macnasparade

Hi Sean, I'm a beginner on concertina and I too have a Rochelle. I've been playing it happily for more than 6 months, and I've had no problems with it. Like you, I'm interested in playing ITM, and I've been having a lot of fun learning tunes. John Williams's DVD was a huge help in getting me started. Someday I might upgrade to a Morse, but for now the Rochelle is a perfect fit for me. Cheers! Liz

I was very excited to see this on the Irish Fest Web site. I caught Slide last year at Irish Fest and thought they were fantastic. Do you know what level of concertina he'll be teaching? A beginner class would be great Cheers! Liz

Great! Thanks, Jeff. Just placed my order, and eagerly awaiting its arrival. Liz

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I looked up Mick Bramich, and it appears that he has two books: the Absolute Beginner's Concertina and the Irish Concertina. Which would you recommend? Fergus, thanks for the tune suggestions. I know "Off to California," but I'm not familiar with the others. I'll be sure to give them a listen. Jeff, hope you're enjoying your Rochelle as much as I'm enjoying mine. Cheers! Liz

Hi folks, Great forum you've got here I'm an absolute beginner on the concertina. I just got my Rochelle from the Button Box last Friday, and I have been having a lot of fun learning how to play it. I've been working through some of the exercises that are in the tutor, but I really want to jump in and play some Irish tunes (I also play a little bit of fiddle). I ordered the John Williams Irish concertina DVD, and I'm sure that when I get it and watch it that most of my questions about how to play Irish tunes on the concertina will be answered. But since it might be a while before it arrives, I thought I'd give it a try on my own. So I started with the first couple of measures of "Out on the Ocean," playing on the C row, which sounded OK to me. I'm just wondering if that's right. And I was also wondering if most Irish tunes are played on the C row or on the G row. And is there a way to know which row a tune should be played on? I apologize if these are silly questions. Most of the fiddle tunes I know I learned by ear, so I'm kinda clueless when it comes to keys. Any advice you'd be willing to share would be most appreciated. Cheers! Liz