wntrmute

Where have all the concertina players gone Long time passing Where have all the concertina players gone Long time ago Where have all the concertina players gone They've gone to pub sessions, every one. Oh when will they ever learn Oh when will they ever learn. Isn't that a song by Peter Paul and Mary?

That could be the valve cover. Do you store the instrument on its side or on one of the ends?

Don't spend money on clothes trying to keep up with the fashion. If you wait long enough then your current wardrobe becomes 'vintage' and comes back in style. So you aren't a year or two behind the fashion -- you're just a decade ahead.

I thought the 'standard' Jeffries layout only differed in the right hand anyways: the dual reversed C#/D# (or other pairs for other tunings than C/G) buttons, along with a completely different accidental row altogether, and the F#/F at the end of the G row.

Work in IT.

Cross-row is a great and hugely useful technique. I actually feel a bit wierd now playing in just one row. I paid for 3 rows, darnit, I'm gonna use all 3 of 'em.

With the Herrington concertina website being out of date, what is the going rate on his 24, 30, and 30 square concertinas?

When I ordered my Céilí (the Morse Anglo brand) I put a small deposit on it, and the price was locked at the then-current rate. I think the prices had gone up by the time I received it (about 3 and a half months later, just in time for Christmas), but my price was still the same. I don't know if a builder would reserve a price for more than their estimated build time, though -- I think most of them expect you to be able to pay once the instrument is completed, however long (or short) that time may be. But I know Mssrs. Morse, Edgley, and Tedrow are all very pleasant and friendly people, you could see what they would say. Looks are only part of the equation, remember -- trying the various instruments out is the best way to find what instrument speaks to you best. These are handmade instruments, and each builder puts a bit of their own style into them.

In about seven or eight months you would be able to afford an Edgley, Tedrow, or Morse. I think Normans are supposed to be good, and they're in this range, too. Sooner than that you would be able to get one of those used, or a new Herrington (are they still building concertinas? They sound like a bargain at US$1500). You'll want to go to a concertina festival or two between now and then to see if you can try out the different builder's instruments. If you order an instrument new, you'll need to order it about 3-4 months in advance.

You're doing fine. For my first few weeks (that's plural) I didn't even try playing anything, I just went through doing flashcards that I had drawn up with the note on one side and then the name of the note and the fingering on the other, just to nail down exactly what note was what button. I also did scales, over and over, which is even more boring sounding than Twinkle, Twinkle, Mary's Lamb. Or whatever. I did work out the Marine Corps hymn at one point. But I would go back to doing the cards and scales. Weeks of that. Only then did I start with the tutors. I still stink in some ways, but I can play a couple of tunes with no or little ornamentation at speed now. The point where you get frustrated is when you should take a break, go back to it in five to ten minutes. There's free tutors at www.concertina.com for the Anglo. And there's all the tunes here on the tune-o-tron.

Will a day of canoeing on Russian River, with picnics along the way, with refreshing dips be considered a good holiday? Queen Kathy thought it was.

Learn how to play in the LDT style.

My experience with my cheap chinese instrument is that the bellows are exceptionally stiff, and paradoxically very leaky. You probably should relax that shoulder for a day or two, take some aspirin, and maybe soak in a hot bath or under a hot shower. Pace yourself in the future, but as your muscles are used they'll get stronger, so it should become less of a problem. You may want to invest in a Rochelle, which is inexpensive but much easier bellows-wise, or an even better model if you like the instrument as much as it sounds like you do.

Using one finger for two buttons is ok. Frank Edgley teaches the technique on his DVD as does John Williams (no, not the Star Wars theme guy the other one). For example push the E on the left hand with your middle finger. Then bend the finger a bit so it can hit the B, too. It's a nice power chord. Another good one is to push the A in the accidental row on the left and hit the E, too. Try it with all of your fingers. In alot of cases, you can get something good. In some cases, though, it sounds pretty bad. Experiment. Enjoy.

Asymetric keyboards, plays chords -- accordion by the definition I favor. '...usual accondionish direction of button travel...' -- accordion by the definition Mr. Morse favors. Accordion no matter how you slice and dice it. My sister works as a massage therapist. Car insurance companies will pay for people to get massage after accidents, also it is sometimes prescribed by doctors for tension and thus covered by medical insurance (depending on the policy). Regardless, it is doubtful that there's huge money there. Not that money is everything. You can't buy happiness, they say (though it seems to me that you can sure enough purchase a pretty fair approximation of it -- but that's just me being bitter about a lack in positive cash accumulation in my own accounts I'm sure). Oh, and the foofy new age stuff is semi-obligatory, like getting a fortune cookie with the bill in a Chinese restaurant. People will be disappointed if you didn't have crystals and incense and all that goofy crap. Or meaningful transcendental ambiance if you're into that kind of thing -- I don't want to harsh anyone's mellow here.

Every funny story starts with the phrase: So then we went and bought a couple bottles of tequila.... However; on the advice of counsel, I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of tequila at my initiation to the concertina.

The appropriate question at that point is, "Is there some OTHER way of playing the accordion?"

Mary had a little lamb, Twinkle little star, or Three blind mices. Or if you're adventurous the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth.

First accordions were left hand only chord instruments. Someone got the brainwave a little later (mid 1830's or so) to glue a flutina (right hand only diatonic scale instrument) to an accordion. Stephen Chambers has pictures and descriptions of the early accordions in his private collection article on concertina.com. He may have a flutina, too, but I forget if he does or not.

One thing I've noticed is that concertinas have a similar button 'concept' on both sides of the instrument, while accordions have different concepts on each side. Most accordions play chords (with some single notes) on the left hand side, with either a diatonic or chromatic layout on the right. But even the 'free bass' accordions use a different arrangement of buttons on the left from the right from what I have seen. I haven't seen all the accordions there are to possibly see, though, so there may be one or two (or a hundred) that I've missed. However, this is I think a more important distinction than the simple mechanics of the action because it affects in a very clear and basic way the way the instrument is used. On a concertina the melody can go from the left hand to the right hand and back, while on an accordion the melody will only ever be on the right hand, with the left only for accompianment. While this style is an option for the Duet, Anglo, Bandoneon, and Chemnitzer it is very nearly obligatory for an accordion. This is not an uncommon opinion, but it is not universally accepted so YMMV. By this definition the Geuns hybrids are concertinas, but the Dipper Franglo is not. This is a controversial point, but it comes back to how the instrument is designed to be used. The bottom line for me is that a concertina isn't just 'a small accordion,' nor is an accordion an overgrown concertina -- they are different instruments in the same larger family (bellows-driven free-reeds), the way flutes and clarinets are both woodwinds yet they are each distinct.

The Rochelle is about $330 or so and has a good reputation.

Will the rest of it show up on concertina.com alongside the Howe's and the Sedgwick?

If you've ever noodled around with a harmonica, then it should be easy to pick up. It is easier to deal with than it sounds, anyways.

The Jackie goes from the G below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C (the C just above the staff), and includes all of the accidentals for all of those notes. all notes sound on both press and draw. The Rochelle goes from the C below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C (it's a high squeeky note, well above the staff), but does NOT have all of the accidentals, and is missing the D below middle C. However, between the A below middle C and the third G above middle C all of the accidentals are available (though mostly on either the press or draw, not both) and there are a fair number of 'white key' notes that are available on either press or draw. Anyways, you want the Anglo. *Jedi hand wave thing*

The buttons are along the flat edge, not tucked in the corner so it's a 20 button German, not even an Anglo. Assuming the artist got that detail right, of course.