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This gorgeous tune is an instrumental version of a well known wassailing song which has been recorded in several locations in Gloucestershire, our neighbouring county - each having their own variations in tune and words from place to place. Now that Wassailing, for us, is finally over, I thought I'd post it here! I've accompanied and sung this at many wassails across Worcestershire. Wassailing has become extremely popular in recent years - a post-Christmas gathering of people, with much merriment, singing and twinkling lights and often a bonfire. There's usually food and drink. An ideal way to "drive the cold winter away", especially in the seemingly long and dark month of January. That said, we've attended wassails well into February and some in December! We joke that wassailing season now takes up a full quarter of the year.... A comprehensive collection of versions of this song can be found on the Gloucestershire Christmas website http://www.gloschristmas.com/wassail/gloucestershire-wassail-3/ and a description of what the wassailing tradition is and was can also be found on this site. This version of the Gloucestershire Wassail (or Waysailing Bowl) is currently the most well known and was first published in this form in the Oxford Book of Carols in 1928. The words were compiled from various sources from the county. This song would have originally been sung (until quite recently) by a group going from house to house - traditionally to the doors of houses of notable people in the local area - carrying a wassailing bowl (a large bowl to collect money or hold drink). The words of the early part of the song (below) bless the good health of the owner's livestock before going on to beg the house to give them hospitality and let them in/give them drink. It does seem like two songs stuck together! However, the song is now sung widely as part of a different type of wassailing - the blessing of apple trees in orchards. Events are usually hosted by farms, community groups or pubs. Morris dancers are often heavily involved. This tradition originally hails from other counties, such as Somerset and Devon. The picture in the video is of Bow Brook Border Morris dancers and friends and neighbours holding a wassail in their local village of Upton Snodsbury, Worcestershire. The large apple tree pictured is illuminated upwards into the branches and the group perform their wassail dance around it. Toast, dipped in cider, is hung in the branches. In north west Worcestershire a custom was recorded of blessing the farm by lighting 12 bonfires and also putting cake on a bull's horns. Whichever way the bull shook its head augured either good or ill for the coming year! This performance was first aired as part of World Concertina Day 2026 organised by the International Concertina Association.

Working on some harmonic style tunes. Hope you enjoy. The Ash Grove - Kensington C-G.m4a

I first came across Portobello dancing Border Morris - whilst dancing the fabulous Diagonal Wychwood, with Bow Brook Border Morris. And it's an absolute delight to play on the anglo! There's an interesting tale behind the name, that I've included below: Although it is now called Portobello, it originally turns up under the name "La Ridotta" (in John Johnson's second volume of country dances c. 1750) (there are minor differences here and there between the different versions - and the version I play for dancing, that I learnt from others playing for Morris. I'm guessing melodeon players have adapted it to their instruments). It appears under the names Porto Bello and Portobelo in the music manuscript collections of fiddlers William Irwin (1838, Langdale, Cumbria) and Joseph Barnes (1762, Carlisle, Cumbria). So, why Portobello? A lot of things were renamed Portobello - places, houses, street names! The name honours the British naval victory at the Battle of Porto Bello (1739) against Spain during the War of Jenkins' Ear*(1739-1748), when Admiral Edward Vernon captured the Spanish town. (It's now known as Portobelo, "beautiful port", in the modern-day Panama, but was then an important port on the Spanish Main). The victory was much celebrated - the name was all the rage. The Spanish reclaimed the port soon after, though, in 1741! *poor Captain Jenkins' had his ear torn off! The picture behind me is of Portobello beach, in Dulas Bay, Ynys Mon/Anglesey Most people will be familiar with Portobello Road in London, or Portobello in Edinburgh, but I'm a sucker for a beautiful view in Wales!

This is a gorgeous traditional Welsh tune, often played on harp. I've arranged it for 20 button G/D anglo concertina, with a little contrasting dance, based on the tune, at the end. I have heard it played as a very slow air, but it feels so nice as a lilting waltz. Morfa is an old word, still used in place names, meaning a place by the sea, a coastal landscape, such as mudflats, saltmarsh or sand dunes. Neither land nor sea - a place in between. I'm not sure which queen would have reigned over this particular saltmarsh, maybe in medieval times. Perhaps it is one of folklore - somewhere on the western coast, where there are legends of a lost land, now sunken - Cantre'r Gwaelod. Perhaps she roams it, mourning the loss of her kingdom!

I've just tried my first YouTube Short video (it's only a minute long) This is an improvisation on the introduction to On from Abberley, that I just posted. It didn't fit in with the video, and works on it's own.

This is a tune for 20 buttons - in fact for much of it it’s for one row - but it was written whilst playing this unusual 32 button Bb/F instrument by David Leggett. No worries though - the tune works very well on a C/G and on a 20b.

This is such an unusual and gorgeous sounding traditional tune, with a fascinating history. Makes for a fun time exploring what can be done on the anglo with it! For once this isn’t a tune of my own, but I couldn’t resist adding plenty of new stuff inspired by it in there! If you watch to the end there’s a little dance tune based on it that’d do well on its own, too.

