Non-Irish Anglo Concertina

[Sean M]

I'm new to the Anglo concertina. I play a 30-key wheatstone layout in the key of C/G.

 

I've only heard of the concertina a few years ago from seeing it at my local session. Currently I play Irish trad on it.

 

I was wondering what other types of music use anglo concertina. I think I read that English traditional music uses anglos in G/D and the South African Boeremusiek focuses on the concertina (although I'm not sure if Anglo, English or Duet is more common) but I was wondering about other genres of music (or just bands of another genre of music) that feature anglo concertina playing. I'd be grateful to hear back from anyone with suggestions of music to listen to in order to broaden my concertina horizon.

[swig]

I'm enjoying playing French dance tunes particularly Mazurkas and Bourees. Many of these use accidentals, thus helping my technique.I'm working out of a Blowzabella tune book at the moment.

[Sean Minnie]

You are correct about South African Boeremusiek (Boer Music). More information can be found at http://www.boeremusiek.org.za with an overview of the different types of concertinas here http://www.boeremusiek.org.za/English/Boermusic/instruments.htm

 

There are also some video on at http://www.youtube.com/konsertina.

 

Besides your interest in music, I also find an uncanny resemblence to your username. I think you are on to something here! You are welcome to contact me directly for more information.

[TomB-R]

A fine survey on three cds at a very reasonable price! Lots of great playing in many genres.

http://www.angloconcertina.co.uk/

[Paul Read]

I believe the South African style is typically played on 40-button C/G instruments. There is also the squashbox style.

 

 

[Woody]

A fine survey on three cds at a very reasonable price! Lots of great playing in many genres.

http://www.angloconcertina.co.uk/

The Anglo International CDs really do give a nice spread of styles - even Irish!

[AnnC]

I'm new to the Anglo concertina. I play a 30-key wheatstone layout in the key of C/G.

 

I was wondering what other types of music use anglo concertina. I think I read that English traditional music uses anglos in G/D and the South African Boeremusiek focuses on the concertina (although I'm not sure if Anglo, English or Duet is more common) but I was wondering about other genres of music (or just bands of another genre of music) that feature anglo concertina playing. I'd be grateful to hear back from anyone with suggestions of music to listen to in order to broaden my concertina horizon.

 

Try any tune that takes your fancy, whatever the genre.

The range of music that sounds well on the concertina is surprisingly wide

Edited March 16, 2011 by anlej

[Leo]

 

There is nothing in this post worth looking at. It's blank. Empty. Nada Zip Zero. Don't read this, since there is nothing here. I don't know how that could happen. It's only the dreaded redundantly duplicated double post.

 

OOPS!!

 

Edited March 17, 2011 by Leo

[Leo]

Hi Sean M

 

There's lots of different non-Irish anglo music out there. It's an instrument to play whatever you wish. It won't break if you play some other genre of music on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHCYkf96HBY&fmt=18

 

 

 

 

There are a couple of YouTube channels with Boeremusiek if you like that.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/KZNsMrBoeremusiek#g/u

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/blublunt#g/u

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/konsertina#g/u

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/springbok07#g/u

 

 

Johnny Klegg would be a good example of the squashbox variety.

 

 

Or you could try this, written for an Anglo:

http://www.archive.org/details/TheDevilsDreamworldSheetMusic

 

 

 

How much would you like?

 

Thanks

Leo

[david_boveri]

although a lot of modern players are switching to G/D for traditional English music, C/G used to be the norm.

[FatBellows]

Old Cowboy tunes -

by which I mean songs sung by old cowboys for old cowboys, and sometimes about old cowboys...

 

Down In the Valley

Streets of Laredo

Back in the Saddle Again

Tennessee Waltz

Don't Fence Me In

John Henry

The Wabash Cannonball

The Old Cowboy's Lament

Tyin' a Knot In the Devil's Tail

 

And some other stuff like:

 

Trumpeteer's Lullaby - (see the Tune-O-Tron)

Bolero (well, not yet, it's proven very complicated)

Tu Fidelidad (a Spanish-language hymn)

[Michael Ducky Raley]

Not to forget Brian Peter's interpretation of Dallas rag

 

 

 

 

and These are from my early experimental phase of recreational concertina usage.

http://duckylovestwowomen.bandcamp.com/track/frozen

http://duckylovestwowomen.bandcamp.com/track/concertina-506a

[tamborileru]

Well, I use to play traditional Spanish songs from Asturias, Galicia, Salamanca (ancient Kingdom of León),... In Youtube there are a lot of traditional tunes from Spain and Portugal that are very interesting to play with any instrument (including concertina, of course).

Edited March 17, 2011 by tamborileru

[Jody Kruskal]

I play my share of Irish tunes but my main interest is American Old-Time and contra dance rep. on the Anglo. I mostly play a G/D for the same reason the English do, it fits better in range with the concept of right hand melody, left hand accompaniment. The C/G ends up being too high by a 4th for most tunes to work well with this model of play. The G/D is just right though. Thank goodness there is such a thing, or my style of play would not really be possible.

 

Here are two links to hear the American sound:

 

]

 

 

[NoNaYet]

I always like it when this topic comes up. I am not particularly a fan of traditional Irish Anglo Concertina music; jigs and reels and such. I find the, sometimes, tempo-above-all-else and what-the-heck-we'll-cram-some-more-notes-in-the-measure style unsatisfactory. Don't get me wrong though, listening to it is fine, especially with some Jameson, but it isn't what I want to play.

 

What it turns out that I do play is all over the place. Irish tunes that are more ballades (Rare Auld Times, I'll take you home Kathleen, Fiddler's Green, etc.), sea shanties, American Civil War, even Broadway and romantic tunes. The Anglo can be more versatile than you might think.

 

Some real favorites are Waltzing Matilda and The White Cliffs of Dover. I have a nice medley of WWI tunes, and a long one of Civil War songs.

 

Two of my established show off tunes La Marianne and The Song from Moulin Rouge. I also do a good version of Carousel of Life from Howl's Moving Castle.

 

Just tonight I downloaded the music for They Were You from the Fantastics.

 

And the thing I play and fall back on the most is my own, which I call Tidewater. It isn't really a set on paper tune, but rather a framework for improvisation. It is close to the same, but never always the same.

 

I find my baritone works very well for both mellow and more sprightly tunes.

 

NNY

[shelly0312]

PS ( oh man I love that clip of Brian Peter doing the Dallas Rag--I'd stumbled across that before I'd gotten a 'tina--its all the more impressive now; too much fun!) Michelle SE Wis USA

[Jody Kruskal]

Well, I use to play traditional Spanish songs from Asturias, Galicia, Salamanca (ancient Kingdom of León),... In Youtube there are a lot of traditional tunes from Spain and Portugal that are very interesting to play with any instrument (including concertina, of course).

 

Links please!

[Frank Edgley]

I really like Northumbrian music on the anglo---very melodic, and some tunes have a nice twist to them.