richclarkson Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 After several years of wanting one and many months of lurking on this forum I am finally picking up my first concertina from Chris Algar this afternoon! It's a 48 key crane duet which I will mostly use to accompany myself singing folk songs and to play at sessions with the occasional bit of busking. For my 'day job' I'm a church of England minister and often find myself in little country churches with no organist so I also hope to use it to accompany hymns from time to time (part of the reason I was quite keen on getting a Crane) I am a pretty versatile musician and play half a dozen instruments already but I haven't been this excited about learning a new one for ages! I will put some pics up one I've got it and I look forward to becoming more active on here in the future Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Congratulations on the Crane, and welcome to the cnet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Welcome to the forum and congrats as to learning to play this fantastic new instrument, Rich! I have come to the concertina quite late myself too, having played the piano (and church organ) amongst other instruments for decades before. In my case the (English) concertina has easily surpassed all other instruments and even driven the piano from the field. I wish you all the best with your Crane Duet concertina and am loooking forward to maybe hearing some of your hymn playing - Wolf Edited June 4, 2015 by blue eyed sailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWL Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 For my 'day job' I'm a church of England minister and often find myself in little country churches with no organist so I also hope to use it to accompany hymns from time to time (part of the reason I was quite keen on getting a Crane) Rich Years ago we were in Ireland (I think it was Baltimore on the coast) and attended services at the Church of England. They used records for the hymns. The three of us Yanks were the only ones singing. RWL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gloscon Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Rich If you care to email me at lesbranchett@hotmail.com with your postal address I can sent you a copy of the Salvation Army tutor for the Crane(Triumph) duet. Regards Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hersh Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Welcome! It's nice to have another Crane player here.- there aren't many of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Welcome! It's nice to have another Crane player here.- there aren't many of us. Seconded - the more Cranes the merrier. You've got 25 days to post Immortal, Invisible or similar on Theme of the Month - "waltzes"! Enjoy you new musical venture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian brown Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Welcome Rich,And looking forward to hearing some of those lovely harmonies from Hymns Ancient and Modern on concertina…Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voyager Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Welcome Rich, as you are CofE Minister try having a look at Paul Hardy's Xmas Tune Book, good Carols, which I use for busking for Charity at Xmas for Save The Children. Poster provided by them My Words. "For the price of a drink - you could Save a Childs Life" Try it it works ! Regards DaveJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Rich, Welcome from yet another Crane-player - we're not really a s rare as Daniel makes out! Nice to hear of the wide variety of music you intend to play on it. I've found it quite versatile. Years ago we were in Ireland (I think it was Baltimore on the coast) and attended services at the Church of England. They used records for the hymns. The three of us Yanks were the only ones singing. RWL @RWL: Baltimore is in the very south of the Republic of Ireland, where Protestants of any description are few and far between. I'm from the North, where city Presbyterian, Methodist and C of I churches are musically well endowed. While attending a summer youth camp in Co. Donegal (Republic of Ireland), my Youth Fellowship group from a Lisburn (Northern Ireland) Presbyterian church led the worship one Sunday in a local church of the same denomination. I was the "organist", leading the metrical Psalms and hymns with my cheap, 20-button German concertina! So, Rich, if that worked, your Crane certainly will! Cheers, John Edited June 6, 2015 by Anglo-Irishman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richclarkson Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement! I've been thoroughly enjoying getting to grips with it for the past couple of days, here is a little video (with a fair share of bum notes!) to give you an idea of what it's like: http://youtu.be/9KK3-xZOlM4 @Gloscon: Thanks that's very kind @Chas: I accept your challenge! @Voyager: I've got Paul Hardy's regular tune book which has given me plenty to get started on - I'll check the Christmas one out later in the year It's good to hear others have used their concertinas in worship - Chris Algar was very pleased to tell me that mine is good Salvation Army stock so has pedigree for that kind of playing! Thanks all, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Try and get hold of a copy of the CD by Peter Donald and Gordon Haxton. Both play tenor treble English concertinas, and have used their instruments for many decades to lead hymn singing. You can find the cd here http://www.cfmscotland.com/acatalog/Instrumental.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakeman Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Rich - Praise de Lord you chose a Crane duet ! Hope we can meet up one day. In the meantime look at previous threads ( videos etc) of my duet playing which may give you a few ideas about accompaniment. "Let the music keep your spirits high" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 It's good to hear others have used their concertinas in worship - Chris Algar was very pleased to tell me that mine is good Salvation Army stock so has pedigree for that kind of playing! What a coincidence! I got my 48-b Crane from Chris, too, and it's also an ex-Salvation Army instrument. And to be quite honest, the old Gospel songs and choruses still seem to be stowed away inside it, waiting to emerge at the touch of a few buttons. On the other hand, the reason for this may be that my first childhood contacts both with Sunday services and with the concertina took place in the S.A. Citadel round the corner from my home ... Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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