new english

Hi It might have worked this time three sort of practice styles excuse the gaps i almost dropped it vLOL Tony concertina soundfile1.mp3

Hi I added the soundfile in the attachments bit but It doesn’t seem to have worked? How does one do it? It was suggested it might be interesting to see how one progresses and as to embarrassment factor LOL I played a club in south London in the eighties,in a trio and the audience numbered four “if you included the dog” the entertainments secretary was very apologetic as he had booked us for the same night they had a summer outing, he promptly left on the coach After the first number the old lady and dog decided to leave ,she assured us she liked the music but coronation street was on the TV LOL Leaving us with the bar steward and a nice couple ,thankfully they stayed and even danced Martin my bass player always the comedian proclaimed at the call of last orders “I’ll buy drinks for everyone “ and he did Tony

Hi Guys and Girls I was asked to put a recording of me playing the duet concertina on the forum as I received it last Thursday It may bring a little humour to a rather drab Tuesday and in the immortal words of Mr Eric Morecambe” I,m playing all the right notes ,but not necessarily in the right order “ LOL tony

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wheatstone-Tenor-Treble-56-Button-Concertina-c1916-/280804233546?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL&hash=item41613c914a tony

Hi I believe a duet concertina (I may be wrong?) was actually intended to play chords /bass lines left hand and melody right hand ? With a little work all the Dixie land ,gypsy ,jazz standards ,tin pan alley guitar arrangements I have can be played on my McCann (that’s why I bought it LOL) I tried an EC and it was beautiful but the chap that played both the duet and English them told me the English was not suited to that particular style ,it’s obviously possible but as a beginner I would have thought an instrument dedicated to a vamp and tune style would be the most appropriate ? Please correct me if i,m wrong tony

Hi Guys and girls having thought a little about the original question and as I am new to concertinas I fell into the inevitable trap of associating the instrument with its most common musical genre and have felt almost apologetic in my responses LOL The question really is the one I asked myself “can I play jazz on a concertina “ The instrument is only limited by ones imagination knowledge and technique I have been playing around with several Django Reinhardt chord patterns and Solos and a little Bach and it’s clear that the only limitation is not in the instrument but in my Ability to play it I have been haunted for over 30 years by the first time heard blind blakes Ragtine guitar version of west coast blues the stumbling thumb syncopating the double down strokes is still considered innovative and I still don’t know anyone that can play it with that effortless bounce or without using a capo LOL Just a few thinking outside the box no pun intended LOL Blind blakewest coast blues http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLk7Xw0mpnM ROY SMECK on the humble ukulele Takashi Nakamura Jazz ukulele Solo ALL OF ME buddy greene !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! awesome and the wonderful jerry douglas dobro this is just a great tune to jam over with my duet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXQCSuazO6Q&feature=related and finally Andy Leftwich with my absolute all-time favorite version of minor swing with just a hint of bluegrass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKtShVBPJyg To me dixieland ,gypsy jazz is only separated by the choice of instrument The voicing’s used violin /guitar or clarinet /trumpet but playing the same scales and counter melodies I would also add western swing to the melting pot as in a lot of bob wills songs have a distinctly jazzy flavor Tony Ps But if we’re talking modern jazz and just to be contentious LOL I was unfortunately taken by a jazz guitar friend to a “shall we say” evening of free form modern jazz If you acquired all the concertinas ever made in all the various states of tuning and gave them to musically inept orangutans the subsequent cacophony would be more melodic LOL

Hi do you know how much he wants for it? Tony

Hi sorry I,m new to this forum stuff looking at the page I’m not exactly sure whats for sale and by who? Tony

Hi wanted 46 button mcann duet any condition considered thanks Tony

Hi wannaplayjazz forgot to add You might like this Boulevard of Broken Dreams played by Randy Stein on the English Concertina Tony

