Anglo Weight

[Kelteglow]

Hi All Is there a list anywhere of the weights of Anglo concertinas ? I play in a marching band and wan't to start using my G/D instead of the C/G I play at present.My intruments are the following weights .

 

Edgley 30 button 7 fold G/D 3lb 2oz. Norman 32 button 6 fold C/G 2lb 11oz. Wheatstone 36 button 6 fold C/G 2lb 9oz

 

I know that weight is not the only criteria when choosing another instrument .I don't want to wear a neck strap to support the weight of my anglo.Also I would rather practise concertina than go to the Gym to beef up my arm muscle's .May be it's a case of just getting use to the extra weight.

 

Any Ideas ? Bob

Edited December 6, 2009 by KelTekgolow

[Leo]

Hi All Is there a list anywhere of the weights of Anglo concertinas ? I play in a marching band and wan't to start using my G/D instead of the C/G I play at present.My intruments are the following weights .

 

Edgley 30 button 7 fold G/D 3lb 2oz. Norman 32 button 6 fold C/G 2lb 11oz. Wheatstone 36 button 6 fold C/G 2lb 9oz

 

I know that weight is not the only criteria when choosing another instrument .I don't want to wear a neck strap to support the weight of my anglo.Also I would rather practise concertina than go to the Gym to beef up my arm muscle's .May be it's a case of just getting use to the extra weight.

 

Any Ideas ? Bob

Hi Bob

 

This list should give you an idea. http://www.concertina.net/guide_weights.html

 

Thanks

Leo

[Greg Jowaisas]

Follow this link to a chart of Concertina weights in the Buyer's Guide section.

http://www.concertina.net/guide_weights.html

 

Greg

[Kelteglow]

Thanks Guy's. It is not so straight forward as you would think .May be it is time for a neck strap.I do in future wan't a G/D with a few more buttons .I think the Wheatstone I play has aluminumum reed shoe's and maybe this helps with the difference in weight compaired to my other two instruments. Bob

[yankeeclipper]

Interesting question. For comparison with English concertinas, my metal-ended, metal-keyed Wheatstone EC weighs in at 2lb. 14oz. It was equipped with mounting bolts and a neckstrap when it was built in 1915. I always play seated, so I replaced the neckstrap with a short leather strap which holds the instrument closed when not being used.

Edited December 6, 2009 by yankeeclipper

[Frank Edgley]

As I have pointed out before, weights can vary quite a bit from maker to maker, but also from instrument to instrument by the same maker. Factors include:

-grills-wood or metal

-thickness of the metal grills

-thickness of the hexagon body segments

-whether solid wood or thin plywood is used

-number of buttons

-whether the reeds have brass or aluminium frames

-whether the red frames (Italian-reeded) are screwed down or waxed in

---and importantly---

-the kind of wood used.

 

Suttner makes an ebony veneered model, and also a solid ebony model. So weight vary a lot, in this case. I use a variety of wood ranging in weight from cherry or oak to rosewood, blodwood and ebony. The list, while interesting, may have limited validity as a tool for concertina decision making, as the number of instruments chosen for sample is relatively small, and may not represent the mode of all concertinas from that maker. Also, there are so many other more important factors, such as tone, playability, response, and durability that weight alone should play little role in concertina selecting. After all, most players sit with the concertin on their knee when playing.

Edited December 6, 2009 by Frank Edgley

[Kelteglow]

Thanks for the comments .As you will know from my inital posting I did not list the concertinas in favorit order.

In fact this would not be possible because each instrument does a differnt job to the other.

 

The Norman the concertina I have learnt on ,is my melody line instrument and has good volume playing in sessions , for Marching and Band work.

 

The Wheatstone is softer not so fast and good for song accompanyment.

 

The Edgeley I use for playing left and right hand harmoney very usefull if the band is "thin on the ground" or has to many melody instruments .Used increasingly also for song accompanyment.

 

All my instruments are metal ended and bought secondhand .

 

I love them all and they are played daily. Bob

[david_boveri]

what about working on how you hold the instrument? brian peters is a great player, and he plays standing up all the time:

. i had a good chat with him on achieving good bellows control while standing a couple years ago. it definitely takes some doing, but it's possible. good luck!

[Jim Besser]

I know that weight is not the only criteria when choosing another instrument .I don't want to wear a neck strap to support the weight of my anglo.Also I would rather practise concertina than go to the Gym to beef up my arm muscle's .May be it's a case of just getting use to the extra weight.

 

Any Ideas ? Bob

 

I'm primarily a Morris player who needs to play standing up. I've played a variety of instruments, including heavy Herringtons and Edgleys, a very light Morse, a mid-weight Lachenal. Now I have a Jeffries that's a brick.

 

I also have tendonitis.

 

My advice: exercise and stretching. Arm exercises with light weights can make a huge difference. So can adequate stretching before and after playing (check out the WristWand; I never gig without it.

 

If you have to stand, become comfortable bracing on your leg.

