Kautilya

Seems to be globally set now in your options. I always had mine set to "forum" view so I didn't know what you're talking about... perhaps you had yours set to linear or whatever? Click the triangle next to your name at top right of page, My Settings, Forums tab, then try changing the Topic Display Mode at the bottom. Paul Onward and upward Paul! must have been lots of work for you so tks.

I MUST BE DREAMING I wanted to (mischievously) contribute something to the violin debate on Beethhoven and Concertina and I moved into a new galaxy and see what led me here to this new level of consciousness: http://www.dreamjournal.net/index.cfm/do/journal.getdream/dream_id/23795 Interesting new clothes and the coatstand is rather intriguing....! Must get to bed and dream some more in the hope the [new?]Search engine will live up to the new image! LOVE THE CALENDAR and right at the top - maybe it was there before (!?) but it is just what one needs for events when one is travelling around and want some musical company and entertainment.Hope it is easy for people to fill in regularly. DEAD EASY CALENDAR Just posted ICA pre AGM and AGM details for Friday/Saturday Nov 6 and 7 Cleckheaton...

I MUST BE DREAMING I wanted to (mischievously) contribute something to the violin debate on Beethhoven and Concertina and I moved into a new galaxy and see what led me here to this new level of consciousness: http://www.dreamjournal.net/index.cfm/do/journal.getdream/dream_id/23795 Interesting new clothes and the coatstand is rather intriguing....! Must get to bed and dream some more in the hope the [new?]Search engine will live up to the new image! LOVE THE CALENDAR and right at the top - maybe it was there before (!?) but it is just what one needs for events when one is travelling around and want some musical company and entertainment.Hope it is easy for people to fill in regularly.

Excellent post Priscilla! I have been switching around too, for chord charts particularly (and some tunes), between Mike Bramich's and one from the West Country Concertina Players, Ins and OUts of the Anglo Concertina (which members get, but it is not for sale directly) and Bob Kail's "The best concertina method - yet!". Though I found the latter a little short in the introductory section so I put it back on the shelf, but looking again at some of the initial simple toons in it, perhaps I should follow your lead and revisit. I thought I was doing the wrong thing flitting about, as one comes across views about one way being better for beginners than another, so your experience is reassuring. I will have to start saving up for Frank Edgeley's as it would no doubt also get hit by import VAT, a postal admin charge for collecting the VAT plus the delivery cost from over the pond might push up its price to around $50 or $60 US... I also need to revisit (aurally!) Alan Day's tutor which works by ear not sight! tks again!

tks W!

They do say silk knickers don't scratch, whereas your old man's old string vest.......

Good advice from Simon, but you might also consider getting yourself checked out. I had a similar problem last year which turned out to be asthma. THANKS Simon - will proceed. Theo - think not, hope not and pretty sure it is the box which is wheezing instead of me!

Will have a go -- ta.

time to change that drone in your box - seems to have got stuck!

THE BELLS! THE BELLS! (with apologies to Quasimodo I have seen someone very effectively using a palm held set of liittle twinkly bells and/or a tambourine to keep a group of c-players in time as the sound of the bells cuts through the c-music sound which can be diffuse (folk hitting notes at different speeds. The bell sound also seems to stimulate foot tapping... in time... and is a 'call' for dancers to risk the floor. oF course speeding up or slowing down the bells does same for players and dancers - the bells become a kind of anonymous unfrightening conductor..

So you wanna fight do you? OK. Why do small accordions get the crowd tapping faster and smiling more than English Concertinas at play ? (Notice I did not say anglos..... Evidence - the tinas were blown away when the quartet of accordions and melodeons started doing their stuff at Dave Lee's memorial - indeed, the tina players came alive and were tapping along ... I am going out now and may be some time......

I haven't tried it, but here's one: http://www.thefatlute.com/viewsong.aspx?songid=986 By the way would Harley Quinn; Jokers girlfriend, fit here? From Batman Thanks Leo BRILL Leo! desperate to get abc duelling going but now I can't get the abc box up ...aaaggghhh I'll ask Jack Nicholson about Quinn -- seems to be more of a connection between him and Julius Caesar (not Nero on the lyre) http://www.ksanti.net/free-reed/reviews/vi..._accordion.html got abc and banjos working - at least the first section (slowed down even slower!) ta again. In a few weeks be ready for a tina duel on skype....... BTW for anyone wanting more simple non-tina type toons there is also: http://abcnotation.com/browse/0169.html

Geoff Halford of Leicester Morris Men, playing a Harley. HARLEY OVER THE URALS I recognise the box but have you been able to find a date or catalogue number anywhere on the player to see if he is pre or post 1900?! If he is a Hornyman exhibit he certainly seems to be in fine fettle and getting regular use and maintenance -- looks to be quite a puller for any tinas in the crowd. Do Halfords service as well as sell their own brand of squeezergeezer or did he jus buy the company?

