Which Is More F@#&ed Up?

[BertramLevy]

I was in my studio exploring concertina fingerings and called to my wife who was sitting on the couch in the next room doing her nightly sudoko , “Which is more f-cked up, doing sudoko or finding alternative fingers on the concertina?”. Without hesitation she answered , “alternative fingerings on the concertina!”.

For over a half a century I have been exploring the intricacies of this instrument and now, at seventy-five, feel the urge to pass on my insights. I have had the pleasure of advising Andy Western over the last two years as he meticulously studied my second book and seen him develop into a marvelous player with a wide musical range from Quebec harmonies to Bach counterpoint.

Serious players of the anglo concertina in the UK who would be interested in some instruction can contact me at bertramlevymusic@gmail.com I will be performing with my daughter between February 7 and 18, 2017 in the UK and possibly be available for some private or semi private lessons. With a frequency of thirty years (since my last tour of the UK ), I consider this to be a very rare opportunity.

“You don't want to miss a chance to learn from this man - he is legendary on our side of the pond.”

Ken Cole concertina.net 30 August 2016

[Roger Hare]

...I will be performing with my daughter between February 7 and 18, 2017 in the UK...

 

I presume from the above that your tour (http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=19027&do=findComment&comment=180060) is going ahead?

 

Do you have specific venues and dates yet?

 

Thank you.

 

Roger

Edited October 16, 2016 by lachenal74693

[Halifax]

Suduko is so dumb. Alternative fingerings can be the difference between Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and beautiful music.

[BertramLevy]

 

...I will be performing with my daughter between February 7 and 18, 2017 in the UK...

 

I presume from the above that your tour (http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=19027&do=findComment&comment=180060) is going ahead?

 

Do you have specific venues and dates yet?

 

Thank you.

 

Roger

 

Yes Roger we are moving ahead with plans to be in the UK. We are planning to go to the Old Time Music Festival in Gainsborough between Feb 10- and 12. In the week before we will be in the north of the country and could certainly come to Manchester if you knew of a folk club there that would be interested in hosting us. I certainly could do a class on the concertina as well.

[Reed Rat]

50 years, that's a lot of concertina squeezing. Just read that Chuck Berry is putting out an album at 90.

 

Maybe you could record your concerts and put out a video? I like watching concert footage and have lots of instructional videos.

 

I live in the US and a trip 'across the pond' would be great if I could afford it, and wasn't afraid of the plane going down or landing in the Ukraine.

 

Good luck with your concerts. Any chance we can get a teaser sample of one of your performances?

[Roger Hare]

Yes Roger we are moving ahead with plans to be in the UK. We are planning to go to the Old Time Music Festival in Gainsborough between Feb 10- and 12. In the week before we will be in the north of the country and could certainly come to Manchester if you knew of a folk club there that would be interested in hosting us. I certainly could do a class on the concertina as well.

 

Thank you. I hope you'll be able to make it to the North of England.

 

Lymm Folk Club at the Spread Eagle (See URL below for details) is certainly concertina-friendly because Jody

Kruskal played there during his U.K. tour last year. Unfortunately, I was out of town that week and was unable to

be there...

 

I haven't been resident back in the North for long enough yet to be able to recommend any clubs specifically,

but this URL - http://www.folknorthwest.co.uk/index.htm - might give you a few pointers. Some of these clubs

may no longer exist; some of them only meet once a month... I don't have contacts at any of these clubs I'm afraid.

 

There aren't as many folk clubs around as there were 40+ years ago - anyone remember the MSG on Long

Millgate in Manchester? Long gone, I'm afraid.

 

Roger.

Edited October 19, 2016 by lachenal74693

[Anglo Enthusiast]

 

I was in my studio exploring concertina fingerings and called to my wife who was sitting on the couch in the next room doing her nightly sudoko , “Which is more f-cked up, doing sudoko or finding alternative fingers on the concertina?”. Without hesitation she answered , “alternative fingerings on the concertina!”.

 

For over a half a century I have been exploring the intricacies of this instrument and now, at seventy-five, feel the urge to pass on my insights. I have had the pleasure of advising Andy Western over the last two years as he meticulously studied my second book and seen him develop into a marvelous player with a wide musical range from Quebec harmonies to Bach counterpoint.

 

Serious players of the anglo concertina in the UK who would be interested in some instruction can contact me at bertramlevymusic@gmail.com I will be performing with my daughter between February 7 and 18, 2017 in the UK and possibly be available for some private or semi private lessons. With a frequency of thirty years (since my last tour of the UK ), I consider this to be a very rare opportunity.

 

“You don't want to miss a chance to learn from this man - he is legendary on our side of the pond.”

Ken Cole concertina.net 30 August 2016

 

I'm only just now seeing this thread. Thanks for the kind words with regards to my development over the past few years, Bertram. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be able to work from your advanced tutor and then interact directly by skype. Whatever I have gained as a musician, I owe directly and overwhelmingly to the combination of your book (which, sadly, has never been understood or heralded, as far as I can discern, as the indispensable paradigm shifting game changer it truly is) and the skype correspondence.

[Bruce McCaskey]

I agree with you Andy, Bertram's second tutor offers a perspective on the Anglo concertina that I've seen nowhere else.

[BertramLevy]

 

 

I was in my studio exploring concertina fingerings and called to my wife who was sitting on the couch in the next room doing her nightly sudoko , “Which is more f-cked up, doing sudoko or finding alternative fingers on the concertina?”. Without hesitation she answered , “alternative fingerings on the concertina!”.

 

For over a half a century I have been exploring the intricacies of this instrument and now, at seventy-five, feel the urge to pass on my insights. I have had the pleasure of advising Andy Western over the last two years as he meticulously studied my second book and seen him develop into a marvelous player with a wide musical range from Quebec harmonies to Bach counterpoint.

 

Serious players of the anglo concertina in the UK who would be interested in some instruction can contact me at bertramlevymusic@gmail.com I will be performing with my daughter between February 7 and 18, 2017 in the UK and possibly be available for some private or semi private lessons. With a frequency of thirty years (since my last tour of the UK ), I consider this to be a very rare opportunity.

 

“You don't want to miss a chance to learn from this man - he is legendary on our side of the pond.”

Ken Cole concertina.net 30 August 2016

 

I'm only just now seeing this thread. Thanks for the kind words with regards to my development over the past few years, Bertram. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be able to work from your advanced tutor and then interact directly by skype. Whatever I have gained as a musician, I owe directly and overwhelmingly to the combination of your book (which, sadly, has never been understood or heralded, as far as I can discern, as the indispensable paradigm shifting game changer it truly is) and the skype correspondence.

 

Thanks for the kind words Andy and Bruce. If my book is a game changer, it’s only because I saw no method out there that taught the concertina as you would teach any another serious instrument. I modeled it after Bela Bartok’s wonderful “Microcosmos” that uses Hungarian folk tunes he had collected to teach the piano. The two volumes set is required study for most music majors irrespective of the student’s primary instrument. American fiddle tunes seemed like a reasonable choice for me given my similar experience in the mountains of Appalachian. Though playing Southern fiddle tunes may not be the ultimate goal of this book, these tunes are rhythmically complex and require a wide range of harmonica-like and legato phrasings in order to play properly.

True my book requires the ability to read which I realize many concertina players are resistant to learn. However it takes the same effort to read as to learn tab and opens up infinitely more possibilities. Nevertheless even for those who do not want to totally immerse themselves in the entire method, the book contains loads of cool little fingering pearls to pick and chose.