Susanne
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Posts posted by Susanne
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Isn't it time that we EC players start proving that you can play good Irish music on the EC?
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Yesterday I also managed to find a good way to fasten a strap, so now it doesn't only sound good, I can also play comfortably.
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Well, you can't know things before you've learned, can you? Had you ever opened a concertina or knew the names of the parts in it when you were a beginner?
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Hi there Jim!
You're a rock.
I lifted the reed pan out, actually didn't see before that it was a separate part (yes, I know I'm ignorant but I'm a beginner on these kinds of instruments, I've played strings only before). The trickiest part was to remember how to put it back! Now I've marked the place beside the thumb strap.
Anyway, I found the little valves and reeds (the pieces of metal are the reeds?) and tried to clean them, at first it didn't work but maybe I wasn't at the right place, now it sounds good again though and I've learned something new. Thanks a lot!!!! Now maybe I can also fix the notes that sound weird.
I will definitely get that book. There's probably lots more that I should know about this instrument.
Happy again
My husband and I are planning a trad music service at church, and I know the elderly folks would love to hear something on the concertina so I really want to learn something nice - and to have a functioning instrument. -
I discovered a problem with my concertina I haven't noticed before, this weekend when I started learning a couple of new tunes. My F button doesn't give any sound when I pull. If I push, it sounds normal, but no sound if I pull. I don't know what to do about it. I opened the end and looked, I've never done any repair work whatsoever on this kind on instruments. I noticed there are holes covered with some paper-like round things and if I press a button, this paper-like thing is lifted up. I tried to blow in case there was lots of dust but that didn't help.
Then, on the bellows part, there seem to be little metal pieces with papers on. On some of them, the paper seems to be missing - does that mean anything?
Why does this problem occur and what can I do? Remember I live in Sweden with a very old concertina so I have these three problems 1. I don't live near any concertina repair man 2. I don't want to do anything wrong with my very old AND the only concertina I have and 3. It's VERY hard to find other concertinas here.
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I don't have much courage to do things with instruments more than changing parts on stringed instruments (it's hard to do something wrong when changing string holder or bridge). Now, in lack of concertina repair people in this country - if a key on my concertina gives a strange noise or leaks, is there anything I can do that is easy, simple and non-risky?
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I don't know what did help, but now it seems to work. Maybe it was that I deleted all cache.
Thanks!
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I've just (finally) started to go through Dick Mile's EC tutor and I'm trying to learn the concertina reel. There are some triplets on a D note there, there are no other notes involved but D notes.
How do you play this triplet? By simply pushing the button very fast? I can't do that smoothly but it may just take some practice. Or do you push/pull the bellows fast in order to play the triplet?
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Harlan, what a nice surprise to meet you here!!! I always thought you've given up this forum thing, haven't seen you much lately on the mandolin forums. How great to hear that you too took up concertina playing! What system do you play, anglo? (Just a guess since it seems to be the most common concertina system) What maker of concertina did you buy? Do you have pictures of it?
Daniel and myself are planning to make a website about our music and about our instruments, and we'll most certainly make some recordings to put there, just have a little patience, it will be up soon and the recordings will be up later in the autumn.
What about you, Harlan, do you record yourself these days?
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When I try to change avatar, it doesn't change the picture, only the size of it, even if I have removd the old avatar. I've scaled it down so it's 23 kb or something like that. Does it take time for the avatar to be updated or am I doing something wrong?
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Schottis från Idre is a very nice tune, I play it on the fiddle. I've never played it on the concertina but it probably sounds nice. I hope to meet you next year in Skåne!!
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In Sweden every year in August there is a huge accordion event in a little town called Hjo (by lake Vättern). We were there last year, not that we love accordion music but there are so many different kinds of people and all music styles are welcome. Last year I played the mandolin, this year I brought the mandolin, the bouzouki (Daniel gave it to me when we married, it's a wonderful instrument, I can't play much after only two months but at least I can play a few chords) and after some thinking I thought "oh well, I take the concertina, can't play much but you'll never know". So I brought it but didn't take it with me, I left it in the car, but later in the evening I thought I'd try to see if I could play some. And actually, I could play some chords but also improvise a little (tiny) bit on a few tunes. When Swedish accordion players play the usual waltzes and schottisches it's quite easy to play along on any instrument.
For the folks who don't know me, I'm a new concertina enthusiast, I tried some button accordion ("organetto" in Italian, the thing that Sharon Shannon plays, I don't know the actual name for it in English) last summer and thought it was really fun but a little too big for my hands, the straps didn't fit, etc and the concertina thing came to my mind so I thought I'd try. After some research on the internet I realized I would never afford to buy one. But, as if it came down from heaven, I ran into an old Wheatstone 56 key English concertina in a music shop in Göteborg, he didn't want much for it so I bought it even if it wasn't completely in shape. That was in October, and I've played a little here and there but I also play several other instruments so I haven't come very far yet.
Anyway, the folks in Hjo were really fascinated and interested in this "little accordion", they asked about it, wanted to hear it, some said it almost had the tone of a bagpipe (never thought of that before, but it may be true). When even the sober people liked it, and liked my playing, I felt really satisfied and inspired to learn more and show up next year able to play more. I can play only three tunes, "Ballydesmond polka #1", another Irish polka with unknown name, and Swedish schottische "Johan på Snippen", but I played them over and over when they wanted to hear something. I felt quite proud also for these three tunes...
It was such fun, that I can't wait to get to the next accordion "get-together". This was my first official show-up with the concertina. Of course I'll have to book next year's Scandinavian squeeze-in! This year I was too busy with wedding preparations, the new house and stuff that I couldn't go. I know Jim Lucas was there, were there other c-netters there?
Have a great day everyone!
