Concertina Straps How Tight?

[darticus]

I got a Concertina today and the straps are very loose. Should they be tight on the hand or loose with a lot of play??? Thanks Ron

[Alan Day]

The principle that I use is that when holding the concertina the straps should be reasonably loose, but that if you arch your hand the straps are tight against the back of the hand.When relaxed it should enable your fingers to move to all buttons but be tight enough to be under control whilst playing.I am being a bit cautious as all hands are not the same and all fingers are not the same length.Initially the strap leather will be very stiff and rounding of the edges is not a bad idea to make things more comfortable which should be the end requirement.

[chas]

I expect from my straps what I expect from my wife and from my underwear: a bit of support and a bit of freedom.

[darticus]

Thanks all! Ron

[Anglo-Irishman]

As Alan says, hands are all differrnt, so "too loose" and "too tight" are subjective.

 

However, it's my experience (borne out by several older postings here) that a beginner feels more secure with the straps on the tight side, but feels freer with them somewhat looser after becoming more familiar with the concertina. This happened to me when starting out on the anglo, and again when I took up the Crane Duet much later.

 

As a beginner, you get the feeling that the concertina is wobbling about all over the place, making the buttons a moving target for your fingers. And you feel that you have to take up the slack before the bellows change direction, which slows you down. Tightening the straps until you feel comfortable is a good idea.

 

Tight straps do, however, limit finger movement, but at the start, you probably won't be using the peripheral buttons much. By the time you become aware of this as a hindrance, you'll have a bettter feel for the balance of the instrument, and will be able to loosen up. This would be the time to take Alan's tip and cup your hand, so you won't have any slack to take up when changing bellows direction.

 

And when you've got your straps loosened up a bit, I find that thick, stiff leather handstraps give better control (and are more comfortable) than thin, supple ones.

 

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

John

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

Just to be contrary:

 

a lot of very good players I have encountered prefer tight straps, though how tight the straps can be without limiting your finger movement depends on how tall the hand rests are and of course your own hands. I used to play with fairly loose straps but later got an instrument with taller hand rests as standard and found that straps on the tight side made playing very easy.

 

My advice would be to experiment with your instrument straps and find what is the most comfortable setup for you. Either approach is ok but it depends on the player and the instrument as to what is most appropriate - in my opinion

Edited March 31, 2016 by Jake of Hertford

[Anglo-Irishman]

There you go - ask 2 concertinists, and you get 3 answers!

 

Bottom line: nobody can say what's best for YOUR hands on YOUR concertina, so be aware that a bit of experimentation is always necessary. Don't neglect a line of experimentation just because somebody else thinks it's unproductive.

And also bear in mind that you may have to repeat the experiments from time to time as you progress, get a new concertina, etc.

 

Cheers,

John

[Roger Hare]

Just to be contrary:

 

a lot of very good players I have encountered prefer tight straps...

 

My advice would be to experiment with your instrument straps...

...as do some very bad players. I have recently started

to tighten the straps on my 26/30 button instruments.

This is helping me 'anchor' my hands so that I can go

looking for those accidentals on the top row, and odd

notes on the bottom row with a bit more confidence...

 

I am considering making my own straps in future so that

I can vary the distance between the holes...

 

Is every concertina player different?

 

R

Edited April 2, 2016 by lachenal74693

[JimLucas]

Is every concertina player different?

Rhetorical question, yes?