Fiddlehead Fern

What kind of car? Though I make no claims to being saged or aged, I wondered the same thing...... There are all sorts of cars, the Yugo that you somehow end up being given for free which starts looking attractive when one is 17 and wants a car but prefers spending money on concertinas instead, and there's, say, a Lexus or something which en would be afraid to touch, much less drive. True story, my mom chose to drive the '81 VW Rabbit and get a cello instead of a new car and no cello. Priorities, priorities.....gotta have 'em in the right order.

Thanks, Fiddlehead Fern. Your website is pretty cool. I didn't snatch it from the Fedex lady but pretty close. The cats weren't at all impressed. They'll learn, I'm sure. If this works out, I'm saving for a Morse Baritone but have to outgrow this one first. I appreciate your encouragement! Rod ....my website? Please enlighten, to the extent of my knowledge I haven't got one. Ah, there's been lots of discussion on cats and concertinas under the "general concertina discussion" subforum, I'm sure a search would turn it up pretty easily. They do learn eventually, or they train the aspiring free-reed musician to comply with the Feline Enforced Noise Ordinance.

Congratulations! When my tenor Stagi got here last year (oh my, has it been that long already?!) I pretty much snatched it out of the UPS man's hands and plopped down on my porch with it and commenced to making discordant noises, but by the end of the day had played a few simple tunes (I also had previous musical and sight-reading experience). It was great fun, I remember how thrilled I was that I could actually play the beast, it was completely different than the fiddle but I could "get it" and make music. Ahh, happy memories. Have fun, and good luck!

The ones from Norman look quite lovely.... 45 key though, which 3 are gone from the 48? I'd assume the highest, correct? That would be fine, as I rarely use those anyway. Oh, I couldn't play Quince Dylan's High D....meh, I prefer that on fiddle anyway! I haven't contacted about the price....I'm chicken. Besides, I'm not sure if I could really do it yet and I don't want to beg too much from my parents....though since it appears I may be driving the Yugo (yes, a 1987 Yugo, they're still around!) I might be able to work that angle...ha! Any idea of an estimate of the cost? (the concertina, not the car. I know the latter already- it was free. )

My concertina is the Stagi tenor 48 key and I love it, but mostly because it's my only one. It has personality quirks that I've learned to live around, and no longer pay attention to, but become obvious when other people play it. Recently I got to play my friend's Wheatstone, envy! Now I really want a better instrument....but I want a better one that's a tenor, since I adore the lower range, and have no need for the really high notes. I saw the ones on Concertina Connection and drooled, but ouch. Is an affordable, better-quality tenor 48 key something that actually exists, or am I just hallucinating? I'm keeping an eye out too.

Go to the "Options" pull-down on the right hand side and under display mode select "switch to standard". That should make it right as rain. Aha! Thanks very much, it's now restored to its usual easy to read self. Why did it change like that, I wonder? PS I love the signature..."insanity takes it's toll. Please have exact change." Must remember that....

Is this just my computer or has the way posts in a topic are listed changed? Before the replies in a topic were listed underneath, in a very typical manner, full text and pictures if they were attached. However, now underneath the main posting is a bar where usually the first reply would have been that says "Postings in this topic" with usernames, and then a link of the first few words in that post, when one clicks on them it brings up the rest of the post so you can read it. There's also a lovely little tangle of lines showing who replied to what post and suchlike. All very organised, but seems to take a lot of clicking to just read the thread. Is this how posts are going to be now? Call me a luddite, but I like seeing all the posts in a topic down the page as the conversation unfolds. Anyone else seeing the posts like this or have an explanation?

