Ralph Jordan

not the hip-op version then? Watch it Sarah. One day you won't find it so funny!!

Thanks Danny. Chris Well spotted Irene, Indeed there is a Bass line, and a Duet chordal thing on the last time through. The Drum'n Bass mix comes later! (Joking!) Well played Chris.

Just for accuracy...I'm playing Guitar and Bass as well as the Bouzouki! Don't think I damaged the tune too much though! Ralphie

Yes, I had the pleasure of hearing Mike playing it at a session, in London, a couple of weeks ago. I think he said he'd given it to Colin Dipper to check it over and had recently got it back. It sounded a lovely instrument and is now in the hands of one of the world's finest Jeffries duet players. Wonderful. You may even get to hear it being played on the forthcoming CD compilation, Duet International. Chris I was at the same session with Chris in London, and had the pleasure of playing a Duet/Duet (Jefferies/MacCann) with Michael for the first time! Yes, indeed, It's definitely in safe, and talented hands. Whether it appears on Duet International, I'm not sure. I think that Michael might have recorded his tracks last autumn. Tine will no doubt tell! Ralphie

Hey Alan I always thought that you played better stoned! Ralph

Looks exactly like the left-hand end of a 48-button Crane duet. The right hand end has (of course) 28 buttons, in 6 rows, though the top row has only the three central buttons. Hi Jim. Not being a pedant honest! But I tend to describe MacCanns and Cranes as having columns rather than rows. Heading upward from the hand strap. Ergo The MacCann has 6 Columns and the Crane has 5...It seems easier for the new player to distinguish the 2 systems easily. (OK I am being a pedant! Lol!)

Yep, as Jim says definitely a Crane Duet. Comparitively rare, so, if it suits you and the price does too. (And it's not completely knackered of course!). I'd buy it. There is always a market for Crane Duets. And, as I say, they don't pop up that often. Let us know what happens. Ralph

Well said Steve. I've got hundreds of photos of my beasts from every angle! After all. One digital camera, and an hours worth of happy snapping, could make all the difference with Mr Plod, when you see your prized (nicked!) possession pop up on E Bay! Ralphie

Ken Still waiting for more info from Nancy. Checking E Bay on a daily basis. You never know! Ralph

I think the story of Bangor goes like this. Certainly, the Lady who wrote the song (Damn, can't remember her name at the moment), did very well financially, and probably still is! Raised the profile of Fiddlers Dram for a bit, until they morphed into the Oyster Ceilidh Band, and then the Oyster band. I do recall that part of the profits from Bangor, enabled the studio to buy A Studer A80 16 track machine. (I know this because a year later my band recorded our first album on it!) So I say again...Copyright anything you've written, You never know! I was told once, that If you wrote anything, Song Tune, whatever. That you should post a copy (registered of course) to yourself, and keep it safe and un-opened, just in case it becomes a hit. Wouldn't do any harm! (I always wondered if Ewan McColl copyrighted "The first time ever I saw your face"?)....Hope so! Oh and theres the much told story about the Martin Carthy/Paul Simon/Scarborough Fair saga. Now happily resolved.

Hi there. Firstly, well done for choosing a MacCann. Hours of mindless fun beckons. My original box was a 48. Very quickly found it too limiting and frustrating. I now play 56's. The RH goes down to "C" and the crossover from L to R is an Octave. This has served me well for many decades. I will say at this point, that I am an ear player...I only refer to "Dots" in extremis. I have played some very nice boxes in the Next size up, (64 etc), but personally, I wouldn't go any higher. (How many fingers has one person got?!) Can't comment on Cranes, Jeffries or Haydens. Have only dallied with them briefly. But no matter. You've chosen MacCann. You've chosen wisely! Would recommend a 56 Key, going down to "C" on the RH. Good Luck with it Ralphie Pop in any time for advice. Us MacCann players are only slightly weird, but mainly friendly!

Just need a good theme tune...The father of a good friend Brian Fahey (Conductor of the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra many years ago) Wrote a catchy little tune called "The sound of the swinging cymbal" After lying around doing nothing for a few years, it was discovered by the DJ Alan "Fluff" Freeman....The rest is history....and the cheques are still rolling in!

Yes Definitely an English. In case you didn't know, the rows of white buttons equate to the white notes on a piano, and the outer rows of black buttons to the black notes. The 2 red buttons should play "C" (you can check this against any modern keyboard.. Age...Looks pre 1930 ish (which would fit with your ancestors time approximately, not knowing how old you are !!) Any other features like a serial number? Might help to pin down a maker and an era. But, there are many more knowledgeable folks around here, who will stumble upon your question. Do you play it? Hope so!! Good luck anyway Regards Ralphie

Hi Ray! So good you posted it twice! I'll try and make some enquiries on your behalf. But, I think Longshot is the correct term, sadly. I I'm going out now......I may be some time...(Capt Oates)!

Yeah it was a commercial vinyl with a lot of hairy faced miners in their Sunday best on the cover. Ray Ray Not much help! I've got lots of records with hairy faced blokes in their best on the front!! Must have been "De Rigeur" at some point. None of them have any trace of a concertina though. Keep trying. Some sad person on here will have it! Ralphie

That was a hanging offence; see Note (4) of the text on this link: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1645781 And.....? !! OK not sheep stealing then! Still had to give him 150 quid for a Duet though!!

Thanks Alan. No real need to bother the Wooff though as I'm still in contact with him myself. I was trying to avoid a Geoff Wooff thread (back in 2005!) but seem to have failed miserably so I'll fill in the background of my association with Geoff. We met many years ago in Adelaide at a reed making workshop. I was playing a set of Northumbrian Smallpipes that I'd made and Geoff helped me to reed them up properly. During the few days that we were working together Geoff and I realised that we had many connections musically, spiritually and geographically and we became firm friends. I bought my first concertina (a Lachenal tutor)from Geoff back then and he gave me a basket-case Wheatstone baritone that Peter (Stormy) Hyde (Hyde Accordions, South Australia) rebuilt for me. Geoff made a set of Border Pipes or Reel Pipes for me the following year (currently being played by Peter Hewlitt in Paris) and then "the White Lady", a set of Northumbrian Pipes made from whale ivory and silver that I played on the Battlefield band's first Australian tour back in the '80s. Geoff and I performed often over those years mainly at Folk Festivals in concerts and workshops but my favourite "gig" was around my kitchen table! We were sight reading and transposing some tunes from a book of Breton music that I'd found. Four of us jockeying for position to catch a glimpse of the score! Geoff on Hurdy Gurdy, Craig Fischer on viola, Linsey Pollak on taragato and me on concertina. The laughter was louder than the music! We once ran a piping workshop at a South Australian Festival where we played uillean pipes (in C) and smallpipes (in F) together. We thought it best to only play scottish tunes! Geoff would come over to my place in the Adelaide Hills every month or two from Victoria in his ancient Mercedes (playing the whistle all the way!)and stay for a week or two to play and talk and drink (with an occasional trip to town to busk!). When his marriage dissolved he decided to move to Ireland to be nearer his customer base and on leaving my place for the last time handed me a set of lignum smallpipes made by Addison as a parting gift. We still keep in touch but not so often these days. Ray Hello Ray. It was that bugger Wooffs fault that I took up the Duet! (we were in a band together in 1972 (Fingers Galore...Yes, I know!) And he was flogging off instruments to pay for his first trip to Oz. (Why he didn't just steal a sheep and let the government send him, I don't know!). And so I was committed to nearly 40 years of bloody concertina playing! If you are ever in touch with him. Give him a good kicking from me! Now (putting on BBC hat). Your record... The BBC didn't start until 1922 (ish), and I don't think they used wax cylinders much. (Stand to be corrected on that). More likely direct cut 78's. Acetates. But, really little survives from that period, as the Beeb thought it a bit of a con not to do everything live. It wouldn't have been recorded on tape, until the 50's. Not knowing a recording date doesn't help. Was it a commercially released disc. (The Beeb didn't really do that until the late 50's. Mmmm Confusing. There is an on-going archiving project at the BBC nowadays, and recordings that still exist are being meticulously saved. Whether your mysterious record is in there I know not. Good luck with your quest. Very strange to see Geoffs name popping up on here. Mind you, he was a brilliant English player. Regards Ralphie

To play a Major scale in any key, (regardless of starting note) The sequence of intervals goes... Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone. If you have access to a piano/keyboard, try doing this starting on "C" you will find that you only play the white notes. Try it again, starting on C Sharp. Thats the next black note up from "C". Follow the above rule, and you will play the scale of C Sharp Major. (At this point learn all your tunes in C Sharp Major, and really annoy all Anglo and Melodeon players!) Now start at the "F". following the rules above, you'll find that you have to play the B Flat. Hope that helps Ralphie FWIW, on the Duet. F Major is Gods own key!!!

Careful David - you might just be on the point of proving to the world that duet players ARE dedicated nutters!!! Have just read this....The image it conjures up is rather frightening! (Mind you, some of my recent recordings were done in a dressing gown.(On the days when it was so snowy, there was no point in going outside). Glad you liked the tunes though. Ralphie

You think you've got problems. I'm trying to catch up with Iris Bishop!! Get yourself a knitting machine !! Al That's what I've been doing wrong Thanks!

Us older Anglo players started in a vacuum, scratching around for ways to play the thing, then along comes JK and I am still trying to catch up. Al You think you've got problems. I'm trying to catch up with Iris Bishop!!

Hi reg. I've been reading this with interest. I'm a Duet player, and what you've got is definitely an Anglo. Having said that, I've never seen one that big!. It would certainly be worth a considerable amount, assuming that W Jeffries was not that prolific as a manufacturer. It might be that it would appeal to a collector rather than a player, but, It certainly looks like a significant instrument to me. As far as maintenace is concerned. If you decide to take it apart again, a quick once over in all the reed chambers with a small soft brush (artists paintbrush) won't do any harm. For stuck reeds I often slide a thin cigarette paper between the reed and it's frame, just to remove any bits of crud, splinters etc. Always worth doing all the reeds whilst it's open! If you are gentle all will be fine. Maybe use a small suction pump to remove any dust from inside the bellows too. Would love to hear how it sounds. Do you know any players locally? If I owned such an instrument, I'd certainly have a go at learning how to play it. But if you just want me to take it off your hands, I might be persuaded!! Seriously you have a very intriguing instrument. Well done! Keep asking questions. Regards Ralphie

You have of course hit on the great future debate as who was best and I should not have voiced my opinion on it. I have been listening to Maurice play for a couple of days and I just marvel at how good he was, but it is a personal choice. I have some recordings in that are simply played, but very enjoyable and sometimes a good simple arrangement can be just as interesting as a recording that has loads going on and technically brilliant. Al Couldn't agree more, Al Part of the joy of your boxed sets are the enormous variety of styles therein contained. The very fact that they're compilations also means that the musicians, of whom, there is little recorded output (I'm thinking of Andrew Blakeney-Edwards, who sadly I never heard playing), manage to get their music out to a wider audience. I think the problem lies in semantics. You can say that you LIKE something more than something else. But you can't really say that something IS BETTER than something else. Every player is different, and as I said in an earlier post, quite a few of us started playing pretty much in a vacuum, compared with the other 2 systems. That is why the Duet CD set is potentially fascinating. The instrument lends itself to so many different playing styles, and I for one am really looking forward to all of it! Ralphie

Not sure If I get the point. Not so long ago I was informed that at every festival one duet player is likely to bump into 20 others, therefore Duet Concertina is far from been in decline, esp. compared to 20 years ago. Looks like it IS in serious decline, considering that 100 years ago every second professional concertina performer was Duet player. Unfortunately due to financial circumstances I will not be able to afford Duet International, but hopefully I'll see more exciting clips on Youtube. I would also like to remind Ralph to please supply more direct link to his submissions. I wasn't able to find the clips so far, but am very interested. Thanks. Well in the UK, I've never met 20 other Duet players. 3 maybe 4 at a time? I did a workshop at Sidmouth (mid 70's) English players? 30 people. Anglo players? 40 maybe.....Duet....? Well, me and this bloke went for a coffee! (and he played a Crane as well which I couldn't play. Not much of a workshop really!) As for linking to the clips.....Irene?? where are you. I can use a computer for mixing audio, but I'm rubbish at this http stuff! failing that, go to the ONMVOICE website, search for my name Ralph Jordan, amd all will be revealed, (I hope!) As for your comment about professional players, well, you are correct. 100 years ago, The Duet was the instrument of choice in the Music Halls, and various classical settings. Prince, Honri, and others made a fine living. Sadly, the music halls are no longer with us. But, you have to remember that the Duet was very expensive to buy in those days. I get the impression that only posh people could afford them. Funny how nowadays, a good Jeffries Anglo can command a price of up to 4000 (UK pounds), and you can still find Duets (occasionally, it has to be said) for 1 to 2000 pounds. How the mighty have fallen. Put it down to market forces I suppose. Cheers Ralphie

MF250-MF299MF269 - Concertina Solo - A Salvation Medley. 1936. Brigadier Archie Burgess with Adjt. Eric Ball .... MF292 - Concertina Solo - Glory to God in the Highest ... www.regalzonophone.com/Labels_MF250-MF299.htm Chris To put one face to name..... Maybe earlier picture than recording as described as 'Major' Archie C.Burgess here. Geoff Thanks for the picture Geoff. Miserable looking blighter isn't he!!