Fergus_fiddler

Of course, my dear... but only the proper posh one: english system! Leave the rude anglo-german ones for the peasants... Oh, my god!... As if I had not enough 'Pride & Prejudice' stuff at home! By the way, terribly difficult to understand, even with subtitles...

Eemmm... let's see: - Sew: Nope. Only the ocassional loose button. - Play cards: No way. In this country is almost a religion, and if you make a mistake, they'll acuse you of cheating & are able to kill you (and I'm not talking about play for money, but as a passtime with your own family!) - Speak at least one other modern language: Yes. I've not any other choice, because I'm married to a northern barbarian... I mean, an englishwoman! - Play a musical instrument: Yep. two, really. - Dance gracefully. No way at all. I know barely how to put a foot in front of the other for to walk, not to talk about dancing So, 2 of 5. I'm afraid that I wouldn't be a good enough lady, and no Mr. Darcy is going to fancy me. How dissapointing... Cheers, Fer

Indeed, they will; and even more with the recession. And I'm glad that my wife hasn't the smallest idea about concertinas prices, 'cause then the one who would be killed is me Oh, well... I've 4 years for to save the money... I supose that would be enough time! Cheers, Fer

I've got a seconhand Morse Ceilí - exactly the same model you've, but with black finishing - and I'm very happy with this. I've ordered already a Suttner - painful 4 years waiting list - and this will be the definitive one. But this is insane: http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/47MAMA047-u-page.htm How can anybody ASK that amount of money for a box? Cheers, Fer PS: I wasn't talking seriously when I said I would kill for it. Maybe sell my mum...

Depends of the instrument. An old, punished good fiddle is regarded in higher esteem among strings scratchers than a shiny, brand new one - except if it's made by a renowned maker -. I would kill for an old, bad looking but well playing Jeffries. Cheers, Fer

Neither do I. But it seems that the fashion in the 70's was a competition for to be as ugly as sin! Honestly, the first time I saw the video of Steeleye Span 'All around my hat' - by the way, one of my favourite songs -, I almost suffered a heart attack! And I've not talking about faces, but about horrible hairstyles, clothes, shoes, sideburns,etc... OMFG Cheers, Fer

Having watched recently the complete " Life on Mars" series - the british one - and now this, I'm glad I was a child in the seventies and not an adult! Cheers, Fer

Do you play any other instrument? If the answer is 'yes', might be only that you're mastering the keyboard, having into your brain the intervals of the tunes. Something like that happened to me yesterday. I was playing in front of the computer, and then loaded the cd of Edel Fox & Ronan O'Flaherty. Well, once slowdowned - with Roni Amazing Slowdowner - say, a 20 %, I began to play on top of it. Mmm, must be a Bb/F concertina, then raised the pitch 1 step. Well, I couldn't believe what then happened. I began to play tunes that were vaguely familiar to me, with my fingers going to the exact note, having never played them before! Funny thing is that I probably couldn't play them now without hearing the music... Not to talk about hundred of tunes learned in a session at the flight past & the forgotten the day after... and not, isn't because the hangover Edit to write: I've spent barely 1 year playing concertina, 15 playing fiddle. Cheers, Fer

Weird thing, but the most I play the anglo, the more my reading skills improve. I've spent 15 years playing fiddle without reading music but for the ocassional tricky bar or to identify the key signature of a tune. But having more than one choice for a note, and being, somehow, easier to my identify the dots on the buttons than on the strings, I feel obliged to practice my music reading. And it works. The only problem I've found is that sight learned tunes don't seem to stick as well in my poor old brain as the learned by hear ones... but I suppose it's a matter of custom and practice Cheers, Fer

To my poor knowledge, it seems that were the german lads who copied the hexagonal shape from Wheatstone. It seems also, that anglo-german concertinas began to be made in England after the popularity among "lower class" people of the first cheap-made instruments imported from Germany. So, for to say, first proper concertinas were english system and pretty much a posh instrument - nowadays, with the boom of ITM the posh prices are the ones of the anglos -. Cheers, Fer

One of the most cruel ones to tell a piper in a session: - How do you get two pipers in tune? - Killing one. Other tipycal session jokes: - Why is better a guitar that a fiddle? - It burns longer. - What's the difference between a piano accordion player and a murderer? - The murderer has friends. Festival of Humour at C.Net Cheers, Fer

I really do split my sides. What a sparkling sense of humour! Cheers, Fer

Mmm... It's even worse in spanish: Do - Re - Mi - Fa - Sol - La - Si. When I began to read english printed music, was difficult to translate the pitches, so I devised a mnemonic: Fa is the only one that begins with the letter of the english system, thus: Fa - Sol - La - Si - Do - Re - Mi equals F - G - A - B - C - D - E. Nowadays, when I see the letter "G", I think instantly: this is in Sol. The problem is that most of times I think: Oh, wait... could be "La dórico" or " Re mixolidio". What a mess! Cheers, Fer