Susi
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This looks really good!!! But those screws are quite short, do they really hold both the thumb straps and those thingys?
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I have the same problem but I want to be able to play standing since I want to bring my concertina to the accordion festivals where you just ramble around playing music here and there and I don't want to be dependent on having a chair. I made shoulder straps that I fastened in the little screws above the thumb straps, the screws that hold the side pieces. I haven't tried them yet but I believe it will work fine.
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Please, form your own opinion on this one. This sort of "received wisdom" is the curse of the concertina world. I will confine myself to just one comment. Yes, you can play regular tunes on the English quite as well as irregular ones.
Chris
I agree on this even if I'm very unexperienced in concertina playing. I play an English because I came across one at a very good price, but now I'm very glad I did find an English.
It's very handy not having to think of pulling or pushing!! On the English concertina it's the same note in and out and I just love that. It's also easy to form chords because the keys are placed in arpeggio patterns. So, the English is good for song accompaniment, but I bet you can also do that on an anglo, and yes, you can play tunes on an English concertina.
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Not with Skype, but I've tried Yahoo and Paltalk voice chat, works fine. It's not possible to actually play together, though, due to time delay. I'm not sure it's actually possible to overcome the problem with time delay.
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Dick Miles is on this forum, if you don't want to pay more than necessary, order it directly from him.
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Hi Johan!
Your music is very well played and nice to listen to!!!
I'm Swedish and I play English concertina since October last year. It is a wonderful instrument. Around here there are very few concertina players too, but I play with other musicians, I haven't brought the concertina to any jams yet though. I also play fiddle and mandolin. I feel quite free with how and what to play with my Wheatstone, since I don't know anyone else around here who knows anything about playing the concertina. That's kind of nice..
You are not too far from Skåne, you could come to the Scandinavian Squeeze-In!
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Hi all,
For those of your that are spread out across the world, without a regular session or teacher, how do you stay motivated to pick up the concertina and play?
Kind regards
Morgana
That's the question. I haven't been motivated to play any instrument for the last 2 months or so, and that's a serious sign in me!! However depressed I may get, I have always had the desire to play my instruments.
Anyway, I really love playing concertina and there are other occasions where I could play it, so I'm trying to learn to play so I can at least play one or two tunes at the Swedish trad music sessions. Also, the internet is a great source to motivation. Some year ago I was losing the motivation to play mandolin because I didn't have any goal or anything to work for. Then I found a tune project at Mandolin Cafe, and the cyber jams at Yahoo Groups, and I started playing again and improved in no time. Internet is great for isolated people!! Then I met my boyfriend and now always have at least one person to play music with.
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I love going to sessions even though I never (or almost never) can join in because they play too fast. I love listening to them playing, I try to hear little things that will help me sound better when I play Irish music, and I get inspiration from the musicians. I hope that I'll also someday will be able to join in.
Actually, they've started an Irish session in Trollhättan, really close to us. I haven't been able to go yet, it's only once a month and it's almost impossible to find one of those Fridays when I don't work, but in the future when I plan my working schedule I will try to be off work those Fridays. Daniel is going tomorrow, then he will tell me everything about it.
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But I never really understood who actually composed the tune.
Maybe nobody knows for sure? And in fact, that turned out to be the name for a tune other than the one Henrik gave us.
In any case, I don't think that a fiddler from Josef's Farm would refuse to play a tune simply because it's named for the Gucku Farm. Would he? But maybe the "guckulåt" is actually named for the bird, not the farm? Do Swedes sometimes name tunes that way? (I know they might if it were a song tune.) Ireland certainly has tunes like that, e.g., "Lark in the Morning". Some tunes are actually meant to imitate a bird or animal. The "Chicken Reel" is a famous American one. Or from Northumberland, "The Hen's March to the Midden" (self explanatory) and "Meggy's Foot" (imitating a limping horse).
No, there weren't wars like that between the farms. The tune can be named for the bird OR the farm. Usually Swedish tunes are named after the composers, though. Like "Polska efter Hakberg" , but also after places, like "Orrängsvalsen" (The Orräng waltz). I guess the question remains unanswered.
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here's a version of the powder rag written in 1908 by cl johnson. I'm not sure where i got the arrangement ... probably should apologize to someone in the guitar world. I have adapted it to fit the treble english and it is entertaining trying to figure where the fingers go. it can be done.
Yes, it can be done. I'm going to have fun trying to learn this one.
Thanks.
That's a really neat tune. I'm getting more and more fond of ragtime music. Mostly for the mandolin, though.
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Not that I want to destroy the fun, but Josefs is also a farm name...
Yeah, but whose farm was it? Josef's, no?
People get their names from farms; farms get their names from people; every once in a while a bird sneaks into the mix.... And what bird would be more appropriate for that than the cuckoo, which lays its eggs in other birds' nests?
And the names they grew all around, all around, and the names they grew all around.
Edited to add: ET, are you trying to suggest that Gucku Josefs Lars owned more than one farm?
Gucku was one farm, Josefs was another one (probably the one who built it was named Josef). Gucku Josefs Lars doesn't make sense. Either it's Gucku Lars or Josefs Lars. But it seems like the Guckulåt came from the Gucku farm and this certain Josefs Lars played it...anyway, that guy from the Gucku farm in Nås was named Olof Olsson it seems. But I never really understood who actually composed the tune. -
Not that I want to destroy the fun, but Josefs is also a farm name...
Irish Music On An English 'tina.cd
in Tunes /Songs
Posted
Obviously there are still people who think that the EC doesn't belong to ITM, according to some of the previous posts in this thread. That's why I'm talking about proving that it can be played well and that it shouldn't matter what concertina system you use. I know that many people play ITM on the EC but it doesn't seem to be officially "accepted". That's what I would like to see - that people stop bashing the playing of ITM on the English system.