guide for concertinas such as for piano? I have seen some basic chord guides for concertina on the web, but nothing that covers complex or extended chords such as Bm7b5. I have been using a chord guide for piano, but you have to figure out where the corresponding notes are on the concertina. Also, I rarely play the complete chord, just enough of the chord to imply the overall chord tone, such as root and third or root and fifth. I play English, not duet, so I don't know how well this applies to duet, but I would think the general approach would be similar.

Thanks, Michael. Looks like a good source for this style music.

I believe tona is playing a duet concertina with some additional modifications. The duet may be better suited than English for this style of music, but I play English concertina and am trying to learn swing musette style on the English. I haven't found much material recorded or in print with regard to concertina playing swing musette. In fact, I'm thinking the best approach might be to take what is written or recorded on accordion and try to adapt that to concertina, since I believe this style of music has been played traditionally on accordion. Is there a good source for these tunes on the web?

Does the weight of your concertina affect joint pain or RSI? I seem to recall reading that switching to a lighter instrument helps. I would think this would be especially true if you were standing up and holding the instrument without support while you play. Maybe it's time for us geezers to look for lighter instruments.

So how does it sound, Donald? Post us a sample. Congratulations on your accomplishment. As a lefty, screwdrivers and scissors are things I learned to avoid growing up. Now they make tools for lefties, but I fear it's too late, the damage has been done.

Simon, I downloaded some lessons on the web from you a while back. Would this be similar or more customized? I am playing some jazz now, and I haven't been able to find much information on how to approach improv on the concertina, so I would be interested in something along that line. Thanks.

I used code 4X3FFN6E6WYX. Thanks, Michael.

I try to follow a rule that the more people I am playing with, the less notes of a chord I use. This is not only true for concertinas. A lot of jazz guitar players will play fewer notes of a chord if they are playing with a keyboard player. Think of it as allowing space for each of the instruments to be heard. The more instruments, the more space you need.

I finally found the link. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCQeht9ECCc Thanks for all the other links as well.

Someone recently posted a clip of bagpipe and concertina playing together. I think it was on U tube, but I can't locate it. Does someone remember the link? Thanks.

Thanks for all the help. Gives me more confidence in getting a G/D instrument for harmonic style playing.

This is a question for all you who play what Jody Kruskal calls a harmonic style on a G/D instrument. When playing in the key of D, do you use the D row similar to how someone might use the G row on a C/G instrument? Or do you cross rows so you can play in a lower register in G? I know it's possible to play in G on a C/G instrument using a cross row technique. If you use the same cross row technique in G/D as C/G, are you playing in D? The reason I ask is because I am considering a G/D instrument. However, when playing a harmonic styler on a C/G instrument, I find the key of G too high in the G row, so I usually look for a way to play G in a lower register by cross rowing. I just wondered if the same would apply to a G/D instrument.

I agree with hjcjones. I have won several competitions on folk instruments other than concertina, including a national dulcimer competition in Winfield, KS, about 10 years ago. In that particular competition, contestants were identified only by number and disqualified if they spoke on stage. The judges were in a private room where they could not see contestants on stage. That competition is as fair and unbiased as it can be made to be. I have been in other competitions, however, where the judges could not only see the contestants on stage but knew their family history and blood type as well. In any competition, I think it is very important that the judges change each year, or from one competition to the next. If the same judges are used each year, certain tunes and styles can easily become the only way to win, and this hurts any growth or experimentation by players. You then have everybody trying to sound like each other, or at least sound like previous winners. Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy hearing all the diversity in music out there.

So what makes a concertina louder? Metal ends, more open fretwork, steel reeds, etc? If you were asking someone to build a loud English, what would you ask the builder to do differently? I have recorded both a Morse and an old brass reed Wheatstone, and while the tone and initial attack differs, the volume is about the same. I do find that a brighter concertina cuts through a bunch of instruments better than a more mellow instrument, but that has more to do with tone than volume level.

I liked the dis-continuity, it seemed to go with the music style, very nice.

Great example, Jody, thanks.