Pete Dickey Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 Every time I see someone's birthday mentioned on the forum they always seem to be round about 50, give or take a year or two. It struck me that playing the concertina could, with exceptions of course, be an age-related thing. Perhaps the instrument has a greater appeal for "we of a certain age" i.e a menopausal thing? Or do we just like talking about it more? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Well just a guess, but when one considers that the price of a decent concertina starts close to $2000 new, it is an instrument that is going to select out people with out much discretionary income; students, parents in young families, etc. often can't afford to spend that much money on a hobby. -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Humphrey Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Pete, Here are a few ideas based on my own experiences that may not translate very well to the rest of the world - I'll be quite happy to be proven wrong! 1. Where I live, many of the folks I see at traditional dances and concerts are members of the same cohort as we are, so I wonder if your question may be part of a broader question of how many people in which age groups have developed an interest in traditional music and dance -- it seems to me that these are the folks most likely to develop an interest in concertinas. 2a. I have known very few people who took up English, anglo, or duet concertina as their first instrument. Most of the folks I know who took up concertina did so after first learning at least one other acoustic instrument. If that were to be the general pattern, the "average concertina novice" would likely be a little older than the "average acoustic instrument novice"; and it would suggest a related question: 2b. Is playing an acoustic instrument of some kind one of the factors that brings people into communities where they may encounter concertinas and concertina players, and does it increase the probability that they may experiment with playing a concertina? If true, this would also suggest a relatively later starting age for concertina players. 3. I've been hanging out a bit on www.melodeon.net, and my impression is that the average age of the participants in that forum is younger. My first thought is that the originator and moderator, John Spiers, is just approaching 30, so perhaps he has attracted a younger crowd. My second thought is in line with Bill's comment: the cost of a decent melodeon may be more easily absorbed by a youthful budget than the cost of a decent concertina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henk van Aalten Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Maybe some extra food for thoughts or discussion. From the recognizable (male) user photo's, it appears that 21 out of 32 grows facial hair (most of them a beard). This is much more than you might expect from a group of "normal men" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Every time I see someone's birthday mentioned on the forum they always seem to be round about 50, give or take a year or two. It struck me that playing the concertina could, with exceptions of course, be an age-related thing. Perhaps the instrument has a greater appeal for "we of a certain age" i.e a menopausal thing? Or do we just like talking about it more? Just talking about concertinas more, or just talking about our age more? Maybe 50 is that time between when it's embarrassing to admit you're getting older and when it's embarrassing to admit how old you've gotten. I know that at least one recently-joined C.net member said she is 16, and I seem to recall a few others in the 25-and-under category. I know there are a lot of younger players in the "Irish" concertina crowd, though I suspect most of them don't spend a lot of time in this Forum. I've gotten five nearby Swedes started by loaning them intruments, three in their teens, one early 20's, and one late 20's (I think). (Also two here in Denmark, who didn't continue, but who have both indicated that they might resume once their new children aren't so new any more.) OK, I just checked the first 39 members (through the end of the A's; I'm not going to check all 753 current members!), and only four gave birthday information. They are 45, 40, 35, and 25 years old. Well just a guess, but when one considers that the price of a decent concertina starts close to $2000 new, it is an instrument that is going to select out people with out much discretionary income; students, parents in young families, etc. often can't afford to spend that much money on a hobby. Check for unspoken assumptions: We (the Concertina.net members) aren't all just taking up the intrument now! Some of us have been playing for 30 years or more. Besides, a lump sum purchase isn't the only way to get started, and several members here have admitted to starting on something less than "decent", i.e., rather less than $2000. Here are a few ideas based on my own experiences that may not translate very well to the rest of the world .... See my above comments re age. There are many lurkers on Concertina.net, but also many players who aren't C.net members. What do you/we know about them? There are many different subcultures. There are something like half a dozen players who come to Irish sessions in Skåne (southern Sweden) who play some anglo, though mainly other instruments (accordion, fiddle, guitar), and their anglo playing isn't limited to Irish music. Of the young ones I've loaned concertinas to, one plays it in a rock band, one (the one who played it in a Shakespeare production) plays in a heavy metal band, and one (the latest, 15 years old) seems more interested in soft rock and older pop music. The other two seem to play mainly Swedish folk on concertina. I think it's dubious explaining why concertina players are of a uniform age, when we don't know whether they are. And my evidence suggests that they're not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter Laban Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 (edited) Don't you think it has to do with middle aged people hanging around the internet while young ones are out there doing things you do at that age? My son started the cocnertina a few years ago when he as 7 or 8, some of his friends in school (where 15 percent of pupils play the concertina) started before age 10. there is an awfull big group of young irish children (and up to young adults) you guys may not see but they are out there learning and playing away. Edited November 16, 2004 by Peter Laban Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Coles Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Bill McHale pegged it in my case. I got my first concertina at age 34, after years of being interested in one but too poor as a graduate student to get one (or any of the other stuff I was interested in!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Madge Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I think I was still 28 when I got my first concertina, and it was my first instrument that I could play. I had a guitar from the age of 14 and I still can't play 3 chords on it! The way that this thread is titled reminded me of the econimical telegraph sent to Carey Grant to ask him his age. "How old Carey Grant?" The reply was "Old Carey Grant fine. How You?" Robin Madge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Delport Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I have posted this before but I think this will fit in well here about what is happening in South Africa: We are experiencing a big interest of Anglo playing amongst the youth. The best example is a 15 year old gentleman with the name of Regardt de Bruin. He lives in Kempton Park, the hometown of the golfer Ernie Els, close to the Johannesburg International Airport. Regardt started playing the Concertina at the age of 9. As 11 year old boy he made his first C.D. As 13 year old he won a competition that was hosted by The South African Broadcasting Corporation and televised on National Television. What makes it extraordinary is the fact that he competed against senior players. (It was not a competition for young people). I’ve never seen anybody so comfortable with an Anglo in his hands. There are many more of them in South Africa. See Attachment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart estell Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Sorry to digress, but I just had to comment - what a pretty instrument! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 ...telegraph sent to Carey Grant to ask him his age. "How old Carey Grant?"The reply was "Old Carey Grant fine. How You?" Which reminds of the story about Jane Fonda being interviewed on her 40th birthday: Reporter: "You certainly don't look forty!" Fonda: "You have it wrong. This is what forty should look like." .............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Miller Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 This is an interesting quesiton that raises the related question of whether you can be too young or too old. For example, very young people might not yet have a hand large enough to play. That is not a problem for other instruments such as the fiddle where smaller sizes are common for children. As for the question of age on the other end. I took up the concertina at age 63 (last year) with the fear that I might be too old. I did have the benefit of some experience with the piano which I think helped a bit. I also don't give up easlily. While I don't feel comfortable playing in public yet, I do think that it is possible to progress quite well on the concertina at my age. In fact, I think the concertina may be one of the few instruments that an "older" person can learn with some proficiency. At least I continue to hope so. I have even ventured into a few slower sessions with some success. I would be interested in hearing from others who started somewhere in their 60's or later, and what their experience has been. Alan Miller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Dickey Posted November 16, 2004 Author Share Posted November 16, 2004 There are bound to be plenty of exceptions at either end of the range but I do get the feeling in the light of the above discussions that the "core" of players have a propensity to be middle-aged, middle-income males with a higher incidence of beardies than normal and probably playing middle of the road tunes on middle of the range instruments. Apologies of course to the ladies among us - the beards don't apply in your case! Following Jim's line, I would be interested to see the ages of all the members plotted graphically but I doubt if enough information would be available Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I would be interested in hearing from others who started somewhere in their 60's or later, and what their experience has been. Gonna have to wait a few months, here. Oh, right, I already started. Well, maybe I can start on the banjo and report on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synchopepper Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Based on my experience I think concertina playing is definitely related to Geezers - especially ones with facial hair. I have played the guitar, banjo, mandolin, etc for over 40 years. I have had a concertina for only about 15 years and didn't get serious about playing it until about a year ago. At about the time I got serious about the concertina I got back together with another musician I played with professionally many many years ago. We resurrected our old group and started playing vintage American and English folk music from the 1950s and 60s. We play up the geezer part calling our music "geezer folk" and our audience loves it. Most of our audience is in the 50+ range. We have parlayed the Geezer Folk angle into a whole act. We have a big blowup of a publicity photo of our group from early 1960s we use as a backdrop on stage and we play a lot of songs about getting old. Here are a few of our definitions of Geezer Folk - Geezer Folk: Its more about the change of life than about life's changes. Geezer Folk: The unforgettable songs of a whole generation who can't remember. Geezer Folk: The voice of those more in touch with what passes through their bodies than through their minds. As a spokesman for "Geezer Folk" I can vouch that our audiences love the concertina. It must be some collective generational memory passed down from our forbearers having to do with polkas and Myron Florin on the accordion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Dickey Posted November 16, 2004 Author Share Posted November 16, 2004 So are we a bunch of Flower People trying to relive our youth through our music? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Booth Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Flower power people? Maybe so. I know for my part that, having grown up in the 50's and 60's, I was getting pretty tired of same ol' same ol' rock n roll, and playing yet another set of Chicago Blues, so I went back to the folkie stuff that I'd had ingrained into my brain when I was a kid. I go to the local bluegrass session and find that I know most of the songs by heart, even though I don't remember ever learning them. They were always just there. It's like a reunion to hear, sing and play these tunes on my new instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Bill McHale pegged it in my case. I got my first concertina at age 34, after years of being interested in one but too poor as a graduate student to get one (or any of the other stuff I was interested in!) Cool, I got my Stagi when I was 33, but my Marcus came this year.. when I was 34.. guess we share something in common . -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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