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Below The tune as I recorded and the PDF giving Easy Notes this is my first in trying this, when I have got to grips with the cam-cordeer I hope to video me playing this is aimed at new players and beginners. Any comments very welcome, we are all still learning. In the Bleak Midwinter_new_part.pdf

Hi to everyone. I'm totally new here....and new to concertina ownership as I'm about to enter the world of the 'tina. And isn't it a minefield? I'm in the UK with a very limited budget (which isn't likely to get any larger as there's always something that seems to need fixing at home!) so from what I can see I'm going to have to go with Anglo, much as I'd love an English these are way way over my measly £45-£75 budget. (yes I know that's tiny but I have to start somewhere!) I'll only realistically manage 10-15 minutes a day to practice so I assumed that some sort of 20 button Anglo could be a good thing to start on? My entire experience has been a few months playing on our children's Scarlatti junior melodeon but that's very limited with only 7 buttons! But as a result I'm not entirely new to the diatonic instrument and have even learned a few tunes on the basic little thing - I give it 10 minutes a day nonetheless just to prove to myself that I will indeed keep it up. It's given me the bug and I realise that a concertina is the next step as it takes up much less room that a full size melodeon and (I think) looks far nicer! We're an English Folk-loving family so that's what I'll be wanting to play. I'd love a few pointers before I buy. There are no places near me to try things out (there's no longer a Hobgoblin in Nottingham) and the English Folk scene in my area is almost non-existent so I'm going to have to take the plunge and just go for it blindly and hope for the best. Probably something used on ebay - I've been watching the listings for the past month and researching models but the concertina is a complex old thing, isn't she?! Thank you in advance for any advice you can give to a concertina newbie!

Hi- I'm pretty new to the unexpectedly enchanting world of concertinas... A couple of questions I hope someone can help me with: first in terms of wanting to play tunes in D and G and their relative minors (such as the great majority of Irish trad tunes) is there any disadvantage to playing a 26 or 28 button anglo as opposed to the regular 30 button instrument? Would fingering patterns be different? (I understand there are alternative arrangements of the accidentals row). Secondly, I'm pondering buying either a 26 or 28 button Lachenal for something under £1000 or a used quality hybrid for a little more. I'm thinking it comes down to traditional tone v ease and speed of playing, and can't decide which means more to me... Are these the key factors? I hope someone can help inform my ruminations.

Hey ALL! I just got my first Concertina! A Hayden Elise, duet. I chose it due to reviews saying its easy, & from listening to clips on You Tube, ( I liked the 'duet' sound,) and the fact that I could not afford more. I play a mountain dulcimer, a Viola da Gamba, midevile tenor 5 string fidle, cello, Irish Low-D and penny whistles ( wood version flute.) I am not gifted, but can get by on all. I play at Mountain ( trad) type Jams in the Appalachian Mountains of SW VA and NW NC.usa.. I find the instrument very hard to hold, & wonder how one can play IF ONE MUST HOLD THE ' air bellows button all the time?) using the right index finger. The instrument..is definately not, 'Good looking " like all the ( $$$ ) beautiful old models. Sigh, ones budget must be satisfied. So...can get past the looks. ( I guess.) It sounds OK.. ( I know nothing!) I just liked the idea of a folky ...sea shanty sound.. that I can sing too, .but at first squeeze...wonder how to hold the thing! I plan to add a neck cord, so I can stand to play. Still, while my hands are NOT small, I find the starps very loose. ANY ADVISE on that or adjusting to make thumb starps? Anyway Im THRILLED to find YOU!,, and hope to post a tune one of these days. ANY ADVISE for books or help that will pertain to a HAYDEN is MOST APPRECIATED! Best regards to all! BRG