Indeed, the Suttners are really lovely boxes. I'm planning to keep playing my Morse and order meanwhile a Suttner... I tought to order the A2, but having into account the long waiting list - four years! - and that I'm going to spend a fortune in another concertina - poor wife - I think I'll go for the A4... I reckon that's the one played by Micheál O'Raghallaigh, isn't it? Soon I'll post videos of my improvement on Youtube... Is amazing, don't know if it is because I've now a worthy box or the tunes stored in my head - perhaps both? - but I'm learning a lot faster on the 'tina that when I began on the fiddle Cheers, Fer

I couldn't agree more. Indeed, 'till I went out of my parents home, I didn't really improved on any instrument. Is funny what a bad management of ego can do... when I was young, I was always fishing for compliments about my playing - and it was horrible! -. Nowadays, I don't give a sh*t about a lot of people opinion... I simply play because I need it like eating, or breathing... LDT, don't be so impatient. Instant master of any discipline simply doesn't exist. I began to play fiddle when I was 24 and the more I learn, the more realize that still have a lot to learn... Cheers, Fer

Indeed. If you play flute or fiddle, there's only a way to finger a melody - I'm talking about ITM - but with concertina you've a lot of choices to do. I feel more confortable playing that reel mainly on the C row, so I do that. G row is a lot more awkward to me, so I tend to use a lot more the B/C and D/E on the RH C row. For me, it works fine, and only use these buttons on the G row for to avoid 'chopping' or to slur some notes - especially, when a C# is involved -. Cheers, Fer

I've seen your videos and there are 2 thinks I don't like: 1. Long nails. At least you play metal wired harp or spanish guitar - and in this, only the right hand - they're not useful at all. My piece of advice would be: trim them as short as you can stand. 2. Fingers bent backwards. Try to bend them in an arch way and don't cramp them. The strenght should come from your knuckles, not the fingertips . Try to control your nerves / anxiety. Learn a musical instrument from zero is difficult to everybody, - it takes a lot of years! - give it time. Don't discourage yourself, most of us are in the range between the virtuoso and the useless. If necessary, watch telly or think about something else meanwhile you're practising a difficult phrase over and over; you'll be surprised of how it becomes automatic. Hope was useful... Cheers, Fer

I agree with you. I don't use that button at all, and wonder why there's not a duplicated middle E that is such a frequently used note. Anyway - just my opinion - I never should order an instrument with a different layout. Not because - as some said around here - somebody's going to play this when I'm not in this world anymore ( honestly, I don't give a flying f**k about what's going to happen then ). But if irish music is played in that way on the 'tina, is not only because of the music itself, but about the fingering and the instrument layout. I don't fancy weird layouts for new concertinas... why not, for example, make an instrument that plays a tune in a pull or push row, to make it even easier? Work and time, I supuse is the secret for to improve on everything. Cheers, Fer

I do understand perfectly what you mean.When I began to learn fiddle I was 25 - now I'm 38 - and practised 6 hours a day - summer holydays -. I tried not only mimic the sound, but understand completely anything related to the culture, performers and enviroment of the music I wanted to play. Now I think I play pretty well. The only problem nowadays is that I've not got time enough to practice - poor wife! - and that I'm impatient to play ALL the tunes I already play in the fiddle with the 'tina . Om the other hand, the concertina helped me a lot to improve my fiddle playing, and I'm becoming almost paranoid about my tuning... Cheers, Fer

I find Abc Explorer very messy and difficult to handle.For to hear and practice abc's, I prefer this one: http://abcnavigator.free.fr/abcnvgt.php?lang=eng And, for printing, this one: http://www.abc2win.com/ Cheers, Fer

It seems is more complex than that... Actually, the more I know the european traditions, the more stunned I become! In the basque country, north Spain, is still danced the 'spatadantza': Only for men, dressed in white and with swords - espada - or sticks. Rings a bell? The music is usually provided by a 'txistulari', a musician who plays a 'txistu' - three-hole tabor pipe - and a drum. I get married in England next May, and my fiancée told me about a dance of people around a tree or pole interlacing ribbons - We've exactly the same thing here! So, I think that a lot of traditions shared all around Europe could be not only pre-mediaeval, but even of pagan origin; rooted in out indo-european origin. And changing subjet, watching the other day 'A Mater of Loaf and Death' - brits know what I'm talking about - I was tempted to write to Aardman to suggest they make a story of W & G into a Morris dance context: I couldn't think about anything more quintaessentially english! Cheers, Fer

Very probably - Why, if not, flamenco singers moan & complain all the time? Cheers, Fer

I find easier to record it with the Windows Media Recorder. Pretty good quality, tho. Cheers, Fer P.S: Why the t*ats of the BBC4 don't allow to watch in the same way the programs outside the UK? It's quite annoying....

http://www.formatoz.com/ I'm very happy with this prog - and it's free! Cheers, Fer

Thanks to everybody for your opinion. Yes, it's what I thought. It was in a digital secondhand newspaper ( segundamano.es ) since October and I wondered why. Now I know. When I wrote to the seller, he even said that was a bargain at that price! Cheers, Fer