Long Haired David

Well I have sorted out myself and have now made a couple of videos of me playing my El-Cheapo concertina. I have been playing since Christmas so I really need some comments on how it is progressing and some tips to move on. Here are the two clips and lastly, how to get distracted - first my mistake, then the clock, then the wife! . I am expecting to upgrade the Concertina following Melodions and More at the end of this month - I can't wait. BTW, I know that I should be paying repeated notes using the buttons but I am trying to get out of the habit of using the bellows, which is what I did when I started. If you would like to see my attemps at the tin whistle as well, check out Blogmy Hobby Blog. Scroll down past the Tapestry and Jigsaws.

Not any more, in the UK you can get them from the Music Room (£294) or Chris Algar I obviously missed a trick by waiting until I had been to Melodions And More - The Music Room are now quoting £370 for a Rochelle although the US price at Button Box hasn't changed. Since I last loooked the pound has moved from 1.60 to 1.61 so there isn't much of a change in the exchange rate. Maybe I should get one from the States! David

I have Paul Hardy's Session Tune Book and I would like to track down a playing of the tune The Man In The Moon on the internet but can't find it. Any pointers? David

Thanks - I can see where I went wrong.

I have had my concertina for about 2 years but have only been playing it 'seriously' since Christmas. I am doing about 1 hour a day but need a few questions answering if you could be so kind. Question 3. Playing in G - whenever I need the E on the C line I am OK so long as the next note is the D below or the F/G/A above. I hold my four fingers on the G line - no finger on the lowest note. When I have to go to the E on the C line and play a note higher than A next, I find that my fingers get all over the place. Sometimes, I find myself playing on the C Line and using the G Line F sharp as an easier operation but would prefer not to do that. I am not sure if anyone can actually advise, given this is a print medium (smile) but any thoughts would be useful. David

I have had my concertina for about 2 years but have only been playing it 'seriously' since Christmas. I am doing about 1 hour a day but need a few questions answering if you could be so kind. Question 2. I have a lot of trouble when playing in G with the bellows. When playing in C, it seems that the notes fall such that I don't have to worry but I find in G that I quite often run out of bellows room - don't know the technical name. I have to then fall back on playing what I can on the C register until I can get it sorted. Any thoughts/ advice. Is this normal or am I doing something stupid? David

I have had my concertina for about 2 years but have only been playing it 'seriously' since Christmas. I am doing about 1 hour a day but need a few questions answering if you could be so kind. Question 1. I keep reading that you play the tune on the right hand and the chords on the left. However, on my 20key C/D, I don't think that is possible as the tune would be played right up in the top register - am I reading this advice incorrectly? David

I'll be going to melodeons & more for the 3rd time in march. First time I went I had one of the cheap 30buttons from hobgoblin (bellows were stiff at first but after about a year they were okay) and had learnt the tunes in the wrong key. (Oy! no laughing). I now have a Tedrow C/G which has helped my playing...as sometime the old scarlatti (I sold it last year...but if it came up for sale again I'd buy it back in a heartbeat) had trouble keeping up with me. Which classes have you chosen? btw. try as many concertina's at M&M as you can gives you an idea of what you want. I have had the concertina for about 2 years and in the beginning just learned the basic C keys. I dropped it until Xmas 2010 when I vowed that I would play Jingle Bells for the family. I did, although it didn't sound too good. Since then I have been practicing up to 2 hours every day and am now confident in both C and G but make lots of fingering mistakes (head running ahead of music, I'm afraid). I am also struggling with the penny whistle! Hence, I thought I would attend the beginners but I was told that this was for absolute beginners and I would be better off in the other classes. On that advice I have signed up for 5. Mary Humphreys in the morning and 12. Liam Robinson in the afternoon. I have a bonus coming at the end of March so I am keen to look at what is there on the trade stands. David

Thanks for your replies. I can't find a Rochelle any cheaper than £294 so I will just have to save up and get one after the Melodions and More weekend. In the meantime, I will concentrate on playing accurately (oh and learning the penny whistle!) David