Hi i,m new to the concertina but from a jazz background I prevaricated for quite a while as to which button system would be best suited to the gypsy jazz , standards french mussette style of music I want to play A chap I was playing with at a session Had two concertinas (this started me off LOL) and instead of the usual folk style he played some great chords and melodies (Played a beautiful rendition of J'Attendrai) and I was hooked I have subsequently found out he played an English and a duet I chatted to a local restorer and anyone else that would listen and a duet seems to be the way to go if you want to play jazz arrangements ,The fact that a duet like and English plays the same notes pull and push was for me a clincher, I plumbed for a duet as the wonderful J'Attendrai rendition was performed on a McCann system concertina ,so I looked through a lot of literature about the McCann concertinas and the general consensus was a 46 button would only be a stepping stone to a 55 button but I contacted Keith and to my amazement he played a 46 button,!!!!!!!!!!!! just proving I suppose that talent and technique are everything, I am working on a version of “all of me” and loving it LOL tony

Hi Ralphie you’re never too old ,I bought my first concertina and I’m in my fifties LOL an arpeggio is playing a chord or scale one note at a time ,substituting chords is almost mandatory in gypsy jazz and usually creates a similar or neutral voicing to the chord substituted Example C to B7 on the duet is a big fingers jump with no pivot finger but the substitute diminished chord plays from the C ease of movement I am also more of an instinct player that a notation person and have busked my way through various bands for over thirty years but an old fiddle player told me once “you can’t make a decent cake if you don’t know the right ingredients” he also thought the London Underground was a political movement LOL what sort of stuff do you play on your McCann ? this was the first simple chart for me to practice , but with lots of possibilities walking the bass between chords and obviously additional scale fragments ,the guitar arrangement has almost a chord per beat I’m working on it LOL tony

Hi Andy I am taking a sort of Ukulele vamp approach using standard substitutions to C –Dim-Dm7-G – Gaug obviously substituting the B7 with the diminished ,the Eb for me seems set up perfectly for the style I want to play these are the first four chords of “i cant give you anything but love ” simplified (i’m working on it LOL) you arpeggio the right hand notes and I,m working out the gypsy jazz scales (pentatonic etc) to embellish sorry cant add the picture used up my qouta on the forum send me you email we can chat tony

Hi Guys a recording LOL the chord changes at the moment are so slow I’m not sure if I have enough hard disc space for a single song LOL The only chord charts I have from the net are very limited but I’m trying to make up chord charts to various jazz standards obviously using my guitar /piano background for inversions and voicing’s ,and I think fingering charts are preferable to notation for me at the moment Andy if you’re interested I could send you a chart but it Seems a bit presumptuous of me as a novice but I have been playing Gypsy jazz For over thirty years so It might be something different or at least give you a laugh LOL This is a blank chart the right way up for me I'm going to highlight the fingering root etc tony

Hi Guys It is my second day with my lovely wheatstone-duet concertina ,being a complete novice to concertinas (I do play piano)I found the button layout far more musically logical than I had anticipated from the information I have read on the internet and I can already see I am hooked LOL and the advice about buying a quality instrument was invaluable the wheatstones steel reeds are obviously a must and the sweet non shrill accordion tone is quite beautiful and has certainly inspired me to play her The McCann system looked a little chaotic until I started playing but its far more user friendly that I expected the concertina is a also a work of art and is a little like the tardis with more inside than seems possible The button spacing is perfect and the Chinese concertina I had a go on had larger buttons and bigger spacing that appeared easier but it’s not as several minor chords require one finger to depress two buttons but on the wheatstones its easy and natural and all notes can be reached with practice I have started making up chord charts for Augmented ,9ths Diminished chords etc as ragtime/jazz is my passion and the jazz guitar version of "I can’t give you anything but love" sounds glorious and will be better when I can move fast enough to play it at speed LOL thanks for all the advice Tony

Hi Guys many thanks for all the advice (especially David from Norwich and I also had a fascinating conversation with Mike in Ipswich a restorer) I have bought a 46 key Wheatstone Maccann I can’t wait for it to arrive LOL as my first concertina the button layout is the only one I’ll know ,so I don’t have any other systems to (shall we say)confuse me Having heard a chap play breathtakingly well on what i belive was a 46 I think it will be easily good enough for my first fumblings LOL and I know that a beautiful vintage instrument is going to inspire me in a way a modern Chinese one wont (this is not intended as a criticism just a personal gut instinct) Mikes explanation of the advantages the Wheatstone has over Lachenal and several articles I have read have convinced me the Maccann system is the right choice for me When it arrives I’ll post some pictures and in about 30 years maybe a sound file LOL Thanks Tony

