alblak1940

...I want to ask this. In my country Irish music is not very well known..not to speak of the Concertina. If any relation at all most would mention The Pogues and from the old days Lindisfarne (and the younger ones wud say J. Logan) ...altho I must admit that I dont even know if any of these originally are Irish. except for good old Johnny. In the ultimate collection of The Pogues track number 21 is "Young Ned of the Hill". Im listening to it right now and wonder if any of the more experienced C- Players have tried to play that tune on a Concertina...If so ...I know that the range of this instrument is what Im looking for..one day Anyone ? Is it possible ? Best Allan+++

Hello C-fans I have now converted Red is the Rose in C. I like best the following /re Jon's post also C C D E D C D E D C A A G C C C C (then D left out)E G A G G A A G E E G F E D C A G A C C E G (G inserted) A G E D C I play the melody satisfactory (my dog does not go and hide himself anymore...) altho the next step now would be to insert the chords and if possible can anyone direct me to some great posts on the subject or any links I shud study ? Would be very grateful for any help. Best Allan++++++++ [if you love the tune you can hear it in your head, I presume. If you can hear it in your head, then pick out the tune starting on the C in the right hand (first finger push) on your concertina. The first phrase will be ... C C D E D C D E D C A (you provide the right rhythm from your memory of the tune). If you can work out the tune from here, you will also be able to put [left hand] chords to it later. I hope this helps. Samantha

..I found this site. http://www.naturallist.com/indx.htm I guess some of u heavy-weighters already know about it. I like in particular "an emigrant's daughter" U will also find this tune along with a few others here: http://www.bardstown.com/~mtipton/irish/irish.html Near the bottom of the list u will find my favourite "Red is the Rose" which is currently on my play list... Will be for a while as the chords needs to be worked out ........and that does not come natural with me Best Allan+++

Hello young man Im sure they did.. I just wish I cud have been there and listen to u... This evening I only have my dog listening and he escape under the table when I play the concertina . I know so far that something is wrong as the roses fall off...but ...luckily its not that bad when my voice start to chant the tune (I hope) .....so right now Ive moved on to the suggestion by Samantha (thanks S.) finishing a conversion the way she suggested... if not ...so ....then...some more singing for my dog :-) and then on to the suggestion by the name brothers John and Jon. Thanks to them too. All the best from over the pond or........... two Hope the roses will recover in the morning........... Have a rosy evening Allan (Norway)

...nor that I am a concertina expert...but this is the case Ive fallen completely in love with the tune "Red is the Rose" altho the lass is Irish and not Norwegian. I have a 20 key Stagi and need the right "sheet" to play this lovely tune. Obviously this does not work : http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/irish-fo...usic/008573.HTM ...for me so the question is if any of u can direct me to something more suitable... Kindest regards Allan

Hi u never know............... I will bring in an ashtray and zigs this evening, listen to Alan's CD and remind myself that he brought it up.....(lol) Best Allan

Hello fellow Con- players. Im having a little problem I want to share with u. Its a question about straps and how tight they shud be. When I play having the straps quite loose my playing suffers from holding the concertina in what I wud call a firm grip. Playing with straps loose my fingers tend to slip and when playing the little finger I tend to loose speed a lot as I have to regain the correct position. When I do that its like bending ur hand (in this case left) a little up and to the right. Also I feel that too loose straps make me feel a little out of control of the instrument. When tightning the straps that will cause less flexibility and also cause more problems playing the G row as my fingers will press more agst. the straps. Soforth flexibility suffers . Now Im not sure if u have had the same problem. If u did have that kind of problem pls. let me know what u did ?... Did u make a new hole " in between" or some sort of "middle way" ? I guess u will figure out that my hands are not those of a craftsman but more of an "office rat".!! Best Allan p.s I have a Stagi C-2 20/key

Hi Bill Best wud be to practice when no one is around...5 min is better than none. Do u have an extra room where u live that u can use only for urself...? If so u may consider isolate the room like a "recording studio" which will reduce the sound considerably...or even totally. If u have a garage with extra space u may consider build an extra room inside. U have to accept that ur wife may look at u just like a smoker. (say no more) As I do smoke I have to be considerate enough to go outdoors when smoking. I believe that is in fact ur best option here. That way u are telling her that this is what u want which is playing concertina If u do that for a limited time period every day she will accept it. If she dont accept u going elsewhere playing then the problem is elsewhere. Best Allan p.s I practise in the sauna....but I do not smoke in there (lol)

Hello Forum By going over the Concertina Book by Frank Converse I ran into a little problem. U see. Im not very good at "converting" notes into "right played music" (yet) and I really had a hard time finding "live" melodies from the book elsewhere. In Tune on Tron for instance not one of the melodies in the book was a "bulls eye". However while searching the internet I came a cross this site: http://www.laurasmidiheaven.com/ If u havnt seen it before then take a look. For the first time I can hear what a beautiful melody Shenandoah really is. Just wonders. Have a great day Allan

Hi Jim Tks for ur wise input. The switching of fingers u describe I will keep in mind but it makes sense. After all obtaining speed is part of the "game" as long as it does not hurt the musical value. Have a great day Best Allan

Hi Pete Tks for the advice. I have already sent Alan a few words and he has promised to send me his Cd. I have also ordered the CD rom from Vallely? which I will get in a few days. That shud keep me busy for a while. Have a great day Best Allan

Grattis Anita. I will then be able to hear u over the mountains tonite... I practise in our sauna so I wont disturb wife/kids... just as well in the beginning. Best Allan p.s ...the sauna has no heat right now...(lol)

Hello Jay. I went to a friends house some 4 weeks ago and two others guests played the Norwegian Torader. I then remembered some old family stories of accordion playing and also my father playing it. So there was a certain "tension" inside me that immediately came up. Ive been a guitar player for many years but got bored with it. So I stopped playing some 10 years ago. It may not have been "my" instrument. If u have heard stories about pocket-thieves they normally make some disturbance in one direction and when everybody look one way they steal ur wallet or some other thing of value u have. Im the guy who look in the other direction. So instead of looking to Norway I looked abroad and for something that I knew sounded similar but still different I then came across Concertina and my intuition told me immediately that I had found what I was looking for. I believe impulse is a good thing....its an important vibration inside worth noticing. Hope that explains Take care Allan++

Tks for mentioning this CD. I sent Alan a mail asking if he could send me one to. Its seems Concertina playing in Norway is rapdily increasing as Im from Norway too. Take care Allan

Hello To Stephen: Great. A pleasant surprise. There are now 20 signed up. To Anita : When u get ur 20 button : Play loud so I can hear u over Hardangervidda !! (mountain area dividing us)... ....and u to Ben...Play loud and beautiful so others may switch from Tex-Mex to Concertina. Company may await u. Best Allan