Hello From Sydney

[Gluggy]

Apologies first up if this is not the right place for this post. I have done quite an extensive search through to see if there was a more appropriate spot (such as introductions or Helpful Tips etc.) but alas. Anyway...

 

I am from Sydney Australia and a complete novice. I mean I've just received my first Concertina and am now on a mission to learn how to play it. I have done the obligatory you tube searches, website scans and joined a few threads such as this one to get as much information as possible. I know I have a long way to go but as they say each journey starts with the first step.

 

I have a few very basic questions I'm hoping some of you could help me with or suggest the best places to find the answers to:

 

1. What is the ABC system and is this the same as people refer to here as "the system"?

2. Can someone explain or point me to a tutorial on how to work the ABC Navigator 2 or the Easy ABC applications (I've downloaded them both but I'll be darned if I can work them out.

3. Is it worth paying for on line tutors when you first start out or is it best to try a little self help to get the basics then try the professional help?

4. Finally, are there any Sydney siders on here that know of local tutors or events / workshops that may be helpful in our local area?

 

I again apologies if this is not the place for this but I really did spend the time to read through a lot of what is relatively new on here (as you can see from the questions I have) but would love some tips on where to start on the very basics. Appreciate any help I can get.

 

Regards Glyn (Gluggy)

[Mikefule]

Hi,

 

Welcome to the forum and, more importantly, to the world of concertina playing.

 

Do you have an Anglo, English or Duet? Do you yet understand the difference? It can be bewildering when you start out.

 

ABC is only a system of notation. The idea is that you use standard ASCII characters (or, as we used to call them, "letters and numbers") to write down the details of a tune. You can then either play from that notation (or at least use it as an aide memoire) or put the notation into a programme that will convert it to standard music notation, or play it on your computer so you can hear what it sounds like. It is very useful, but on the other hand, you can go for a lifetime without needing it. It is particularly useful for melody-based styles of music such as traditional jigs, reels and the like.

 

"The System" is a paticular approach to playing an Anglo concertina. You can play the Anglo "along the row" (like a mouth organ) or you can play "across the rows" which means making the most of the fact that some notes appear two or more times on the keyboard, and there is sometimes a choice of "blow" or "draw" for the same note. "The System" is a particular way of playing that helps you to play across the rows and (as I understand it) allows you to branch out into other keys by using the accidentals in a systematic way. I think it is mainly of interest to people playing Irish Traditional Music. I have been playing Anglo on more or less a daily basis for several years and have quite a wide and varied repertoire without ever using "the system" - although no doubt I unwittingly use some elements of it.

 

The best way to learn is to listen and play. It has made a huge difference to me finding a local expert concertinist and having monthly lessons with him. Most of what I have learned has been self-taught, but my teacher has then shown me better ways of fingering some of the tunes, and has shown me some ways of harmonising that I would not have thought of immediately. Having another player to talk to and play with is a huge encouragement.

 

Different people learn in different ways. Tutors can be useful, but there is no substitute for listening and trying. Start off with simple tunes and work up to the stuff that you would really like to play. It takes half an hour's practice a day every day to make progress, especially in the first few months.

 

Your final point: Nottingham UK is a bit far from Sydney, so I can't help you there.

 

Good luck. :-)

[spindizzy]

2. Can someone explain or point me to a tutorial on how to work the ABC Navigator 2 or the Easy ABC applications (I've downloaded them both but I'll be darned if I can work them out.

Regards Glyn (Gluggy)

 

Hi Glyn,

 

I've used ABCNavigator2 for a while and it's quite reasonable, but there's not much in the way of help.

 

ABC is a tune notation system and the Lesession site does an admirable help/tutorial section (it's written By Steve Mansfield who is member of this Forum.)

