Ashkettle

Well, my 2c worth (from a fellow beginner). The Williams tape is lacking. Don't get me wrong, I find him to be an excellent musician. However, there is just something missing in the tape. Maybe it's the scared rabbit expression he has when looking at the camera. My wife felt bad for the guy every time I put it in the VCR. I believe it's Homespun that put out the CDROM tutor. It's not shabby. Definately a better dollar value than the tapes. I'd look for that. Of course, the Mick Bramish book. That one is a keeper. Get the CD along with it. If nothing else, it's actually a decent listen. Again, this is just my opinion. Of course, if you disagree, then you are obviously wrong and in need of therapy Well in the popular imagination, Sea shanties are also played on Anglo Concertinas... in reality there is at best a weak historical link between concertinas of any type and sea music. Of course who really cares, no one is going to call you to task for using a concertina with sea music since most people don't know that the link is weak . So I would definitely say that this indicates an Anglo bent... Well the Harmonica also suggests the Anglo... since the logic is much the same. Are we talking songs or tunes? When you are looking to play along with a song... well there are different requirements... and Duets are the best choice for that. If we are talking tunes.. well a 30 Button Anglo gives one alot of flexibility in ones choice of keys. For example, Mick Bramich's tutorial for Irish Concertina teaches how to play in C, G, A, D and F major (assuming it is a C/G concertina) and their relative minors. On a 20 button anglo you are restricted to mostly C and G and some D tunes that don't use the C#... its hard to imagine being able to play in F or A at all. Of course you would also get some additional ornamental possibilities with the extra row. You are welcome. -- Bill <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The goofy bear indeed appears to be Rowlf. However, I find that odd. Rowlf plays the PIANO. I've never seen him using any other instrument. This irks me as it makes me think he sees his concertina fetish as a forbidden love.

On the question of difficulty, I find it to be the easiest and hardest instrument I've ever played at the same time. Of course, that's the lure for me. Once you play the little beastie, you won't be able to let it go. I doubt I'll ever actually be what people consider "good", but it sure won't stop my from playing every chance I get. Every time I pick up mine, the old song from Sesame Street comes to mind (Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing...sing a song). The thing is more addictive than caffine (the only drug I'll admit to now that I'm a father). Good luck and just enjoy the ride.

The technical term for this is called Phishing. They tell you they are "insert somebody here" and need your CC info, login info, whatever, or they will be forced to shut down your account. When you click the link, they have a fake page that looks just like ebay or whathaveyou (they sometimes have the ebay page show up behind it so the URL looks the same). This is the most common internet scam out there today. Ebay may do nothing about it, heck, the local cops will ignore it. The FBI takes a good interest in it though. Catching Phishers often leads to rings of people selling stolen identities. This leads to headline grabbing arrests (and sometimes can ultimately be tenuously tied to terrorism and that wins HUGE brownie points at their offices). If you get the scam, pass it on to the FBI. They will track down the people responsible. Richard Ashkettle (back from a long hiatus from music and most of life)

Took me a while to respond. I've been enjoying some nice time off from the ugliness that's work. First, Calliope knows what a Concertina is, but have to date never offered lessons in the instrument. As far as I have seen, there is an english player in town (only because I remember seeing him play at the Harp and Fiddle several years ago and remember he's local) but haven't seen hide nor hair of an Anglo. Now, that doesn't mean nobody plays it. Pittsburgh is shy of all box players (big string town) but several folks own and "fiddle" around with boxes. That just means that nobody feels they can really teach a beginner anything. Drop me an email when you get here, even though I've been a tremendous hermit since my baby was born (ok, since long before that actually) I still keep in touch with what's going on (or can direct you to folks who do know). rashkettle@comcast.net Richard Ashkettle

Yeah, It's a longshot. Anybody teach (or be willing to give it a shot?) in the Pittsburgh (PA, USA) area?