New to the forum. New to the concertina.

[H__]

I've recently purchased a 20 key Lachenal (C/G). It is a beautiful instrument and I'm really enjoying playing it. I've started working through Easy Anglo 1-2-3. I'm looking for some suggestions of other useful resources for an absolute beginner please. 

 

My apologies. I've added this additional edit to my post as I think I have posted it in the wrong section of the forum. It ought to be in the teaching and learning section! 

 

Helen.

Edited August 20, 2019 by H__
Posted in wrong section

[Ken_Coles]

Topic moved to Teaching and Learning.

 

Welcome!

Ken

[H__]

 

2 hours ago, Ken_Coles said:

Topic moved to Teaching and Learning.

 

Welcome!

Ken

 

Thank you Ken. I'm sorry I posted in the wrong place. 

 

I'm only in the early stages of learning. So far this means the first song in the book I'm currently using.

 

Helen.

[MJGray]

Helen,

 

Welcome! Gary's books are excellent, and some of them are explicitly for the 20-button Anglo, which is relatively rare. You can't go wrong with any of them, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Some other free resources I've found useful one way or another (I learn best from written material and have fairly old-fashioned and eclectic tastes).

 

Australian Bush music Anglo Concertina Tutor: https://www.bushtraditions.org/tutors/concertina.htm

Merrill's Harmonic Method for the Concertina (1872): https://archive.org/details/merrillsharmonic00merr/page/n6 (ignore the "music theory" section)

Chapter 10 of Dan Worrall's "The Anglo-German Concertina: a Social History": https://books.google.com/books?id=JKZO1aevsiIC&pg=PA229&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

If learning by ear is more your thing, Alan Day's tutorial may be helpful: http://concertina.folkweb.co.uk/

 

There are also excellent video tutorials available online. Even just the free sample at https://www.oaim.ie/concertina/concertina-basics/ is a good beginner's lesson, but the whole course is great if you're interested in Irish music (for which there are a ton of training materials available online). It is, of course, also a much more up-to-date and modern style of playing. Others will be able to direct you more knowledgeably there.

 

Have fun!

 

Mike

[Roger Hare]

21 hours ago, MJGray said:

...Australian Bush music Anglo Concertina Tutor: https://www.bushtraditions.org/tutors/concertina.htm ...

 

That's the one I've been using since Day 1. 'Since then I have used no other.', as the old advertisement used

to say.

 

It's very easy to adapt to your own button numbering convention (if you have one), and to add the ABM tabs

to your own scores (either by hand, or in ABC scripts).

Edited August 23, 2019 by lachenal74693

[H__]

Hello Mike.

 

Thank you for your post. 

 

I am still working my way through 1,2,3 Anglo. I was thinking of ordering another one of his books soon. 

 

Thank you for the list of web-links/free resources.

 

In terms of learning my ear...what I've been doing is using Gary's book and then following the music. Once I feel I get a tune I try playing it without the music. I've been using his video links to see how the tune should sound. (My playing is still very basic).

 

I'm interested in trying out all types of music. Anything beginner really.

 

Thank you once again replying for my post. I'm enjoying learning...albeit slowly.

 

Helen.

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by H__

[H__]

Hi lachenal74693,

 

Thank you for the recommendation. Once I'm feeling more 'brave' I'll take a look at Australian Bush music Anglo Concertina Tutor: https://www.bushtraditions.org/tutors/concertina.htm

 

I don't have a button numbering convention. I've just been following the Anglo 1,2,3 book. I see there are a lot of different systems though. It may get confusing for me!

 

Thank you for replying to my post.

 

Helen.

[Roger Hare]

1 hour ago, H__ said:

Thank you for the recommendation....Thank you for replying to my post.

My pleasure - all part of the service...

 

I'm aware of three tablature systems. Two of them (ABM and Mick Bramich's) use the same button

numbering convention, (though the two systems are rather different on first appearance). Two out of

three is good enough for me, so after 'graduating' early from MB's system, I moved to ABM. It's concise,

and is therefore relatively quick to add to the tunes that you want to learn, as opposed to those in a book,

which you may hate. That is, I do not want to learn Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (which is in the book) but I

do want to learn Hot Cross Buns (which is not in the book).

 

Moi! Awkward? Jamais!

[Alice]

Hi Helen,

 

If you're interested in learning Irish music, I really liked this intro lesson offered by Caitlin Nic Gabhann. The initial lesson is free and she teaches you the reel "The Primrose Lass." I really liked her teaching style, and side views of her concertina show you exactly what buttons she's pressing. If you like the free lesson, she offers access to beginning and improver courses on her website for a monthly or yearly fee.

 

Here's a link to the free lesson, and details for her website are in her comments:

 

 

 

[Sean M]

I'll second Caitlin's course. I started concertina about 9 years ago and played about a year in the beginning and then gave up. A few months ago I started up again and have been using Caitlin's course and think it's great. I started with the free lesson and then subscribed. I made it through the "Starter" course and am now working on the intermediate course. I like the way she teachers, mostly by ear but offers written notation if needed. She breaks down the tune phrase by phrase and helps you with each phrase and showing where a good place to use an alternate button would be or to put in some ornamentation. She also has a way to change the playback speed so that you can slow it down to 50% or even speed it up to 150% without altering the pitch.

[Alice]

I agree, Sean! Caitlin's course is wonderful. She teaches a variety of songs (reels, mazurkas, polkas, and more), and for each tune she has a variety of resources: a video lesson; an audio track you can speed up, slow down, or even loop to repeat various phrases you want to play along to; sheet music in notation and another version that simply has the notes written out in letter form. She addresses air control, too, and as Sean mentioned above, shows you alternate buttons for different notes to optimize air control.

 

I hope your playing is going well, Helen!

[Robin Tims]

Another vote from me for the Caitlin courses online which show a lot of thought and work in effective  presentation.

 An excellent resource for learning Irish music on C/G Anglo.

 

Rob

[JimR]

Hi H__

If you like Gary Coover's  Easy Anglo 123, you might appreciate Civil War Concertina. Many (most?) of the tunes are for 20 key Anglos.