Mike Franch

They've got the "concertina stare" right.

I always have a fantasy that it I had an instrument like that, I could play like that. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

Ah ha! Thanks. I really must do something about these eyes! The R results in a very different and much more satisfactory result!

I Googled "Cook concertinas" and all I got were videos on how to make accordion potatoes. Not what I wanted, but they looked quite tasty.

Bravo and congratulations! Only four months, and your playing with friends! One thing I've always been grateful for, even if personally mortified by my inadequate skills, is that my being able to do anything on my instrument is my ticket for sitting in with people who are far better players than I am. I find it's an advantage for me that my preferred musical genre is English country dance, for which the Barnes Books of English Country Dance Tunes are the standard source. Friends and I get together and play tunes from this standard source. Also from the various Waltz Books. This is playing from sheet music, but I think it builds skills for playing by ear. And while I often find myself disappointed and frustrated by my level of playing, I still find it magical that I can play anything!

Thanks, David. But the key part of my comment holds this is not a Victorian tune. Nobody probably plays it in true early 18th-centry style, and our modern chordal style might be closer to the Victorian style, but it's still 18th century. Maybe even late 17th century! (And a nice dance, too!)

I really enjoyed your rendition of Mr. Beveridge's Maggot, but it's hardly a Victorian tune. The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes dates it as 1701.

"Intermediate" is an interesting concept. I moved up from my Jackie to my first 48-button instrument, what I identified as a George Jones (brass reeds, sweet sound), I remarked to a guitar playing friend that I viewed my new concertina not as my final instrument but as an intermediate one. He responded, "I have seven intermediate guitars."

Dancing on floors or pavement is one thing. I've found processionals over rough and uneven ground another thng==but still loads of fun!

I used the "like" emoji for Conzertino's collection only because the site doesn't have one for "utter amazement."

That is a term with which I am unfamiliar in the concertina world.

And here cometh the traditional warning about those old vertical hexagonal wooden cases. If you continue to use one for your concertina, lie it on it side. Storing a concertina vertically will distort the leather valves. Putting the instrument in and taking it out of vertical cases also requires special care.

I hope it gets played occasionally. It's sad to think of them just sitting around, whether on display or in storage. Some collections make sure their instruments, even very old and rare ones, are played occasionally.

David is absolutely correct. You can correct for this by keeping these cases on their side--making sure that they won't roll! You might want to get modern cases for these, or some alternative that will keep your concertinas from having the problem David describes. I use a well-padded camera bag.

As much as we might disdain these inexpensive (i.e., cheap) instruments today, I marvel at how they made it possible for working class communities to make music. These instruments played an important role in enabling poor people to become musicians. We play their music on much better instruments, but the music might not have survived or been written were it not for these instruments.

Yes, thank you, more than sufficient. And thanks to Wes for reminding me of Chris Flint's very useful exploration. I devoured it at one time, but then forgot about it! Mike

Could we see the action?

Of related interest is the excellent 2022 book, O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of The Star-Spangled Banner by Mark Claque. It places the song in the culture of topical songs quickly dashed off and set to popular tunes and traces its evolution to its current status of national anthem (officially recognized, people stand). As Gary points out above, other tunes were in the mix. In tracing the song's history, Claque points out that "To Anacreon in Heaven" was not a drinking song but what we might consider an "art" song, and both it and the "Star-Spangled Banner" were originally performed by trained soloists, not by the audience.

David, thanks so much for posting this.

I play mostly English country dance tunes, and it is rare that I even need a c". So 36 buttons should be sufficient. I have to admit that I'm pretty uncertain on the buttons above c"!

Thank you. I'm not in the market, but it was a pleasure to browse.

I've had people comment on my concertina face. But I think it's a generalized face of concentration. A woman in a contra dance line asked me why I looked so serious, which caused me to reform my facial expression as I've danced. I've seen photos of me doing my very occasional morris or longsword dancing, and there's the same look; I'm enjoying on the inside, but it looks like I'm going to my execution on the outside.

Isn't there something about age in the U.S. tariff laws? I received a 100+ year old concertina from England without paying a tariff, but paid duty on one made in 1974. Maybe it had something to do with the sender declaring what it was?

Which, as everyone here knows, is simply a pro forma statement, a prelude to the follow-up, "But yes, of course, I'll buy it."

I have one which I love but it is limited. I think it's designed as a busker instrument--small, easy to carry around. It's chromatic, so you can play a lot of keys, but, as noted, has limited accidentals. I also find that, because it's small, it's hard to play for as long as a full-sized instrument. The hands cramp. But it is very loud and a lot of fun.