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I found this unusual "Lancashire Clog" in the hornpipes chapter of Ryan’s Mammoth Collection of fiddle tunes from 1883. It’s credited to Edwin Christie (not to be confused with Edwin Christy with a Y, the founder of the Christy Minstrels.) Played (with just a few stumbles) on my 40-button Wheatstone Edeophone 1934 D/A Anglo concertina. The notes & ABC are online here -- https://tunearch.org/wiki/Belle_of_the_Stage I've tweaked the notes a bit here and there in my recording. In particular there's a typo in the online transcription which omits the final high A.

All, Thanks to publisher Gary Coover of Rollston Press, and my co-author Jarrett Branch, a much expanded and completely rewritten second edition of The Anglo Concertina Music of William Kimber (originally published in 2005) is now for sale on Amazon, and in the future, at brick and mortar outlets. The layout is similar to that of last year's Chris Droney and the Tradition of the Concertina in North Clare: an extensive biography, a detailed music analysis with tutorial, and then transcriptions of all his recorded tunes - both Morris and social dance. Andy Turner (musician for the Headington Quarry Morris Dancers) has contributed a Foreword. And there are QR codes linking to audios on YouTube of both Kimber's playing and of the transcriptions themselves. More details are available in the attached pdf. Jarrett and I hope you enjoy it; it is out just in time for both Christmas and for the 125th anniversary of the famous Boxing Day meeting of Cecil Sharp and the Headington Quarry Morris dancers in the snow at Sandfield Cottage! Of particular interest to Forum readers may be the analysis of his playing techniques on the two-row Anglo, and in particular of his unusual chord choices, something which has been a topic on this Forum in past years. All the best, Dan Worrall Kimber Book Summary.pdf

I just finished converting this song to be able to be played on my C/G Anglo concertina. This is one of my first attempts at translating a song so it might not be the best, but I think I did a pretty okay job. Feedback is appreciated. Edit: A few notes are purple because they were hard for me to see Nocturne_of_Ice.pdf

The Anglo Concertina Music of Alan Day is now out and available through Red Cow Music (UK) and Amazon! With musical notation for the melody and Anglo button numbers and tab like all the other Rollston Press books, plus QR code links to videos of Alan playing the tunes. It has been a pleasure working with Alan on this book - 65 tunes, of which 46 of which were composed by Alan in a variety of styles, and including one surprise tune composed very recently. A couple of weeks ago I posted his tune "Bonjour Mazurka" here on CNET. The book also includes a QR code link to Alan's 20-button Anglo Tutor audio files on the ICA website. I've really enjoyed transcribing and playing his tunes, and I'll be teaching "Chocolate Rabbit" at the Old Palestine Concertina Weekend in East Texas in two weeks. With luck I will have some copies of the book with me, hot off the press. Kudos to Alan for writing so many great tunes and for being such a tireless promoter of the concertina. It's both a privilege and an honor to showcase his work. Hope you all enjoy it too! Gary

Just published by Rollston Press - a collection of 65 tunes especially arranged for the Anglo concertina, from 16 historical tutors written between 1837 and 1889 for the 20-button German concertina and the diatonic chromatic Anglo-German concertina. Scans of the original tunes are included along with updated notation in the same easy-to-learn tablature used in the other Rollston Press concertina books. 53 of the 65 tunes can be played on a 20-button Anglo concertina, and several can be played on only one row. And then there are some that are in 4 sharps! The attached example is "Isle of Beauty" from Jefferys's German Concertina Tutor published in 1885. THE TUNES: As Welcome as the Flowers in May, Beautiful Star, Belle Mahone, Black Tea Polka, The Blue Bells of Scotland, Buonaparte’s Grand March, Bonnie Dundee, Comin’ Through the Rye, Dodworth’s Original Lancers, Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes, Eulalie, Favorite Hornpipe, Fred Wilson’s Clog Dance No.1 and No.2, Gentle Annie, God Save the Queen, Had I a Heart for Falsehood Framed, The Harmonious Blacksmith, The Harp that Once Thro’ Tara’s Halls, The Hercules Hornpipe, Hold the Fort, Hunting the Hare, In My Cottage, Isle of Beauty, Jefferson & Liberty, Kelvin Grove, Kind Words Can Cheer the Heart, Kleine Waltz, The Lass O’Gowrie, The Last Rose of Summer, Logie o’ Buchan, March in “Guillaume Tell”, Men of Harlech, The Minstrel Boy, The Mother’s Evening Song, My Love, She’s but a Lassie Yet, Nelly Was a Lady, Oh! My Love He is a Saileur Boy, Old Continental March, On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Only a Pansy Blossom, Pet Robin Polka, Red White and Blue, Rose of Allandale, Rosefield, Roslyn Polka, Santa Lucia, Schottisch, Scots Wha Hae Wi’ Wallace Bled, Shall We Gather at the River, Shule Aroon, The Sicilian Mariner’s Hymn, Silver Moonlight Winds are Blowing, Silver Threads among the Gold, Skylark Polka, The Star Spangled Banner, Tyroler Walzer, Under the Willow She’s Sleeping, Vesper Bell Mazurka, The Victory Hornpipe, Villikins and his Dinah, White Wings Waltz, Write Me a Letter from Home, Yankee Doodle, Ye Banks and Braes, Young May Moon. Available through Red Cow Music in the UK, and Amazon.com. $25, 20 GBP, 23 Euro. Isle-of-Beauty-19c.pdf

Three reels composed by Carl Hession, featuring Maura O'Connor on Concertina. Grace Broadhead on Fiddle, and Carl Hession on Piano.

EVENT CANCELED DUE AIR QUALITY ISSUES. The duo 2 Many Buttons is performing at the FDA Farmers Market in Washington, DC on Friday, June 9th. 11:00 - 1:00 Come by, say hello

hi, i just register the account. i like this lovely instrument.there are three kinds concertina can be learned. it seems that the duet concertina is the most versatile.however, it dont become the most popular. I used to use an Anglo concertina and now have an English concertina. I wonder if there are some downsides to the duet concertina. I am from China. my friend share some knowledge with me .but he doesn't care the duet . luli

Reposting this as I am still looking to sell a Jeffries concertina as above. In C/G with 26 keys, making it a lighter instrument. It's also very loud making this an excellent choice for a morris musician. The accidentals are C#/ Eb A/G Ab/Bb on the Left hand and Eb/C# Ab/G C#/Bb on the Right. Assessed by a knowledgeable friend as in good working order. Looking for around £3600 Please see pictures as attached and feel free to ask any more questions, many thanks Jo, Sheffield UK

Here is variation number 7 from [ Goldberg Variations].. I copied it into my collection many years ago; and only really use it for a practice piece. It works quite nicely on Concertina [I believe] with its lilting rhythm; and is technically manageable, and also nice to play. I find simple chords to add as I go along, which are straightforward and easy to find. Overall, therefore, the music is a nice piece for any collection.

In flagrant disregard for the obvious anachronism... here's a new book, Pirate Songs for Concertina, with nearly 70 songs and tunes. All include standard musical notation, lyrics, and tablature for the Anglo concertina. It's available through Amazon US, UK, DE, ES, IT, FR, CA, etc., and perhaps soon at the Button Box (US) and Red Cow Music (UK). I've had a few requests for a nautically themed book, but with all the recent pirate-themed movies, TV shows and online games it just made sense to go full-on piratical for this one. And who knows, perhaps fans of some of those shows and games will be interested in picking up and learning the real thing? Some songs have harmonies and accompaniments, some are just single note melody, and one song can even be played with only two buttons of the Anglo. Also threw in a couple of hornpipes and jigs. About 80% can be played on a 20-button Anglo, and most have a small graphic showing which buttons are needed for each tune. And the best, and most fun, part of writing this book? The writin' all be in pirate-speak. Aye, 'tis tempting indeed to give up speakin' and writin' proper English fer good! Here's a sample that includes the Table of Contents plus a couple of the songs. Hope you enjoy, Gary Pirate-Songs-SAMPLE.pdf

Following the pattern of the successful Melodeon Playgroup we've decided to launch the Anglo Concertina Playgroup. An online series of accessible workshops for beginners. 25th October 2020 Basic concertina instruction: Playing along the rows Chords Playing across the rows http://angloconcertinaplaygroup.org/workshops

2Many Buttons consists of Jim Besser on Anglo Concertina and Randy Stein on English Concertina. This is from a virus compliant distance rehearsal today in my condo complex.