I came to the concertina via sea shanties. Which I still adore and listen to (and sing!) all the time. I loved the sound, was intrigued by an instrument that could do both chordal accompaniment and melody and was completely different from the violin, not to mention small and not in need of being tuned every time it was played. Actually seeing one of these magnificent beasts towards the end of 2007 pushed me over the edge and I simply HAD to have one of my own. Though I have a fairly obvious bias towards traditional and more "folkie" music, I'll listen (at least once) to just about anything. Though I must admit, the only rap song I have on my iPod is "Bohdran Player's Rap"....I don't think that counts! I love Simon & Garfunkel, I have some Bob Dylan, recently I've been listening to some Latin Quarter music that a friend sent me. I also have things from the Rolling Stones, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Roy Harper, Echo and the Bunnymen, Bright Eyes.......things my friends have told me to listen to (gently, and not so much) that I liked and decided to keep. Steeleye Span, the Bothy Band, Tannahill Weavers, Battlefield Band, some Silly Wizard, Celtic Fiddle Festival, Ship's Company, Cherish the Ladies, Gaelic Storm, Mystic Seaport and Smithsonian Folkways recordings, I'll love those forever. Things I grew up with and have now made my own include classical music, and lots of it, a deep appreciation for Bach played on a big, loud organ, Bonnie Raitt, Glenn Miller, Spike Jones, some bluegrass/old-time.......stuff like that. However, I suffer from an acute case of "I only have one or two songs from this artist but I simply adore them" syndrome. Just for fun, looking through my current iTunes list, I have 17 genres, 126 albums and 164 artists.....2035 songs. Now, some of those are typos or doubled, but it gives one a general idea of the severity of my above condition.

Yes, I got the message last night (morning, eep!) as well. SpywareDoctor gave me warnings, so I deleted the message after checking on the member page. S/he/it had just joined before the message was sent, and since the latest visitors to their page were right at the same time as me I figured it was something everyone was getting. I was pretty tired (I've been averaging 4 hours of sleep a day), so I didn't check to see if there's a "report" option on personal messages. Considered making a thread, but it was 1AM and I didn't trust myself to be able to write anything comprehensible. And here I came to say that this weekend I got to play a Wheatstone. What can I say? Concertinalust.

Yup. Playing along with CDs helps me a lot when I go for long stretches of playing all by my lonesome without anyone else around. (Isolated trad loving teenager, alienated by peers on account of odd musical obsession, hunched over music books with concertina and fiddle in hand without anyone else within miles that understands........not like I'd exaggerate or anything....) That isn't entirely the same though, since live people will play things differently each time and add or change things according to whim. Even when the people you're playing with are the same as on the recording! The first time I played with other people in person I was, well, terribly nervous, but I went and they asked me to start something off. I launched into Flowers of Edinburgh, a song I'd been playing for years by that point (yes, it took me that long to get my nerve up. Don't be like me.) I started off with a few bumps, but managed alright until everyone else started in. I had to stop. And then start again. And then mess up. And then play only bits that I recognized. I was mortified, here I'd been playing this song for long enough that I should have known it, and these were the same people on the CDs that I'd been practicing with! It happens. I have noticed however, that after the initial shock of having other people playing along with, (and, ulp, following) you, wears off it does get easier. Fortunately it seems to be something that gets easier and doesn't wear off that much when you have extended lengths of playing alone again after. Like riding a horse; you remember the feeling but have to build up the muscles again to get back "in the groove." For me at least.

Being a continual neophyte at most sessions myself, I'm enjoying reading this. Things I've found that seem to work (in my very limited experience, mind you) have been ~Doing a "background check" on the session-if there's a website that has info on it about the session read up before going. I've also found YouTube videos of sessions, and that's nice because you can tell a bit more about about how they play and the general feeling of the group. ~ Go in and listen first, even if you have the instrument in the car or whatever, go listen, sit close to the circle and pay close attention to the music. This does a few things, one, you can get more of a feel for how the session works, and two the musicians you're siting next to should take notice that you're watching closely and they might say something, when you can say that you play and were listening. Often these people will invite you in, and you might have an unofficial "sponsor" to sit next to who can answer questions if you need. Or course, you might end up sitting next to some guy who tries to intimidate you by boasting that their guitar is more expensive than half the cars in the parking lot. (Just make sure you're not wedged between them and the person who thrashes around wildly-it's happened. ) If that happens make yourself as small as possible or move if you can. I don't think that's rude, because if the person succeeds in intimidating you your playing gets drastically worse, which is way more annoying than changing location. ~Be honest. If you know you have a hard time with something (like signaling an end or switch between tunes) tell the people around you. One of the first times I played I started out on Soldier's joy-it went great for the first ten times, but by that time I was seriously panicking because I'd started a train that wasn't stopping. Fortunately a friend saw my HELP ME expression and yelled out "LIBERTY!" while playing and everyone went smoothly into the switch. Whew. Since then I try to make a point of letting people know that I'm not so great at getting something stopped. Sometimes you can say "let's do tune1 twice and then switch to tune2 and play that twice" or some similar arrangement. Other times the other players have just taken over, which is fine with me. ~ If you start a tune give yourself a few seconds to take a breath and count it off in your head before starting, if you're anything like me neglecting this step will make you plunge headlong into the tune faster than you can manage, much less the people around you. Not a pretty sight. ~Stop if you need, and pick up again when you can get back into the music, often when I hear an unfamiliar ornament it throws me (especially if I'm not rock solid on the tune being played) and I have to wait for the beginning of the section to start playing again-just make note when you start in on the second repeat, not all tunes work well in a round! So, lots of verbiage, but those are some things I've done (or need to do more often!) that help. Take what applies and disregard the rest. RE: Tunes that one can play only at a session. While I don't really have any like that, I've more than once jumped in and started playing along with a tune and only later realized that I'd never played it before, only heard it. It's always a pleasant surprise to discover that I actually know another one that I wasn't aware of!

