Regie

Are you sure you did not get an English concertina? Regie

Well, your reply was to the message I sent. I do read music and I do what you said and ignore the pinkie rests. I have been on internet forums for a long time and I like straight answers but I did not detect yours as a simple straight answer. Regie Hold yer horses, oh Sensitive One! My reply was not aimed at you, but to multiple posts that began to sound as though there is some secret passage to playing chords on EC. EC is easy to pick the melody with, AND it is easy to play chords on. In fact, it's so simple, you don't need to experiment, just push needed buttons and there they are. You may find your fingers to be cramped, but unless you do have very (very!) thick fingers it's just a fleeting impression, and with little practice and relaxation you'll be an expert. With EC it is so easy to read music, that learning to play chords is probably better done by learning to read. Then you'll just see those dots and connect them with your fingers on the buttons. And if you DO read, you are set. I personally suggest to ignore pinkie rests, then each of your fingers will have "assigned" column of buttons. But this "rule" is frequently broken too. Another suggestion would be to take it easy while participating on Internet Forums. We are not hot headed goons, but I certainly am not going to employ "smily faces" too much. For training purposes you may visit electric guitar forum or even Cajun Accordion and get used to the lingo. Then come back and Relax.

Heavyweight, Maybe I'm the only one here who is not an expert musician. I fiddle with the concertina because I love music and the English concertina is the easiest thing I have ever tried to play. I do it because I enjoy it. My message was not meant to the experts on this forum but was simply an effort to tell how I had experimented around to try to make chords. I love the simplicity of playing melody and trying to throw in 2 parts at times. Maybe I just don't belong here. Regie But what's a big deal? This thread makes people to believe there's some trickery in playing chords on EC, when in fact there's none. It's very easy, unless one has very very thick and immobile fingers. In which case an accordion in better choice of an instrument. Playing chords on CBA is much more uncomfortable, but people manage.

Recently someone asked how to make chords on an English concertina without having to cross fingers, eyes, etc. trying to do so with only one hand and wanting to know how to do it without having to play one note an octave too high (I think). I could not find the message originally sent. I've not been interested in playing chords much but with a little experimenting I think the best way is to play the fifth of the chord as the lowest note in the chord and to play the first and third with the other hand. I'm no musician though. I hope I have made sense. To me the sound is better this way. Regie

Thanks to all who answered me. Although I am pretty sure you were joking, I do not decry your playing complicated music. We've just all got different tastes for music. However, the last time I ate some of my music it tasted funny since the dog had been chewing on it before me. Thanks again and have a good day and everyone else here too. Regie

Hello, Is there anyone else here who likes to play simple things on a concertina? I enjoy just doing the best I can playing religious songs, Suzuki tunes, and various other simple tunes that involve one or two notes. I think the concertina is a pretty instrument without all the fancy playing that so many play who are really good at it. I find the English Concertina to be more up my alley. Although I do play harmonica (by ear only - it does not even attract me any more since I got the concertina as I am not very good at playing only one note on a harmonica which makes it rather discordant or whatever it is called - maybe circus music) - I far prefer the concertina now. Anyone else rather like me here? Thanks, Regie p.s. I even like piano music with only 2 or 3 notes played in the right hand. Four and five notes on a piano sound rather muddled???? to me and I like the simpler stuff on it generally.

The http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?act=idx link works for me. I am using Firefox. Regie

That's how I do it. I did try the suggestion of Dick Miles today but don't think I will master that method though I expect I will try it again. It seems at this point that I have to have a touch of the keys under my pinky and my first finger as a guide to keep everything in place otherwise I get off the 2 middle rows so easily. Thanks to all who have replied. I am still open for suggestions if anyone still has any. Regie I've just re-read this thread and I believe (if I understand correctly) that I am doing it the way Dick said. I can now play in most keys with the exception of anything over 4 sharps or 5 flats. I'm not willing to rack my brain right now to state what those scales are. On second thought I guess I have played in c, f, b flat, e flat, a flat, d flat, g, d, a, e. Did that get them right for 4 sharps and 5 flats? It's fun! Just a little before I got the concertina we got an accordion. The accordion is sitting almost all the time in it's case. After getting on to the concertina somewhat, IMO, it is far, far easier to play than an accordion and much easier on my poor old back. Regie

Misha, For once, we're in complete agreement! Apart from anything else, could you trust a seller who makes a completely false and outrageous claim like "retail value $928"? Hello Regie, In fact a "proper" English concertina has all the sharps and flats, and it is a fully chromatic instrument. ... it may have a similar layout to this one - http://www.concertinaconnection.com/jackie%20layout.htm It isn't very clear, so I've blown up the eBay dealer's only photo, which shows the left hand end: The accidentals then appear to be different, in that the one in the photo appears to have a low Ab that the Jackie doesn't have on that side (though it does have it as G# on the right hand end), and it doesn't have the (very necessary) low C# that is on the Jackie. From playing and comparing it to a keyboard it does have the low C sharp on the left hand side. It is immediately above and to the right of the C button. I could be wrong but that's what I have been calling it and playing it when I find it in music. Please let me know if you find out I am wrong. For G sharp I have been using the A flat button on the right hand. It is left and slightly down from the A button. I'm a beginner though but I am finding this little old cheaper instrument quite ok for my purposes. It may wear out soon though as far as I know and then I probably will be wanting to get a better one for I am sure enjoying playing the melody just one note at a time. Thanks to all, Regie

Massachusetts is too far from Memphis, TN for me. It would likely have to be a lot closer for me to ever get to anything like this in my advancing age. Is there anything like this NESI event closer to the mid-south USA? Thanks much, Regie

I am in the U.S. but it seems that many of you are from England (maybe most). Do you have an area where many, many of your concertina players (with your picking of the best of players for the purpose) could get together on some week-end(s) to make your own concertina band music and produce that until such time as you can get all these old band recordings together? I'd like to hear it though I have no idea what it would be like or if I'd need some of those aspirins. Thanks, Regie

Hello, I'm from Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Thanks much, Regie

That's how I do it. I did try the suggestion of Dick Miles today but don't think I will master that method though I expect I will try it again. It seems at this point that I have to have a touch of the keys under my pinky and my first finger as a guide to keep everything in place otherwise I get off the 2 middle rows so easily. Thanks to all who have replied. I am still open for suggestions if anyone still has any. Regie

Hello, I am brand new at this attempting to learn to play the English concertina. Being nearly 69 years old is not a great asset also. The way I understand it, I am supposed to use the first and second finger on the rows. These are called the index and first finger, right? Doing it that way, it is so very easy to jump the rows and get on the accidental keys or get the first finger where the second should go or vice versa. So, I've started trying to put my 2nd finger and ring finger on the regular keys and putting the index finger and the pinky on the accidentals. As long as my first and pinky can feel the accidental keys under them, the only problem I have is trying to move up or down just the right amount to hit the note I am wanting. If I can manage to conquer it this way do you think I will have some future problem(s) that may make me wish I had never tried such an approach? Thanks much, Regie P.S. It's hard enough just to hit the right keys when I'm typing, much less trying to play a concertina.

Hello, I think I read somewhere that the 30 key English concertina has some sharps and flats. Does anyone know just what sharps and flats this concertina has: 30 Key concertina on e-Bay Thanks much, Regie