Should I buy an English?

[Simon H]

Why not get the iPod Touach or iPhone apps for EC and AC and try them out Only cost about £1! See otyher thread on this Discussion

But there isn't one for EC....

[Daniel Hersh]

He's right; it's all very well to say 'Try everything', but all you'll see a lot of is English and Anglos. They are available as cheap, respected, starter models (the Rochelle and the Jackie) and a good pool of decent antique instruments for when you graduate.

 

One can get Rochelle to try for few months, then use it as trade-in (with a loss) and get Jackie. Then decide. It seems to be the only option now, if the money is an issue. CC's Duet is too small to fully appreciate it, I think.

 

I have found the Elise ("CC's [Hayden] duet") to have enough notes to work reasonably well for much of the music that I've tried out on it. I've had to change the keys of tunes in several instances, and occasionally drop down onto the left-hand side for melody notes below middle C, but it's worked well enough to give me a good start on duet playing.

 

However, returning to the original topic, I don't know enough Scottish tunes to know if an Elise would work well for what Simon has in mind, especially because the Elise is not fully chromatic even within its range.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Daniel Hersh

[michael sam wild]

Why not get the iPod Touach or iPhone apps for EC and AC and try them out Only cost about £1! See otyher thread on this Discussion

But there isn't one for EC....

 

 

Sorry! I'm sure Michael E. can do one , just a matter of time.

[Ptarmigan]

As someone who has played Irish Music on an Anglo for nearly 30 years, I must admit, I could never get my Scottish Tunes to sound just right on an Anglo.

 

However, I took up the English system a little over a year ago & I must say, already I'm delighted with the results.

 

I find it so satisfying to be able to produce lovely authentic sounding Scottish music ..... wi' thon tasty we Scottish Snaps!

 

So, although it may well be a good idea to try all 3 systems, at the end of the day, if you want your music to sound Scottish, if I were you, I'd go for an English Concertina.

 

Cheers

Dick

[Ptarmigan]

As someone who now plays Anglo and EC, I took to EC straight away after 30 plus years on Anglo.

You do have to treat them as totally different instruments - you can't think of them just as concertinas.

I took up EC as I got fed up of grappling with Bb and A on a C/G - you do have to learn your scales on EC though, you can't just play up and down the rows. Once you have learned your scales, EC makes for much faster fingering.

If you treat them as totally seperate instruments, you should be able to switch from Anglo to EC mid-tune - I have never had problems getting my "bellows-moving head" out of gear, although I am accused of making an EC sound like an Anglo.

 

Naturally, some tunes are easier on one than the other, but I generally stick to Northumbrian and hornpipes on EC, and English and Irish on Anglo.

 

If you want to play Scottish, seek out some recordings of Norman Chalmers or Simon Thoumire (he is awesome) - the Scottish grace notes etc. are a doddle on EC.

 

DITTO!

I've been 30 years on the Anglo, but only 18 months on the EC, but I do agree with what Geoff has said above.

 

The only exception is, I do my level best not to have the Scottish & Northumbrian music that I play on my E C sound in any way Irish.

 

I find it no problem at all, to switch from one system to the other. I just think of them as different instruments, which of course they are.

 

Cheers

Dick

[michael sam wild]

Hi Dick

Happy New Year!

 

Can you switch from Irish to Scottish styles in your head with the same facility?

[Ptarmigan]

Hi Dick

Happy New Year!

 

Can you switch from Irish to Scottish styles in your head with the same facility?

 

Yes indeed Michael,

 

I've been listening to Scottish music for nearly 60 years now, so all I need to do, is think of the Strathspey rhythm, to get into a Scottish mode.

 

I've been playing Irish Music for nearly 40 years, so I have no problem getting into that mode either, but thinking of the Jig rhythm probably gets me there quickest.

 

Cheers

Dick