I am very new to playing the concertina, and am having trouble with the right hand being too quiet when playing an accompanying chord on the left hand. The left hand notes always seem to overpower the right when played in unison. If there is already a conversation about this, I welcome the link. I am trying to figure out if it is a. Human error b. Flaw/damage in instrument c. Both a and b d. Normal. and what I can do to remedy it. Thanks!

Despite popular demand here is another tune from Jim Besser and me as 2ManyButtons duo. Again I apologize for the missed appropriated notes. Just too many buttons. Xotes Romanes is part half gypsy, half klezmer, half dance tune. Jim is playing his C/G Lachenal/Dipper 30 button Anglo. This is from a rehearsal last Sunday. https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/xotes-romanes-2manybuttons

Jim Besser and I have been playing together now for close to a decade finding ways to blend his amazing talent on the Anglo with me on the EC. We recently regrouped back into playing as a duo with our new endeavor, 2ManyButtons. Jim is playing a Morse ESB baritone C/G Anglo. I am playing a 1937 Wheatstone 4 octave. This is from a recent rehearsal and I excuse any misdirected notes....to many fingers on too many buttons. https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/nadiejda-2manybuttons

Squeezers In Concert Friday, May 5 7:30-10 pm at Seekers Church $20 nonmembers, $10 members The Squeezers, a trio of veterans of the Washington Folk Festival, FSGW Midwinter Festival and Takoma Porch, are a “genre-defying” squeezebox trio squeezing tunes of the world from bellows-and-reed instruments of the world. Traditional Morris tunes, French bal-folk dances, Jazz standards, tango and original arrangements of traditional music highlight the versatility of these cross-cultural instruments and artists. Sarah Murdoch-Vocalist From old murder ballads to Nina Simone by way of old-time gospel, Sarah Murdoch’s voice is both sweet and mighty, like a steam locomotive burning daffodils. She is a New York singer and actor; a regular of NYC pub sings, you’ll also remember her voice and style if you’ve attended Youth Trad Song Weekend in the past two years.

SOLD 30-button Anglo Concertina, key C/G with case. I bought it for my husband around 20 years ago at a shop in San Francisco and he has never played it and it doesn't have any brand name on it. Perfect condition: $150 Best, Lily obrienlily@gmail.com

Appearing at DC Folk Music Festival in Glen Echo Park THE SQUEEZERS Jim Besser - Anglo Concertina Gus Voorhees - Melodeon Randy Stein - English Concertina Bill Brown– Vocals Saturday June 4th, 2016 4:00 PM on the Yurt Village Stage http://fsgw.org/myorgnet/public.php?Org=fsgw&ProgramID=10&NoTitle=1

enjoy!

*NOW PURCHASED A CONCERTINA SO NO LONGER LOOKING, THANKS* Ok, I'm looking for a CG or GD Anglo between £1000 and £2000. I would like an instrument that has no problems and is in tune please. Anything considered so it could be an old Lachenal or a modern accordion-reeded hybrid instrument. I'm looking for a three-row concertina with a minimum of 30 buttons. If you have anything that you think I might be interested in, please get in touch - even if it's a bit cheaper than my budget! Many Thanks Les

Episode Four! I'm now 2 weeks into teaching myself the Anglo. https://youtu.be/N030nWaL-NM In today's blog I talk about (and play) two tunes - Boys Of The Town and The Lilting Banshee. I also discuss a bit of DIY tuning of my Rosetti Rambler!!

I've been learning the Anglo for about a week and a half and I although I'm still really into my English boxes I have to say that I'm absolutely hooked and want to move up from my two budget 20 button boxes, the better of which is a Hohner D40. Much as I'd love a £3K+ Wheatstone, Jeffries or similar, I simply don't have that kind of money. I guess the figure that I could justify is around £1,000 - £1,200 which was what I paid for each of my English concertinas (an old Lachenal and a Marcus) which I think are both wonderful instruments. So the question I'm asking is, what should I be looking for in my price-range? Ideally, I'd like a Lachenal but I suppose this would be a bit dearer than this. I guess I should go straight to 30 buttons or more now yes? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Les

Stagi Anglo "Gremlin", 30button C/G concertina in excellent condition. There is a hard shell case included. I've had if for a couple of years, but have played it very little because I was tempted by another concertina and ended up buying both in a relatively short time. For now, one seems sufficient. There is a slight press mark on one side, but you would have to look very close to ever see it. The concertina is black, if you would like to see pictures I can email you or text them to you. $1165 new. Asking $450.