Geoff Wooff

The documentary film about the musical life of Tom McCarthy will be shown at 9.15pm on Monday 27th. December on TG4. This is the Irish language channel based in Galway. It should also be available on their website www.tg4.ie to view for a while after this. Tom was a much loved Concertina and Uilleann pipes player originally from Co.Clare who lived for many years in London. It is a tribute to his musical enthusiasm as well as his wonderfull character that all his children are fine musicians and his Grandchildren are only one step behind their parents. Geoff.

Try David Leese at Concertina Spares.com or take a sample to a small engineering shop and have copies made. Any of the concertina makers would be able to do this too. I have made replacement buttons in the past both metal and bone (Ivory) but am just a little too busy to offer this as a service. Geoff.

That's precisely my point - I happen to be on Juergen's list for an instrument but not entirely the same as what you're selling - I've paid about €400 in deposit which is substantial enough for me not to want to lose it. I still have a year, maybe two to wait. Hopefully when that happens I will be in a position to pay the balance etc. Meantime there are clearly people on the list in front of me who for various reasons don't wish to complete their orders - they may have got fixed up with another good quality instrument in the interim or maybe due to economic woes they can no longer afford it. Logically, these people should be able to leave the list, get a refund and everyone moves up a place(s) so that the people who really want an instrument and who can afford it, get it as early as possible. I want to be clear that I'm not criticising Juegen here or the quality of his workmanship etc. but I do have reservations about the business practice of sizeable non refundable deposits. And yes, I saw the potential problem when I sent off my deposit and joined the list so I went in with eyes open - no complaints there. But in retrospect I was foolish - I would not advise anyone to join a list on these terms now. Simply wait till one comes up for sale and/or jump the queue when someone tries to sell their place etc. This is self defeating for the maker of course, as their order book contracts. As a musical instrument maker myself and having a very very long queue of customers waiting patiently, I have to say that I totally agree with you Tombilly. A deposit should be refundable up to the time of starting to make the ordered instrument or, as I do, the maker should only ask for a deposit when the starting time is imminent. If a maker takes a deposit from the outset of the order he/she has quoted a final price and has to produce the instrument at that price no matter how much time has elapsed. Laws may differ from country to country but that is usually the case. Some years ago I had to stop taking deposits and stop quoting prices because I found myself unable to produce the instruments at the agreed prices. This was during a period when my waiting list time changed dramatically from the usual two years to over ten years! The delay is now more than Twenty years, that is if I live that long. It did happen to me, at that time, that people were selling my instruments secondhand for nearly twice the price that I was selling the new ones. This was partly due to the long queue and partly because my pricing was too low. My current way of doing business is to contact the next year's clients and make them an offer, of price and details. At that point I might ask for a deposit. So the customer has a 'year price' and a year to wait and I have a solid customer/ecconomic basis.This is more flexible for all and takes a lot of pressure off me. Jurgen's instruments are certainly worth every penny of his price and I think it is reasonable for Nevis to expect to be able to sell this Concertina to regain the purchase cost. Geoff.

I would be more concerned about the possibility of wood shrinkage at low temperatures/humidities. This, in a traditional concertina, could cause the reedpan wood to squeeze the reed frames and thus jamb the reed tongues. With an accordion reeded instrument this would be less of a problem. If in doubt use the more easily replaceable instrument. But what to do about cold fingers ? No rude answers please! Geoff.

This is in fine original condition, never restored, the only new things are the thumb straps. My only Concertina for a ten year period after I purchased it from Stephen Chambers in 1999.Number 30790. Currently tuned to 1/5th. Comma Meantone (A=440hz.) but I could tune it to Equal temperament if a purchaser so desired. Plays very well with a good tone. In its original box. Price €1500. Donation to C.net if sold here.

Actually, only the melodeons appear to have been from Ruth's estate (the third and final part of them to be sold) and the concertinas are from other sellers. So guess who's just back from Bath after collecting 2 lots (=13) of Ruth's melodeons off Gardiner Houlgate... Sounds like you had it Buttoned up ! Geoff.