Hi thanks Geoff The more videos on YouTube and info I acquire I'm thinking a duet concertina seems to be more appropriate to the style of melody plus accompaniment I want to play, gypsy jazz/ragtime is my passion ,but the chap that started my concertina madness LOL played at a session I was working,ater we were just jamming and he played a sort of melancholy French accordion style on his concertina I'm not exactly sure what fingering of concertina he was playing as he was throwing terms around casually in conversation I remember pull and push being the same on both his concertinas? And it had a beautiful tone not the typical accordion Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Having watched several video clips a duet concertina is probably what I need thanks Tony

Hi guys thanks for the info hadn’t seen the Hobgoblin Music websites they seem to have several English concertinas in my budget and the other link to a Lachenal Duet system concertina looks promising it looks absolutely lovely I cannot wait to get my hands on one LOL I have no idea how this Duet system works but as a complete novice, I don’t know any concertina fingering at the moment so it probably doesn’t matter LOL PS: just seen a anglo concertina Wheatstone C/G local to me on ebay still not sure about the pull push!!!!!!!!!!!! Just like buses you wait for hours then they all turn up LOL many thanks Tony

Hi being a complete novice I don’t know how the number of bellows actually affects the instrument ,is it the length of sustained note? but as the same notes are on the pull and push on an English sorry I don’t understand the various virtues Excuse my terminology and total ignorance, I thought it would be a relatively easy to buy a suitable concertina with my budget, but it’s more confusing than a UK tax return LOL there doesn’t seem to be a generic quality instrument to start playing on? Confuse,bemused and giddy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Tony

Hi Guys thanks for the advice I have emailed David Robertson hopefully he has a little gem for sale for me Tony

Hi sorry should have mentioned I have a local sawmill that specializes in the slightly more exotic North Heigham Sawmills LTD Paddock Street Norwich NR2 4TW Telephone: 01603 622978 Ebony ,Zebrano ,Rosewood, Purpleheart and lots of interesting species it’s a place I absolutely love to browse and have never left without buying something LOL the chaps are very friendly Thanks Tony

Hi Guys thanks for the advice I have around a £1000 to spend so a vintage restored is probably the way to go I have read through a lot of articles and steel concertina reeds opposed to brass accordion reeds seem to come up repeatedly the Jackie seems to be well like but purely as a stepping stone to a Lachenal or weatstone and the Jackie 30 key and bigger button spacing would probably mean adjusting my playing later I love the sound of the concertina and would only be deterred by a poorly sounding/ setup instrument and I’m rather uninspired by the mass produce Chinese instruments and would be far more likely to practice a vintage concertina So in conclusion after what seems like years of navigating the net LOL A Lachenal 48 English ,metal buttons, steel reeds ,5 fold bellows restored and in concert pitch would seems the perfect instrument Would you agree? Many thanks Tony

Hi this may be of interest I use quite a lot of rosewood ebony in my restorations Brazilian Rosewood sonokeling (Indian Rosewood) and guitar fingerboards and backs and sides would probably be a good source .I have a stock of very old Ebony Macassar and some Gaboon All species are pretty much unchanged over the last few hundred years and I can relatively easily match ,say the sides of a washburn 1900 parlour guitar. I bought a 100+ year old harmonium totally beyond repair solid rosewood faded but planed its almost identical (obviously not grain Patten LOL) to some newish boards I bought last year. Maple is readily available and properly stained is indistinguishable from ebony its hard durable with virtually no creep I built a maple replacement body for an old Cajun accordion(ebonised)for a friend and if I may so it looked lovely it’s also a bright sounding wood with good resonance Tony

I,m new to concertinas and this forum Hi everyone I have been a working musician all my working life and there seems rather a lot of conflicting information concerning new/vintage concertinas on the net I want to learn the English concertina and I would appreciate any advice on what instrument I should buy to start on? PS:I restore banjos and guitars etc and would eventually like to build concertinas I have started work on a couple of jigs for bellows construction as I’m as passionate about building as playing Thanks tony