koncertina Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I think if I was blind, I would choose to play the Concertina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Stein Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Years ago I had a student who was sight impaired. Her sight was diminishing over time and by the time I met her she could barely see the notes on a page. We wrote our scales and finger charts very large but she had a great ear for music and developed her own style and way of playing. Last I heard she married and Irish fiddle player and was playing with a contra dance group. rss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Day Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 There is a standard that you can get to where you rarely have to look at the buttons at all when playing. For full concentration many , including me, play with their eyes closed, or looking at some point in the room so as not to be distracted. I think the concertina no matter what system would be excellent for a partially sighted or blind person. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Stout Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Most instruments are played without looking at them. The big issue for those with poor eyesight is being able to see the dots. That's why I'm trying to learn how to play by ear. So far I find that easier on a fiddle (which I've been playing for 55 years) than on a concertina (which I've played for 6). If the family eye disease holds off for a few more years I should have enough tunes in my fingers to keep me amused by the time I go blind. Or maybe I'll just keep my vision, so far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Drinkwater Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) Turlough O'Carolan, the famous Irish harpist and composer, was blind. Had the concertina been invented in the 17th century, he may well have taken it up! A few years ago, a blind chap used to come to the Islington Folk Club, fairly regularly for a short time. He sang and also played some nice tunes on the Melodica. Our resident MC always asked him to do a floor spot or two and he was happy to oblige. He was excellent. I enjoyed listening to him and admired him for performing. Chris Edited January 20, 2010 by Chris Drinkwater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Turlough O'Carolan, the famous Irish harpist and composer, was blind. Had the concertina been invented in the 17th century, he may well have taken it up! A few years ago, a blind chap used to come to the Islington Folk Club, fairly regularly for a short time. He sang and also played some nice tunes on the Melodica. Our resident MC always asked him to do a floor spot or two and he was happy to oblige. He was excellent. I enjoyed listening to him and admired him for performing. Chris Those of us who have always played entirely by ear have no need to ever look at the buttons. With experience the process of finding the appropriate notes and chords soon becomes totally instinctive.....does it not ? It does in my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Those of us who have always played entirely by ear have no need to ever look at the buttons. With experience the process of finding the appropriate notes and chords soon becomes totally instinctive.....does it not ? It does in my case. It's not a skill reserved only for playing by ear. If you're tied into reading music you can't afford to start looking at your instrument! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Those of us who have always played entirely by ear have no need to ever look at the buttons. With experience the process of finding the appropriate notes and chords soon becomes totally instinctive.....does it not ? It does in my case. It's not a skill reserved only for playing by ear. If you're tied into reading music you can't afford to start looking at your instrument! I can't understand how looking at the buttons of a concertina would be much help for anyone, mainly because the ends face in opposite directions, so you can only look at one end at any one time. Very restricting, especially on an English Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Those of us who have always played entirely by ear have no need to ever look at the buttons. With experience the process of finding the appropriate notes and chords soon becomes totally instinctive.....does it not ? It does in my case. It's not a skill reserved only for playing by ear. If you're tied into reading music you can't afford to start looking at your instrument! I can't understand how looking at the buttons of a concertina would be much help for anyone, mainly because the ends face in opposite directions, so you can only look at one end at any one time. Very restricting, especially on an English Once I know I've got my fingers in the right place at the start I don't look at the ends....I can even play with it balanced on my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I can even play with it balanced on my head. I look forward to seeing the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) It was quite common for children born or made blind by accidents or diseases like smallpox (like Carolan) to be 'put to' a musician, often as a helper or money collector etc , then graduating to a musician. Blues men, fiddlers etc. In Sheffield in the late 1700s into the 1800s there was a group apf famous blind fiddlers who had a well respected role in the community. They played everything from pubs, in the street and in concerts and church music. sometimes tey got into scraps over territory and were great parctical jokers. I'm sure they's have welcomed a concertina for convenience and durability. It would tuck into the big inner pockets of a tail coat! There's a nice piece by fiddler Paul Davenport of Hallam Traditions http://www.hallamtrads.co.uk/BlindF.html Edited January 20, 2010 by michael sam wild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Very interesting. In the north of Spain - particularly Galicia - and in the XVII - XVIII centuries blind musicians used to be fiddlers or, more commonly, hurdy gurdy players, travelling usually with a child that both guided them and collected the money. Precisely because of that, hurdy gurdy (zanfona, in spanish) has long beea a dismissed instrument in traditional music and only recently has been re-discovered and got again its status. Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikep1 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 My mum learnt several tunes from a blind travelling musician in West Cork in the 1920's and 30's. Apparently to drum up business, he used to play the pipes when travelling through the countryside and then switched to an accordion in the towns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccannic Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 And then there were all those blind piano tuners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdms Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) It was quite common for children born or made blind by accidents or diseases like smallpox (like Carolan) to be 'put to' a musician, often as a helper or money collector etc , then graduating to a musician. Blues men, fiddlers etc. An example: Doc Watson, a bluegrass/country/folk guitarist of nearly legendary skill (also plays banjo and harmonica), lost his sight as an infant and took up music as a traditional occupation for the blind--this was in the mountains of North Carolina in the 1920s...though when he was 14, his father did take him out in the woods and put him on one end of a crosscut saw to show him that he wasn't useless (professional musician presumably not being at the top of the elder Watson's list of good ways to make a living). As far as I know, the harmonica is the only free reed instrument he's ever played--no sign of concertinas anywhere near him...never having played the guitar or the banjo (and never having been blind), I don't know whether he'd have had an easier time of it if he'd picked up a Wheatstone instead of a Martin. jdms Edited January 20, 2010 by jdms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I can even play with it balanced on my head. I look forward to seeing the video. Well if you've got the music balanced on your lap where else are you supposed to put your concertina when your arms get tired? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I can even play with it balanced on my head. I look forward to seeing the video. Well if you've got the music balanced on your lap where else are you supposed to put your concertina when your arms get tired? I understand that there's a new invention, called a "music stand", or some such title. It's probably not much good for the concertina, but sounds ideal for resting your music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I understand that there's a new invention, called a "music stand", or some such title. It's probably not much good for the concertina, but sounds ideal for resting your music. Weird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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