It would be very interesting to compare your score(s) for solo EC with the "normal" published piano version(s) Randy !! I feel sure you have insights into this that many of us could benefit from.Maybe this is not the right forum for posting/discussing music scores but..... I am using the Baritone-Treble to (try and) play this piece because its range goes down to G on the bottom of the Bass Clef and has enough notes at the top too. Yep, Ragtime pieces are fun and have the added benefit of being 'light entertainment' for joe-public , when one has got all the chord crunching organised that is. I can read the score that I have and, pretty much, have it memorised but my wife and musical friends suggest I might be ready for a perfomance by Christmas 2011. They are so encouraging. Geoff. This is a bit of pedantry that I would keep to myself if it weren't that I think I may have detected a kindred spirit in Geoff. I am no composer so I have a lot of respect for those that truly are. Because of that I like to play piano music as much 'as written' as possible, secure in the knowledge that the composer knew more about what he wanted than me. I am not happy with presenting the theme of a piece with my own backing and calling it 'playing it'. That's 'an arrangement of' it's not actually 'playing it' in my book. Even ol' Scott there; when he gets to the second phrase the piano version, the original, has parallel octaves and thirds to sound as bright and loud and contrasting as possible. If you aren't playing that you've lost something to my mind. Just playing the top line loudly isn't as good. Or that piece of Debussy I posted a few months back; I'm not playing it, I couldn't possibly, I'm playing an arrangement of it. Because I have no illusions about my own composing abilities I don't usually put any effort into music that I have to butcher too much to play. Mind you as far as I'm concerned I'm 'playing' that gymnopodie that was discussed recently although I have to bring 3 bass notes up an octave to fit my instrument. The odd adjustment to get it onto the instrument seems fair game; but you can't take this too far and claim it's still the original I think. Yes I agree Dirge, as this topic is about playing chords and as many pieces like this one are about playing 'the' chords then taking a single melody line (such as you might whistle during an idle moment) and adding your own accompaniment (this spelling from Websters don't look right to me) would be defeating the point of the exersize. The Octave work is not really a problem on the EC and it is possible to play the intro for The Entertainer verbatim on the instrument I have however, it is in bars 2 and 3 of the first section, where the 'octave chords'begin...... like this; first chord (ok), change sides and shape for second chord (ok), sharpen second chord one semitone (err ok), change sides and shape for chord four etc... and that is just the treble clef. I am not complaining . It is very interesting , it is good brain training and then the piece comes alive, when I get the chords right. So I will try not to arrange the piece before I have fully understood the composers intentions and only if I really have to. I suppose this is what you mean Dirge. Geoff.

PHEW! Randy, I am so glad you said that....... makes me feel better about my feeble attempts so far. Geoff.

Not "very"? Just how offensive are you wanting to be? Oh for heavens sake Jim. It's a troll. Leave it alone. Ignore it completely and it will die of neglect. It is quite a clever troll. It reads the old posts looking for tender spots. I had to grudgingly admire the way it (apparently by chance) wrote 'You can't play counterpoint on the English' and hooked Prof. Chapman neatly. That's when the scales fell from my eyes. By then it had already sucked me in...who knows, by the time it gets bored with us it may end up unable to resist buying a concertina to put all the information it has gleaned to practical use. I don't know about the scales on your eyes, are you some sort of lizard. I own and play several English concertinas and one Anglo concertina. I don't want to be offensive to anyone except the ITM trolls. I don't think a concertina with accordion reeds is a real concertina. It doesn't have a real concertina sound. I see that you live in Napier. I have been to Napier. You have my deepest sympathy. I also see that you don't know what counterpoint is. Oh! How rude Shaunw. I see that you live in London... well at least that was where the "real" concertinas were made.

'The Entertainer' is ideally suited to, and not particularly demanding for a solo Anglo. This is interesting and I feel sure there is much to be learned by comparing individual approaches to a piece and on the different key boards. Geoff.

It would be very interesting to compare your score(s) for solo EC with the "normal" published piano version(s) Randy !! I feel sure you have insights into this that many of us could benefit from.Maybe this is not the right forum for posting/discussing music scores but..... I am using the Baritone-Treble to (try and) play this piece because its range goes down to G on the bottom of the Bass Clef and has enough notes at the top too. Yep, Ragtime pieces are fun and have the added benefit of being 'light entertainment' for joe-public , when one has got all the chord crunching organised that is. I can read the score that I have and, pretty much, have it memorised but my wife and musical friends suggest I might be ready for a perfomance by Christmas 2011. They are so encouraging. Geoff.

You can, of course, use a piano score Ido. If you do not read music then I would strongly advise that you learn to do this. I like to take a piece that I know, have the melody and rhythm in my head, then try to read the score . To play a melody with chords as written out for piano can be quite a daunting task but is well worth the effort and will broaden your abilities on the Concertina. My own "winter project" piece is "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin. It is a well know piece and would not be too difficult on piano, it was even recorded on EC by Alistair Anderson ( double tracked treble and Bass instruments) but to play it effectively on one EC is going to need a lot of practice on my part, but I am learning something !! Good luck Ido. PS; Very nice Mr.Stein.

As a musical instrument maker I recommend, to my customers, not to play their instruments in low humidity situations. This might be especially important for instruments that move wind in large quantities and therefore increase the rapidity of changes in moisture content of the wooden parts. I notice that both of the concertinas that I am currently playing are not very happy this week because the relative humidity has been down to 30%.These sit on the kitchen table most of the time however, my other concertina, which is sitting in its box unplayed,shows no signs of distress. It is interesting that the wooden parts of these instruments even at 90 years old are still able to absorb or loose moisture quite rapidly. My Uilleann pipes which are 160 years old are very stable but for the reeds which being made of cane and of relatively recent manufacture and would not aprieciate this cold dry weather. The pipes are happiest between 65 and 85% R.H. Maybe 50 to 70% would be best for Concertinas... same as for Humans. Geoff.

