VERY new to concertina

[David Barnert]

2 hours ago, Richard Mellish said:

When I was a small child my grandfather taught me the mnemonic for the five lines of the treble clef: Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit.

 

You poor child! We had Fudge.

 

And the spaces spell the word “FACE.”

[Jim2010]

13 hours ago, David Barnert said:

 

You poor child! We had Fudge.

We had "Fun."

 

When first learning to read music, it can be useful to keep in mind that all the notes (on all clefs) are simply in alphabetical order. The lines and spaces can be thought of as visual aids to quickly see how far away (alphabetically) one note is from another. They also quickly show what the interval is between one note and another.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Jim2010
clarity

[David Barnert]

12 hours ago, David Barnert said:

You poor child! We had Fudge.

 

6 minutes ago, Jim2010 said:

We had "Fun."

 

Yes, and Tom Stoppard had “Favour.”

 

We also had “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” That was the first one I learned, but I liked the Fudge better.

[fiddler2007]

Before i started playing Anglo, buying one from Mike Rowbotham when my crabb englsh got stolen, i found out that C/G was the best bet, also the advice given by Mike. That is for Irish trad music. I was experienced on the English system, but after the initial struggles of learning the Anglo, starting with G tunes, and D later, i found it better suited for playing Irish but also American trad fiddle tunes. A modal works, but some A major stuff is less logical. C,D of course are OK, E and F are less easy.

 

Although i am an experienced Cajun melodeon player (f.i. D-onerow) the way to play tunes in D on a C/G is a different ball game. Must be easier in D for a G/D concertina, as G is on a C/G. But you can play tunes in A like i play D tunes; a great plus. You must try to automate the weird fingering patterns in D (for you in A on your G/D), and learn to use all the rows for G also (D for you).

 

With a G/D as your stagi is you'll find it's more like playing in a melodeon style. Most Irish players prefer a C/G systems.

I am looking for a G/D a bit especially for song accompany-ing; was also told the larger reeds respond a little slower.

That is also where better class reeds excel at; less air-spillage.

 

For a real beginner on bellows driven instruments you must first get the feel that you press a button BEFORE push or pull the bellows. Sudden added pressure on a reed can cause it to go out of tune more quickly, or even break.

 

PS: The good part is that you probably have tunes in your head already.

I started with f.i Turkey in the Straw in G, and Soldiers joy in D (on a C/G that is). As i am an improvisational (fiddle) player i found the hardest was to automate my fingering patterns; You can play several notes in push or pull direction. It's a blessing if you feel comfortable there when you run out of air.

So time to put out the cat and dog (wife too?), you'll drive them crazy by all means, and have fun.

 

[Richard Mellish]

On 5/19/2021 at 1:41 PM, fiddler2007 said:

For a real beginner on bellows driven instruments you must first get the feel that you press a button BEFORE push or pull the bellows. Sudden added pressure on a reed can cause it to go out of tune more quickly, or even break.

 

I'm struggling with that. It implies removing bellows pressure after every note before you play the next note. There isn't time for that, least of all with Irish music if it's going at 90 mph as it often does. Am I misunderstanding?

[fiddler2007]

Nope, what i mean is don't put (heavy) pressure on the bellows before you open a key.

always be careful with pressure; you should control the volume of a note by gentle pressure variations.

Something to practice with slow simple melodies. Tunes like Hector the Hero. Once you get the hang it will come naturally.