How do you find playing in the left hand compared to the right? I'd be interested in your thoughts. Here's a new tune for the left hand only, for 20 button anglo - melody only then some harmonic accompaniment in the same hand. As I often play harmonic style, I'm much more used to playing accompaniment in the left hand and I find the harmony notes and "chord shapes" are more nicely arranged under the fingers on the left hand than on the right (although I rarely just play straight chords). I can pretty much bet I am faster on my right hand too as it is more used to just playing melodies in the style I play. I'm trying to redress the balance! All that said, my pinkie is much better than my right one because of all those Fsharps we get to play! The tune is inspired by folklore and history of a local hill to me, here in Worcestershire - Woodbury Hill - where there was a pivotal moment in the history of Welsh/English relations in the medieval period and Owain Glyn Dwr's forces came as far west as Worcester!

Hi folks! Hope this is interesting/of use! I've used the well-loved tune Brighton Camp (The Girl I Left Behind Me) to show how I approach playing both melody and accompaniments in various ways on the 20b C/G anglo. The video starts with me playing and then it goes on to a discussion/demo. Brighton Camp is used for a dance we do with my local side Bow Brook Border in Worcestershire, so when I’m not dancing I’ve been jamming along with melodeons/accordion/fiddle and a lot of their tunes are in G major. Some seem to lie easily on the anglo and immediately can be accompanied whilst playing melody. Others require a bit more thought and experimentation. Interesting though!

Morning! I have a Welsh folk tale inspired new tune Im discovering there are so many different ways you can accompany a tune on a 20button - and sustained chords (which are found at the end of this tune) are my latest enthusiasm! But they sure take some thought and bellows planning They really make me think of choral stuff and chapel organs which is lovely because I started playing as a wee dot on a reed organ. Are there names for all these types of accompaniments beyond being harmonic in nature? So far I can think of octaves (on all or some notes), countermelodies (imitations, inversions, in parallel 6ths of 3rds, equal written so the countermelody is a nice tune in itself), bass and chord (rhythmic, oom pah etc), countermelody + rhythmic chords, sustained chords, accompaniment of all the above types on r hand..and of course many styles and combinations of the above

Just before the New Year arrives, here's this odd little piece for this singular time of year! A no- man's land, liminal zone between Christmas and New Year that in the past would have been one of the twelve days of Christmas, each with it's own brand of festivity or activity, culminating in a big cake on the 6th! And what’s more, it was completely foggy outside! I picked up the concertina for the first time in a few days after all the Christmas preparations were finally over, just to see what came out of it. I'm not quite sure what genre you might call it! But there's a good dollop of 7/8 So, a peaceful and healthy new year to you and I wish you much merry concertina-ing in 2022!

I love how an anglo concertina can remind you of a harmonica (not surprisingly I guess!) This one reminds me of old westerns/cowboy movies, where someone is looking out on a vast landscape with long horizons - playing their harmonica! - maybe with a good dash of Copeland - and then ambling off on their horse (complete with horse clip-clopping music..you know the sort I mean?) It's funny because this new tune is actually based on Scottish folklore (maybe not so funny when you consider how influential Scottish music has been on the American sound). Not only Scottish folklore and American overtones, but also a poem recited with hints of an Australian accent and set against the English landscape of Worcestershire

Here’s my latest adventures on the 20button. It’s back from its visit to the doctors, hale and hearty and raring to go And this one is a bit different in that it is accompanied by a poetry reading, inspired by tree folklore and a tale from Welsh and Irish legend. But mostly because it just wanted to play this tune after coming back! Having fun exploring the Lydian mode i.e. C major scale with an added Fsharp (made for this instrument!) and playing with a drone accompaniment amongst other harmonic treatments - and coming up with an introductory bit, for a change It would be lovely to connect on YouTube - always like to follow what fellow Anglo enthusiasts are up to so please do drop by and say hello My channel is here: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCyfaF1wA2EZagdS7E8i3ixw

Hello everyone! I hope here is a good place to put this - if not, let me know! I've been on the anglo concertina Facebook page for a while and have now discovered this forum. If I have videos to share, where is the best place to post them, please? I took up anglo concertina back last April, at the height of lockdown and it's really been my go-to instrument ever since. I have been a musician pretty much all my life and I found the impossibility of getting together with band mates or having gigs and (the worst) not being able to jam, improvise and work on material with others, live, in person and in the moment, really hard. As a result, I strangely went off singing and playing anything I had been playing with others. Luckily I'm getting some enthusiasm for those things back now somewhat - and I hope it will continue. Also, on the upside, I'm writing lots and getting round to arranging music to perform all on my own. I really havent gone for Zoom or similar at all, for some reason, although I realise it has been a godsend for some - possibly because I love playing with others live. That said, collaborative videos have been a wonderful thing. Anyway, I have found, right from the very start, that picking up my 20 button Lachenal has ended up with new tunes coming out of it. I've recently started videoing them (as well as producing sheet music) I love the harmonic way of playing, but also really like picking up tips from other styles, too - after all, it depends on the piece and what feel it has! I really enjoy working with different ways of arranging a melody such that it results in (hopefully) lots of nice variety! Here's one of my recent tunes: