I'm Getting My First Concertina Today!

[bill_mchale]

 

Thanks for the replies and the welcomes, all!

 

Got the Rochelle yesterday. Looks pretty good, sounds pretty good... even smells good (that "new concertina smell"?) The method book that comes with it seems really well done too, which is a nice touch.

 

But boy, playing this thing is going to take some getting used to. :-)

 

 

 

I come from a piano accordion background as well, and tried Anglo first, but ended up happier with English concertina. Not to start a concertina war or anything.

 

Patrick

 

 

I have never tried and english concertina or a piano (or Chromatic Button) accordion, so I can't comment on them, but in my own experience, I did find the transition from Button Accordion to be somewhat straight forward... except for one minor thing. With a B/C accordion and a C/G anglo, playing along the C row, I would reach for the B row on the concertina and the G row on the Button accordion, The easiest solution was to play tunes as differently as possible on both instruments (which is good for playing the concertina properly ). I suspect that the C/G anglo will be so different from your experience on the Piano accordion as to prevent this from being a problem.

 

--

Bill

[Dieppe]

My thing was the bellows. If you're used to different note push and pull on a button accordion, then an Anglo shouldn't be much of a switch. If you're more used to same note push and pull, like a piano accordion, then an English is easier to understand. Though actually going to a Duet from a P/A might be the easiest of all, I would think. Not all people are wired the same way though, so your mileage may vary.

 

Patrick

[Jeff Jetton]

Yeah, no doubt that an English concertina would've been a far smoother transition for me. But "smooth" wasn't a requirement. :-)

 

I specifically went for the Anglo because it is different. I've never played a push-pull free reed and figured it was time. It is frustrating! And wonderful too. I can feel my musical synapses furiously rewiring every time I practice. But that's the whole point.

[Jeff Jetton]

Greg & Bill,

 

Thanks for the posts and discussion about the Noel Hill camp and others. (That actually brings up a question I have, but it's better suited for a different section of this forum...)