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English Layout Again


Toon

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Hi there,

 

I just bought a new 30-key English concertina on Ebay. It was a cheap one, but I'm so far happy with it. I am really surprised that, even after only a few weeks of practice, I can control it already quite good.

 

But I found out there is a difference in the layout this instrument has, compared to the layouts in my instruction books and on the websites cited in the previous thread. These sources state that the two middle rows contain the notes of C major, no flats or sharps, and that the sharps and flats are located each of the outer rows. Seems logic.

 

But, if I play tunes going higher or lower than the central ocatve, they start sounding funny. After some looking I found out that for my instrument outside the central octave some of the accidentals, like high fis and low bes, are on the middle rows, while the natural high f and low b are in the outer rows!

 

Has anyone seen this before / is it dangerous? :huh:

 

Toon

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Has anyone seen this before / is it dangerous? :huh:

Yes, it's dangerous, because it's wrong.

If you get used to it, you may have difficulty adjusting to a proper instrument, later.

 

It sounds like the manufacturer/supplier has quality control problems.

Since you say you just got it, I would suggest you contact the seller and say you want to exchange it for an instrument with the notes in the right places.

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I'm waiting for an insanely inexpensive ebay English concertina myself and will be certain to check for this right away. That would help explain why the price he's asking for the "buy it now" is so obscenely low. I figured that even if it sounded like a harmonica out of a gum ball machine it would still be lovely to look at.

 

Knowing this is something to look for will be helpful. I live in an area full of Polka people with all manner of boxes and there are a couple of guys out there that I would trust to take the ends off and put the notes in the right places for me. I'd consider it an affordable fix in my case, especially since this concertina was so obtainable. This will give me an excuse to actually talk to some people locally that may know someone who can do some lessons for me. It is something I've wanted to do for a long time as they sound so sweet and are so portable.

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Now that I have mine in hand, it is not what was pictured, but looks to be a "Jackie" in red. To me it sounds pretty good. (One of my kids has managed to play a nice little tune on it......I have not progressed much beyond gruesome, but I am nearly able to produce 2 smooth scales) Visually, it is an assault with the flashy red ends, gold papered reed section, brown papered white leather like material bellows edged in medium blue. The plain black ones are so handsome!

 

Long story - short: I love this thing! I'm on my way to that ergonomics thread before my pinky fingers cramp up again.

Edited by Jane
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