FISHERSTREET was a band that recorded an album a few years back. The Concertina player is John McMahon, a very fine ITM musician. The band all hail from Co.Clare. Geoff.

One way to answer Geoff's question is to know the lowest note: If the lowest note is G below middle C, the concertina would be a treble. If the lowest note is C below middle C, the concertina would be a tenor-treble... or simply tenor, depending on your nomenclature. Another way is to look up your serial number in the Wheatstone ledgers, where it is one of a series of instruments of model number 22. Wheatstone price lists from that period (instrument from 1917; price lists from 1915 and 1918) show model 22 to be a 48-button treble with nickel-plated ends. Ok, right... a model 22, I have one of these too, they are very nice instruments. Yours certainly sounds very good Fernando, maybe there is a little 'optical illusion' effect that makes it look bigger... wide angle lens for instance ? Geoff.

Sounds good Fernando. Nice tune and you are making good sense of the melody. Your concertina looks big for an Hexagonal type, is it a Tennor- Treble? Geoff.

Oh dear, Wes, surely you did not try to adjust my guess-work instead of starting afresh ? Those dating formulae were just meant to give a ROUGH (very rough) idea.Sorry if they gave you much trouble.... still... at least you had some spare time.... what a luxury!

Your wish is my command, Sire: Geoffs Site Many many thanks Wes, how thoughtfull of you... I...I... really don't know how to thank you! Geoff.

Two more sources for Traditional Centre of France music; The wonderfull tune book by Eric Montbel "Carnet de Notes" is available from... Centre Régional des Musiques Traditionelles en Limousin (or CRMTL for short)... web site www.crmtl.fr or 4 avenue Jean Vinatier. 19700. Seilhac. France. 200 melodies collected in Limousin. Visit also the web site www.cabrette.com where you can download many partitions. I also downloaded the 19th century collection of tunes collected by J.B.Bouillet (a great source of Bourees and Montagnardes from the Clermond Ferand area).... but I cannot find the site for obtaining this, out of print, volume... I will look further when I have time. AEPEM is another assocation (based in Paris), who produce CD's and maybe tune books. If you Google AEPEM you will find their site. Geoff.

This is interesting because it is the balance of tone and volume of the edeophone that Mr. Wakker cited as his reason for preferring them to Aeolas, as I recall. He felt that the 12 sided shape of the edeophone was largley responsible for this. Maybe Mr.Wakker feels that the Twelve sided shape, being closer to circular, allows the maker better oportunities for balancing the reed chamber sizes.If this was such a factor one might expect to see him producing instruments of this shape. My test sample, for my opinions, is very small but I have owned about 50 EC's over the last 40 years, including a Jeffries EC, and have repaired and tuned many many more than this. It is important to say that a "played" instrument will sound quite different to one that has just be discovered in an attic, or one that has just been restored, therefore it is difficult when visiting a dealer who might have several instruments for you to choose from. I do agree with Chris Drinkwater that for some types of music, dance band playing etc., I prefer the tone of a Hex/metal ended Wheatstone. Geoff.

My vote would go to the Aeola every time. I have owned six Aeola EC's and two Edeophones,over the years, both metal and wooden ended versions.With the Aeolas there was allways a consistency of tone throughout the keyboard. It is usual,with the Aeola, to be able to hear every note of a chord even when that chord is spread from top to bottom notes. So it is in the balance of volume and sweetness of tone that I feel the Aeola wins. I have just been testing the volume balance of my current Aeola against a non- Aeola Wheatstone of similar vintage and for chord work the Aeola is streets ahead. The other, and for me, very important factor is the Wheatstone "Action"; the rivetted levers and light weight (metal covered) wooden buttons are infinately superior to the action of the Lachenals. Although, one of the Edeophones I owned years ago did have rivetted action! It does depend, though, what you wish to use a Concertina for, as Dirge says. If I want big cutting-through volume (noise) then I would not choose to use an Aeola because the sound is (usually) too nice, civilised etc. A friend who visited a few months ago was very supprised that my Rosewood Treble Wheatstone (hexagonal) was louder than his metal ended treble Aeola. Geoff.

Yes Alan, I hear these influences too. Maybe Montluçon was a big crossroads of trading and cultures ? Geoff.

Thanks Jody! The CD has covered it's costs now! Still not quite enough profit for that yacht I've got my eye on! Am planning to put up some more clips of playing on the WIP page. Will let people know via this thread. Also for friends across the water (in all directions!) I've set up a PayPal account to make it painless for you to part with your money! Buy early for Christmas. Your granny would love a copy! You know it makes sense! Ralphie This Granny certainly loves his copy!! Geoff.

Appologies for getting the wrong end of the stick, Geoff.

Hey!! That sounds great Ralphie. I've allways wanted one of those myself, with just one page, on which would be written ,in big letters, " GO AWAY I'M BUSY!" Must pay a visit to your site........ Wow, looks good ! finnest regards, Geoff.