I was reading the thread on Session Snobbery, and thought perhaps something outlining sessions might be helpful. (To me, at least!) I consider myself an "advanced beginner" in terms of music--I've been playing violin for 8 years, fiddle for 5 or so and concertina (English system) since last April, teaching myself. It's not my playing itself that makes me "beginner" in my mind, I've been hired to play (and asked to come back!) and I can usually keep up, I often test myself by playing along with CDs of my favorite groups. I look at what I can't do-learn tunes by ear quickly (as in right there at the session), and playing in high positions on fiddle is a challenge the first time through. Although I think I'm a decent/relatively good player (this is mostly going on my fiddle playing-concertina has a way to go yet) I know I have very little experience actually playing with other people, and my shyness and stage fright can make sessions daunting, along with the fact that I'm not always sure I'm thinking of the same thing. The "sessions" that I've been to have been mainly gatherings at living history events of friends who invite friends who invite friends that play music and we get a little bit of everything, mostly a selection of Irish, Scottish and English tunes, sometimes old-time-ified and songs ranging from Zen Gospel Singing (don't ask) the the Darby Ram to a few sea chanties thrown in. It's a lot of fun and we go in a circle with everyone choosing a song, everyone who knows joins in, the song ends and the next person gets to choose. That's what started me on this path of traditional music, and it's where I get the chance to play most often (a few times a year for a week or so at a time). It's very relaxed, everyone is visiting and just playing songs they like for fun. Then I've also gone to a semi-local group that has sessions once a week in a sort of old fashioned general store. I played there once this winter, but have gone to listen several times. They meet in the great room, form a straggling circle and choose tunes going down the line. They call it a Celtic or Irish session, but I hear a lot of old-time tunes and styles there, which is fine, I like that alright too. The one time I played they were friendly enough although at times it seemed like the guitar player next to me thought I wasn't worthy. Let me defend myself before you start shaking your heads--when my turn to choose came I tried to pick very common tunes that I knew I had heard there before, when I wasn't pretty sure that they would know it I asked if anyone knew it and if they wanted to play it, I was really trying not to tramp on anyone's toes because I know there's a real core of people who are always there and I didn't want to offend. This summer while in WI (I think I mentioned this before) I noticed that there were sessions at an Irish pub in the town I was staying in, so I went to listen (leaving the fiddle in the car so I could listen for a while). Listened to a few tunes, recognized several, talked to the players in between and they enthusiastically said to join in, so I fetched it and did. They played Irish tunes (understandable) and played them fast. I was able to keep up (thankfully) and had a good time. Next week since I was still in town I went again, there were more people, but they welcomed me again. Now, these three examples had similarities, but they were also rather different. I'm not sure how well I did at getting that through in my writing, but there was certainly a different feel to them all. So, which of these is most typical? Are sessions defined differently on different sides of the Atlantic? What are the different types of sessions, how should one behave at them and what should one expect?

My family is owned by a sweet furry yellow beast that lives outside because mom's allergic to cats. In the summer I sometimes play music on the porch in the evenings with my parents (they often just mosey over while I'm practicing and we end up on the porch with me just playing for fun and them listening). Circles (the aforementioned feline) often comes around when we're just talking, because he's happiest when we're all together. He seems to be pretty neutral about fiddle and concertina though. In other words, he's never done anything alarming while I'm playing, other than saunter off to poke around the bushes and see if he can find anything more interesting than a bunch of people who aren't petting him as much as he'd like. I used to fancy that he listened when I started learning violin, since he always seemed to be right outside when I practiced, but looking back I think that was just me imagining things (I was around 8 at the time). I remember reading a book about the Lewis and Clarke expedition that was supposedly told by Captian, a dog that went along. It was amusing what he "thought" about Pierre Cruzet's fiddle playing! Hah, just remembered that now, I read that book quite awhile ago.