At the end of March I am going to the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust Melodions and More day. Hopefully I can get some real help with my concertina playing. I am concious that I am using a £75 Blue and Yellow 20 key Stagi that I picked up on EBay but I wouldn't have spent any more to find out if I liked this activity. I have decided that I love it and can spend 2 hours every evening just playing tunes - not well - lots of mistakes - but it will get better. I am assuming that my concertina will stand out but I am not sure that that matters. Now I have been casting around to see what I can do next and thinking about what could be better with my instrument. It seems to me that my bellows is/are fairly firm and that it would make for easier playing if they were somewhat softer but when I look at instrument specs, the ones with leather bellows are all up at £1,000 and I am NEVER going to pay that just to sit at home and amuse myself (I am 65 coming on 66 so have no pretentions of pblic playing). I have seen mention of Rochelle instruments and can see a 30 key one for £300. As I would not be able to try one of these before purchase (arthritis in the knees and hips limits how far I want to go), has anyone any opinions on whether this would be a good move? David

I can't remember, but I have notation for it somewhere and will send it to you if you want. It's pretty easy on the ANglo despite the key change. I"m playing it on a G/D, in D and A. I"m playing with a fiddle - and a Swedish nyckeharpa! Thank you that would be kind. My e-mail address is david@bbbweb.com David

Can anyone tell what the tune is - I am fairly new to playing the concertina and this sounds like a nice easy one. David

Thanks for both thought. I sat down tonight an practiced in front of my mother-in-law. Although I make lots of mistakes, she appreciated that she knew nearly all the songs that I played . She didn't know 'Down in Sally Gardens' so she learned something. I am building up a little list that I would like to be part of my 'repertoire'. As suggested I will keep on playing lots of other stuff. Youtube is great for this because there is lots of music that I have that I don't know so I find something on Youtube and try and emulate. That's how I learned Sally Gardens. Somtime soon I will take my heart in my hands and make a video of my little repertoire and put it up. Then everyone can pull me down again - grin. David

Hi there. I have been messing around with my concertina for about 18 months but have been practising seriously since Christmas and I think that I am progressing quite well. I have gathered quite a lot of simple music by downloading pdfs from the internet and have been buying simple mandolin books etc that have tunes in C/G. However, I have a question. When practising, I am doing three things: 1. I am running through the books playing a variety of tunes that I know from my folk guitar days 2. Trying out tunes that I don't know by finding them on Youtube and then playing from the music 3. Concetrating on a small number of tunes that I am trying to 'perfect' Now, the question. Am I better off leaving out (or heavily cutting down on) 1 above and building a small repertoire of tunes that I can play well or should I continue playing lots of tunes 'adequately' to exercise my reading and fingerwork? I have to say that my wife is getting sick of 'Mairi's Wedding'!!!! David

I have two problems with learning the C/G Anglo. I had many years playing folk and classical guitar plus times on the 5 String Banjo and even a tenor sax. 1. I continuosly make mistakes by not reading the music and playing what I 'think' comes next. I would really like to play Mairi's Wedding without mistakes but even with the tune in my head, I still get it wrong. 2. I didn't realise for some time how the two rows worked so I am very C concious. I am really struggling to play on the G line but it is hard to break even a short term habit. It is nice to hear that what I am going through is due to'struggling to find the correct fingering, and work on the fingering with the tune already in your head' David

Sad that someone will only tutor 40 key. Well that is what he told me in December. I have been thinking about re-approaching him and asking if he could at least give me a couple of sessions on handling, finguring and bellow control. These types of topics should be general, I would have thought. David

I originally put this in the general discussion but realised that it would be more sensible here. I hope I haven't done anything wrong - smile. David I have a 20 key C/G Anglo and am learning to play. We have a tutor in the town nearest to me but he only teaches the 40 key and I can't justify buying a new concertina. I have found a DVD on EBay called Learn to Play Irish Concertina by John Williams. I have two questions: 1. Is this DVD any good? 2. Is it suitable for my 20 key? Any help would be appreciated. David

I have a 20 key Anglo and am learning to play. We have a tutor in the town nearest to me but he only teaches the 40 key and I can't justify buying a new concertina. I have found a DVD on EBay called Learn to Play Irish Concertina by John Williams. I have two questions: 1. Is this DVD any good? 2. Is it suitable for my 20 key? Any help would be appreciated. David