Edited December 7, 2009 by Jim Besser

[cathy whitcombe]

I play an Edgley anglo for Morris dance, so I'm usually standing or stepping to the music. With my small hands and wrists, I've found it very comforting to slip a tube of fleece fabric onto each hand strap, covering the leather. I keep moving, holding my concertina high or low for variety.

[David Levine]

I would think that Wally Carroll's concertinas are the absolute lightest of all the thirty button concertinas.

[michael sam wild]

What do people think of neck straps I met a woman who played EC with one I've not seen any AC players with them?

[JimLucas]

What do people think of neck straps I met a woman who played EC with one I've not seen any AC players with them?

I consider them a waste of time and a hindrance... for me, at least.

Then again, I play my bass Englishes (respectively 2.5 and 3.25 kg) without wrist straps, neck strap, or other "accessory" support. I play them standing, and even when I'm sitting they're usually suspended above my legs rather than resting on one or both legs.

 

I'm not an exceptionally strong person, but I'm also not weak. Muscles for holding the concertina, like any other muscles, can be exercised and developed. I suspect that the way I hold the English (described recently in another thread) helps, as it seems to involve more muscles than just "hanging" the instrument from the thumbs.

 

But I believe that another significant factor is the angle at which you hold the instrument, and this goes for the anglo and duets as well as for the English.

 

Don't hold your instrument straight out in front of you, because that gives maximum leverage to the weight of the concertina, rather than to your arms. Instead, hold the instrument at an angle above the horizontal, so that the torque due to gravity will be less, while part of the gravitational force will be directed along the length of your arms, instead of trying to pull your arms downward.

 

The same division of forces occurs if the concertina is held at the same angle below the horizontal -- which I believe some individuals have recommended in the past, -- but with an important difference. Held above the horizontal, the force along the arms will be

toward

your body; held below the horizontal, that force will be

away

from your body. Thus with a below-horizontal angle, there will be a force trying to pull the instrument out of your grasp, but with an above-horizontal angle the force will push the instrument

onto

your hands, helping you to hold it.

 

Three more details regarding the angle:

• I generally hold my upper arms at my sides, almost vertical, with the angle of my bent elbows bringing the concertina in toward my chest. The further the instrument is held from the body, the greater the torque (force), and the more you have to work to keep it from dropping.
  
  
• I find that the heavier the instrument, the closer I hold it toward vertical, and thus the closer to my chest. With a lighter instrument (wooden-ended treble English or 20- to 30-button C/G anglo) the angle above the horizontal may be only 15-20 degrees, while with the 3.25 kg bass it's 60 degrees or more.
  
  
• The above two generalities are only averages. I am constantly making slight adjustments the positions of my arms -- a little bit in or out, up or down -- and occasionally further from "home" position, but for shorter intervals. I'm not talking about sweeping gestures for dramatic effect, but gently varying the positions of the arms to vary the tension of the muscles, allowing some muscle fibers to rest while others take up the strain. I find that doing this is much less tiring than holding a single rigid position for an extended period.
  
  

[Irene S.]

Michael Sam Wild said

What do people think of neck straps I met a woman who played EC with one I've not seen any AC players with them?

 

To which Jim Lucas said

I consider them a waste of time and a hindrance... for me, at least.

 

I'm glad to see the last four words in there.

 

Jim also said

Muscles for holding the concertina, like any other muscles, can be exercised and developed.

Oh how I wish that was always the case. I severely deconstructed my right elbow about sixteen years ago to the very day by shattering three chunks off of two of the bones in it. Thanks to a restriction in the blood flow in the relevant constituent parts (due to a four day lapse before the offending joint was operated on) the chunked off bits of bone, although neatly pinned have slowly been dying off, necessitating one major op (other than the three previous ones) to clear the muck out of the joint, and sort out a problem with the ulnar nerve. As a result I am unable to put much weight through the joint since then without causing further pain in addition to the background level which I have got used to over the years, and the biceps muscle of that arm has withered to a degree. Sadly, therefore the muscles in my right arm cannot be exercised and developed, nor the arm fully straightened. Much of the helpful advice given is therefore of little help to me ... any gravitational force exerted along the arm causes pain, and is not a particularly good idea.

 

The idea of a neck strap is interesting, but sadly I doubt if it would help me at all in playing the duet since I already had a pre-existing osteoarthritic condition in the neck .....maybe I should give up now???

Edited December 12, 2009 by Irene S

[michael sam wild]

Sorry to hear all that litany Irene! It makes my odd woes seem trivial.

Howver I do know some rough joints too.I learned a lot of music at my Mother's knee, another low joint.

[Irene S.]

Sorry to hear all that litany Irene! It makes my odd woes seem trivial.

Howver I do know some rough joints too.I learned a lot of music at my Mother's knee, another low joint.

 

And on re-reading it (truthful though it may be) I have to agree that it does sound rather a large bundle of woes!! Sorry - motto of the story is "never post too late at night" !

 

Howver I do know some rough joints too.I learned a lot of music at my Mother's knee, another low joint.

 

Thanks - that gave me a good chuckle!!