I haven't been able to play mine out in public much, but most people are curious and interested in it and like to hear it (the instrument, not exactly my playing of it....) Probably the most memorable response was from a very dear friend who had played accordion for years in bands and on the radio. She knew I had wanted to get one, and when I finally did I took it to her house. She held it in her lap, ran her hands over the bellows, touched the buttons, nodded in satisfaction and then handed it back to hear me play it. I did a few tunes I knew she liked and she was very pleased, but then added, "This is very nice, but are you going to get a real accordion after you learn how to play this? I hope you didn't settle for a concertina because you thought accordions were too expensive?" In any case, I think she was pleased that I'd finally got my head on straight and started playing a free reed instrument (even thought it wasn't a "real" accordion) after playing around with strings for so long. She opted out of trying to play it, which might have been for the better.....she probably could have been playing incredible stuff 10 minutes after first touching the thing. I'll never forget that.

LDT, I'd say get a better Anglo. The reason being if you're on a budget you can get a better instrument than that you've been playing quicker if you don't go off buying something else. If you can get a better instrument RIGHT NOW even, then do it. Even if you're not yet at a level that demands a better quality concertina yet, you will get there and having a nice instrument that you don't have to fight with could even help you get there faster. I'm not as concerned about the fact that you might confuse yourself trying to learn several different instruments at once as the fact that if you do that and then want to get a better melodeon or duet AND a better Anglo you're going to distract yourself with yet another instrument, creating a vicious cycle of the acquisition of new instruments with no upgrading of the ones you're already playing and truly NEED to get better quality instruments to match your level of accomplishment. Mind you, this is coming from someone to whom "retail therapy" means relaxing and maybe scheduling a appointment with the mental health professionals after I am dragged against my will into the mall or other such establishment. In other words, I hate shopping (except for books and instruments, of course, so I do to some extent empathize with yours situation...) Sarcasm aside, when I got a better violin than the one I'd been playing I made progress that I was unable to do before because I was being limited by my instrument. I'm still saving up for the new concertina, but I'll hazard a guess that it's going to a similar experience. Maybe after you've gotten your better concertina that you will be able to play for a long time start looking onto getting a second, third, fourth (or higher) instrument and repeating the precess.

My first on the violin (it only became a fiddle after I'd been playing for 3 years and switched teachers a few times) was probably Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Hot Cross Buns--pretty standard. I then progressed through Suzuki violin book 1. On the concertina I played Hot Cross Buns once or twice and decided to learn a REAL song, so I started learning The Lass of Paitie's Mill and getting it perfect (OCD much?) before I realized that it was easier to play A-Roving (Maid of Amsterdam) or Blow the Man down. The first time I actually played the concertina for anyone besides myself and parents I did A-Roving, and a few others but I don't remember what they were.

Will it be coming to the States? I found the trailer on YouTube and I would be interested in watching it, even though I don't really know that much about Morris (*gasp*). It looks interesting.....forgive me, I haven't read this whole thread, so if I'm repeating something other people have said it's not intentional! (I just didn't have the time, y'know? Have to run so I can practice my concertina! ) But surely Transatlantic accents are even stronger! One film that I'd have really needed subtitles for was from across the Pond in the other direction: the Johnny Cash biography "Walk the Line". Now, those were strong accents! Cheers, John That's okay, I already watch everything with subtitles.....and not just because the overwhelming majority of the movies I decide to watch have British actors in them, I just like having the words there. I remember watching Walk the Line...it was a while ago. I don't recall particularly strong accents, of course, I don't remember a lot of things, so that's not much of an indicator. Besides, I probably had subtitles!

Drowsy Maggie is a little odd on the EC, but not too bad once you've got it. I actually learned it on concertina and then switched it over to the fiddle, and I find it's almost easier on my concertina! But I can add some slides on fiddle....that's fun. I like that in a set with Morrison's Jig, the change from jig to reel is lots of fun, it feels like an airplane taking off....to me at least........... But I don't know what system Phil plays, so those were just the reels that I know I like and enjoy playing on either instrument.

I don't know what system you play, but I like the reels Speed the Plow, The Mason's Apron, Drowsy Maggie and Ms. McCleoud's Reel. Just a warning, the first three I listed have some 5ths in them that require a little bit of fiddling around on the EC (what I'm learning) but after that it's not too hard. I haven't played Ms. McCleoud's a great deal on the concertina (just a few times) but no particularly difficult parts leap to mind. Those seem to be pretty common, so I doubt you'll have a hard time finding music/recordings of them. Hope this helps!

My goals when I started the concertina....hmm, learn how to play the beast? In all seriousness though, I did have a goal (a few of them actually) when I got it. By the time I ordered it I'd wanted to play desperately for about half a year, and been mildly interested for maybe, I dunno, 5, or so years but never really serious. When the UPS man set it on my porch on April 2 my first goal was to figure out how to play the thing competently enough to play several songs and keep up with other musicians (who I very much admire) at a session in, oh, 22 days. Perfectly reasonable, right? My Journal entry on April 6th read something along the lines of "Oops, it's been too long since I last wrote, my concertina came on the 2nd and I adore it! I'm able to play several songs relatively well and can play most of the simple tunes I can hum......." On May 1st it read "Another huge gap [see a pattern here?], I had so much fun.....! On Thursday (that would be the 24th of April) we had a pretty good session going, even though not everyone was there......I brought the concertina and played a few tunes and I think it sounded pretty good.." Apparently the others thought I did alright too, they wouldn't believe me when I said I'd had it less than a month. It took mom saying that it was true, and that I'd completely abandoned my schoolwork (and housework and everything else) in order to practice for them to believe me. Of course, my goals from learning the concertina in the first place were something like *learn more about chords and accompaniment, *learn how to sing and play at the same time, *play some of the songs that I heard on my favorite CDs of maritime music, *be able to play melodies like I do on fiddle, only on the concertina, thus with a different sound, and *to be unique, everyone plays fiddle or violin....not everyone (especially not all teenagers) can boast that they play concertina! I guess that covers the basics. I also was thrilled with an instrument that didn't need to be tuned and was smaller than the fiddle to have to drag around. (Though of course it means that instead of dragging around only one I get to drag around BOTH cases!) Ah, life is good.

When you hear a song on the radio, can you sing along with the melody? Can you then sing it without the song playing? My problem is I can't sing and I can't whistle. (I can provide evidence of this...if you don't belive me. But I suggest you clear the room of any brakeable objects first.) I find that really difficult to pick out the melody...unless it really obvious. what do you mean by an 'interval'? So I can't learn it in a month? You don't have to be able to sing, just to be able to her music in your head. (Music, mind you, not voices...) If you can hear the song in your head you have more chance of being able to play it. Amen to intervals, and they do eventually start to make sense. You can hear when they're off. Identifying melodies is hard, I know, but sometimes you can think the different parts in your head and sort of deduce what the gist is supposed to be and work from there. I's say start with some simple recordings that have very little harmony and don't swap the tune from one instrument to another. If you only have a month and a lot of patience (or desperation) you might be able to get close.....but I wouldn't try it.

Long post warning! It's full of my theories and what I do, so here's your disclaimer: it works for my whacked out mind, and that's all I know. Playing by ear is something that's a challenge for me as well, but I've been able to pick some up, and it does get easier with practice. For me I've found that the first step is being totally comfortable with your instrument. It has to feel right in your hands, it has to move the way you want to and the ways it's supposed to. In short, you must be able to play it with relative ease so it won't interfere with your learning the tunes. The best way I've found to get comfortable with your instrument is to find a quiet spot away from other people and just play random notes until you have a good idea of where everything is. You don't even have to do scales, just find out what a certain button will do, or go searching for a particular note, making up your own tunes with what you find, whatever, just play with it. It sounds horrible, but is really quite satisfying and does wonders for your playing (mine at least). Once you know what to expect from the instrument and aren't worried about being able to actually play it it's a lot easier to grasp the music that you're trying to learn, be it by ear or off the page. So, once you're comfortable with the instrument and know what it (and you) can do try to pick out really easy songs that are practically burned into your brain. Nursery rhymes, short ditties, advert jingles, anything easy that you could sing backwards and forwards and has an easily recognized melody. After doing this for awhile it too becomes quite easy (if you play more than one instrument I often find transferring tunes is a great way to learn something "new" that you already know). When actually learning tunes for the first time by ear the hard part (for me) is to know what part I'm supposed to be playing and to identify what is the core melody and what is dispensable ornamentation that doesn't have to be added yet. Think of it as a building. You have to have a foundation, that's the beat. You have to have walls and ceiling, that can be the key and melody. That basically constitutes the building. You can make it sound like music by adding extra rhythms (windows), extra notes or ornamentation (furniture), and harmonies or accompaniment (artwork, perhaps?), but these can come later with the piece still meeting the basic requirements of music. After you've got that you can go haywild and do whatever you want with it. Individual notes aren't really the best way to start, although that's what I do, but when I'm learning vibrato (violin)the first thing I ask my teacher is "So, you want me to just move my finger a bit? How many times per note?" (in case you were wondering she just groaned, but I was serious!). You should have a feel of where the song is going before paying attention to individual notes, because then they'll make way more sense. Listen for what makes up the tune, what themes keep coming back and how to they work together to make a coherent whole? I'll admit right here that I cannot name notes (A, B, C, etc.) unless I stop and think about it, sometimes I even have to "count up" or find a note I do know and then play up to find what the note is. I NEVER can think "Okay, I'm gonna play E D C# A A B to start off the Mason's Apron..." I have to be able to sing something (at least mentally) to be able to play it. Of course, that means that I sometimes surprise myself by playing things I had no idea I knew, just the other day I started playing The Banshee on the concertina (not having played it for ages, and never on the concertina) and was momentarily dumbfounded, where'd THAT come from?! Apparently my fingers could do it, who knew? Of course, sometimes listening for things is just hard. Last night after getting home from a concert I was all excited and wanted to see if I could figure out the fiddle parts on a few tunes. Now, it was about midnight and the band in question plays very, very fast and the violin isn't always at the forefront and so does some harmonies that are present but infuriatingly difficult to actually pin down. Needless to say I stopped in disgust and did the sensible thing of catching some sleep. I do intend to go at it again, however. In cases like that I really don't know what to say, other than keep going at it and maybe look into a slow-downer and good speakers so you don't kill your ears with the iPod earbuds turned way up high. Not like I'd know..........

I'm terribly envious. Horrifically so, it's eating away at me and perhaps I'll scream! No, mustn't alarm anyone I suppose. Ah well..... Well, I guess I shouldn't say that, there's the Smithsonian castle in Washington, D.C. I've been there multiple times before! If that counts........I love museums.

Ouch. To all of these stories. A few summers ago I was innocently trying to slice myself a piece of bread for toast. Now, I love my mom's bread, don't get me wrong. It's delicious, healthy and perfect in nearly every way, but it's hard to cut and the knife likes to skip towards unsuspecting fingers (right handers). So, here I am in the semi dark hacking away when all of a sudden the tip of the second finger on my left hand has been cut rather deeply (I somehow managed to miss the fingernail, but it cut diagonally across the tip farther than I'd have liked). Not pleasant at all, but I remember painfully practicing my violin (didn't have the concertina yet) with bulky bandages on that finger for several weeks until it healed. In reply to an earlier post, yes it is always nice when one's injuries are somehow a little more exciting than commonplace weirdness. Or absolute idiocy, like last week when I was flung face first down the hill, landing on one knee, cutting two huge gashes in my right palm and hitting my jaw as I came to a sliding stop. The reason? Oh, I was just going down a steep, very rutted hill without enough snow on it to go down more than once. That in itself wouldn't be so bad, except that I was standing up. I've completely recovered, in case you were worried. You can barely even see where I cut my hand. Of course, I still have a scar on my arm from where I ran smack into a bush one evening while walking around Colonial Williamsburg. Why oh why must the scars that remain be from moments of ignoble clumsiness rather than something that at least makes a good story?! *sigh* In any case, hopes for a speedy and full recovery!

I'm guilty of making faces when I play. My "concertina face" is quite often a blank stare of unfocused intensity at some random object. Late summer I met a fellow English concertina player, which resulted in my running to the car to fetch the box and then swap it back and forth as we played a few tunes, lots of fun but I was a little nervous as I'd never played my concertina in front of any other concertinists yet.....no pressure of course and there were plenty of others loitering around so I was concentrating on what my fingers where doing. After I finished my piece Don made a comment about how I had the "concertina player look" that has been recorded so many times. Years of playing the violin has taught me to clamp my jaw shut though, so I've never had to worry about drooling! My "fiddle" face however is something slightly different, I apparently make unpleasant faces when I don't get something as perfect as I'd like. When I was preparing for a recital my violin teacher was constantly harping on me to "just smile, you look like you're in mortal agony!" and "If you didn't make such ghastly faces no one else would realize that you made a mistake!" Ah well.