To talk you through a bit of Navigator ...

say you have a tune written in ABC

(this is the current Concertina net Tune of the Month from Jim Besser)

 

 

 

X: 1
T:The Fiery Clockface
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:D
d2d D2E|F2G A2B|=c2c E2F|G2A B2c|
d2d D2E|F2G A3|Bcd edc|d3-d3:|
|:f2f def|g2f e2d|c2B A2B|c2d e3|
f2f def|g2f e2d|c2a gfe|d3-d3:|

 

 

From the top, the lines with a letter and a colon are part of the header, they give you a minimum of a title, time and key signature

Then the tune "|" is a bar line. The letter are note names and the case gives info about the octave so C is middle C and c is an octave up (you can add things to go to higher or lower octaves)

The numbers are note length.

 

So Open ABCNav2.

ABCTune->NewTune opens a new box to type in some ABC

delete the default headers there.

cut 'n paste the ABC lines (if you highlight and ctrl-c to copy them, there's a button over the editor pane to "paste from clipbboard")

 

If you got it right, you'll see the tune in the next pane in standard notation. (you can edit things in the edit pane and see the notation changes). You should be able to play the tune by clicking the play button ">" and also wind the speed and pitch up and down.

If you're happy, click on OK and the tune will be saved in a default file where you can stash the tunes you collect. The edit pane will be replaced with a list of the tunes you have including the new on "The Fiery Clockface"

(Double clicking on any of these tunes should play them)

 

To print a tune, right click on it from the list and choose "add to printlist".(You can add any other tunes that you want to print in the same way)

You'll see a tab at the bottom with printlist, click to change to this pane.

Click the spyglass (printpreview) to see what your tunes will look like on paper, you can drag sliders around to fine tune the paper copy.

Click the printer icon to print.

 

Hover over various buttons to see what they are - there are printer setup buttons, midi settings and various other things. That's the basics.

 

You can also open a file with one or more tunes in it (File->open)

There are useful sites, maintained by kind hardworking people where you can download tune collections in ABC as a single file. OPen the file and you'll have dozens or hundreds of tunes to think about, play and or print.

 

Chris

[David Barnert]

Everything you ever wanted to know about the abc music notation protocol, from the guy who thunk it up:

 

http://abcnotation.com

[Gluggy]

Wow, thanks Mike, Chris and David this has now set me on the right path. I was able to copy and paste some notations across last night and I understand the letter notations from Chris Walshaws website. It is truly amazing how clever people can develop such simple (not really there is a mountain of code beneath that surface I know) yet such a valuable tool for the greater good. My hat is off to the inventor.

 

Thank you also for the kind welcome and I hope to be an avid reader, quiet learner and occasional poster to these golden threads.

 

In way of introduction, I have acquired a not so authentic 20 button Anglo (read cheap mass produced) that will see me through my discovery period. I didn't want to wait until I could afford a good instrument and I think this one will keep me going for a while anyway. If its like my passion for Banjo, I'll end up with more than one in my back room. I have listened to quite an array of different styles so far and I think I am being drawn to the clean crisp sounds of the Irish traditionals. I don't know if any of you use on line streaming services for music (we have a service over in Aus called Spotify) where, for a few dollars a month you can stream any music you like as often as you like. A simple search for Concertina gave me hours of titles from all over the world. I play it on my mobile phone and on my PC at home, it is marvellous for tasting many types of music with little outlay.

 

I live in western Sydney, at the foot of the mountains on the city's outskirts. I enjoy all kinds of guitar, banjo and Uke music and try to play all with varying degrees of success. I am an avid technology user and live and work on line so the cyber world is my other home.

 

I am looking forward to the challenge with this little gem and I can already see it is working its magic on me with a few late nights under my belt on my first few tunes already.

 

Again, thank you all for the gracious welcome.

 

Cheers Glyn

[Chris Ghent]

Give me a call on 0402 411 552 or 9590 8209.

 

Assuming you have an Anglo, there is a fabulous teacher here in town but only for the next 7 weeks, don't miss out..!

 

Chris

[Gluggy]

Just a special thanks to Chris Ghent for taking the time to give me some valuable direction and insight to the world of Concertina. I'm off to a flying start now. Thanks Chris and cheers