And here's another Harley. And it is an experience, that's for sure! The concertina exhaust That is what is so good about this forum - new ideas come unexpectedly round the corner all the time! I was being asked about the uselessness of an electric sports bike which made no noise and I said the simple solution was to add a tape (or ipod player) with a speaker and put whatever exhaust noise u like on it to make sure the natives know you are coming. BUT - what better than a tina music exhaust with crescendo and diminuendo as you move up and down the revs! Adding it is simple - in the 1979 general election I canvassed on a motorbike and had a tape in the back box playing the Irish Washerwoman through a speaker mounted on the box! Never mind the Harley - wot abaht two Whooping Cranes doing the duelling banjo toon.... (Is there an ABC for duelling banjos to try on two Cranes or even anglos?) For those unaware here are some fast and big electric bikes --

any patent remedies to stop (praps old) dust inside tina making you cough after playing for a short while? apart from opening up and mini-hoovering can one put some deodo safely/usefully sprayed from outside (praps some drops of lemon juice on the netting, just as one might put lemon in microwave to kill after-smell of microwaved fish). Had a go a few months ago on an accordion wot had not been used for years and within about five minutes the smell/air dust it was pumping out - moldy(not beer and spittoon)- had me hawking and I had to put it down and go and get a drink and some fresh air...

For concertina playing bikers I have just discovered there is a rideout SATURDAY OCT 31ST 2009 PARK LANE CAR PARK – MIDDAY Central Londoin to protest against bike parking charges in what the organisers call WestMONSTER. I should think a tina playing passenger would have a fair chance of getting on prime time tv news!! The two bears riding a bike on the video site are an indication.... http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

Oh yes you can! The speed of an abc file is set by a field in the header (all of those funny things at the beginning of the file). Speed is set in the Q: field. First set the default note length i.e. 1/8 or 1/4 and so on and then set the beats per minute. I find that the statement Q: 1/4=150 is a good starting point for most tunes. Slow airs will be too fast at this speed and fast reels too slow so the beat rate of 150 needs to be adjusted; for learning purposes try 80-90. Remember that the key signature field K: must be the last statement in the header. The Q: field can be added anywhere after X: and before K: Have you tried any of the abc software that's available for free download? Pete. Got to slow it (The Breamish) down and speed it up - tks Pete. I must find another tunifier somewhere on my machine which allowed you to slow/speedup but also a loop function to repeat sections for phrasing - I see I have one called Audacity so somone must have mentioned it before here.

Yes, two people here. I haven't played it for a while so would need to practice it back up but it is playable at a reasonable pace. My other half plays it on English concertina, flute, recorder and whistle ... I cannot find where these eight variations are - I know the original most famous version which goes "three old ladies got locked in a lavatory" Then I just found one saying it was seven old ladies who got locked in the lavatory. I presume the extra syllables (three vs sev en affect the notation and the push and pull... any experts out there or the eight-variation person?

BMX - BMW -- there are some Honda touring riders out here who also squeeze the odd button but we do worry for the BMW riders after seeing this (a little lighthearted relief in the middle of the concertina price wars) and you will also learn that ebay has been around a lot longer than you might think

Oh yes you can! The speed of an abc file is set by a field in the header (all of those funny things at the beginning of the file). Speed is set in the Q: field. First set the default note length i.e. 1/8 or 1/4 and so on and then set the beats per minute. I find that the statement Q: 1/4=150 is a good starting point for most tunes. Slow airs will be too fast at this speed and fast reels too slow so the beat rate of 150 needs to be adjusted; for learning purposes try 80-90. Remember that the key signature field K: must be the last statement in the header. The Q: field can be added anywhere after X: and before K: Have you tried any of the abc software that's available for free download? Pete. Oh good. I had looked around a few months back but i only found rather expensive downloads Is this one any good do u know? http://www.sharewareconnection.com/guitar-...m-trainer-2.htm ta!

Thanks for this Patrick!! Very useful site - the only pity is that you cannot slow the ABC down so one can gradually get the run of the fingering and then build up speed (a la Alan Day typing concept.... typing words requires the brain to build up the letter phrasing until a particular word becomes automatic and the same should therefore apply to phrasing on the buttons (doing scales is no more than typing the word cdefgabc which as u know is Sanskrit for abracadabra). I first developed a folding,portable keyboard in 1956 but was too young to know about patenting. I reproduced the qwerty keyboard, from a Pitman's teach yourself typing book, on a piece of paper, and then when i had nothing to do I took it out of my pocket, spread it out and practised typing....LoL... it worked, since, after I bought a portable Royal typewriter in an auction for 10 quid, I found I was already well under way..... Indeed I have recently been experimenting playing 'word' music (with little success!) on my computer keyboard to see what sounds different words produce. My first concerto is some way off as the monkey who is co-composing with me keeps using antique and difficult words from a book allegedly written by some bloke called Shakeshaft.

I'm on myspace..added you.... a Lakes and pictures - Ptarmigan, if you listen to your music with Realtek HD Audio manager and turn on the auditorium sound effect it sends the music rolling out over the hills and lakes - can just imagine it echoing over Loch Nevis at Knoydart!