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Frustrated.


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I went to a concertina weekend last weekend which was my first opportunity to see other people playing the concertina but I came away quite depressed. I was able to try out a couple of Suttner concertinas and was stunned with the vast gulf between them and my Stagi to the point that I wonder what the point is of continuing trying to play it. I have ordered a better one but that is still several months away. Bellows control, ornamentation, everything seemed so much easier on a better concertina. So now I'm stuck on my own again trying to work out if there is anything useful I can do to progress while I wait for my new concertina.

It is a frustrating business.

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What have you ordered? I hope not another Stagi?

I think I would be thoroughly depressed if I still had a few months to wait and the prize at the end would be another Stagi!

No, I've ordered one from Frank Edgley but I realise that I made a mistake in waiting half a year before deciding to upgrade. Should have bought a very cheap 20 button Stagi to test (since I'm in concertina no mans land) and upgraded almost immediately.

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Should have bought a very cheap 20 button Stagi to test (since I'm in concertina no mans land) and upgraded almost immediately.

Forget the "should haves" - buying a cheap instrument "to see if you like it" does make economical sense at the time, rather than outlay a lager sum for something you might not take to (I think most of us have been there). You did what you thought was the right thing at the time, and soon you'll be moving on.

 

I definitely agree with Mark that anything you work on while you wait will definitely not be wasted. [And there are worse instruments than Stagis - I certainly learnt a lot on mine :P]

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It is a frustrating business.

 

Frustrating, yes, but not wasted time and energy. What you learn on your junky box will jump start your learning once your very nice Edgley comes. Spend the time learning scales, chords, the basics. Then, when the Edgley comes, you'll see a quantum leap in your playing. You don't need a responsive, fast instrument to learn the basics.

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Many of us started on Stagi's, and although I don't miss mine (I still have it but don't play it), It served me well as a beginner's model. While I would have noticed the difference between my Stagi and a better makers models from the start, my Stagi didn't prevent me from learning and progressing in spite of the irritation of it's (all too often) sticky buttons.

 

I've seen new people show up at Noel Hill schools with Stagi's and he usually tries all the new folk's concertinas (with their blessings of course). Regardless of maker, Noel easily coxes quality music out of all of them. I had just moved to a new Tedrow for my first class with Noel, but after hearing him play someone else's Stagi I had far more respect for the instrument I'd left behind.

 

My point is that while you'll appreciate and be far happier with a new Edgley, as others have noted here you can still learn while using the Stagi. Moving up was the right thing to do, but now's not the time to abandon the instrument that brought you this far. You'll be much more capable and proficient with your new instrument the day it arrives if you continue to work with your current one until then.

 

Regards,

 

Bruce

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i agree with everyone else. Keep on with the stagi and pick up how to play the basics. Think of it like people who swing several bats at once and then can really sail when they are only holding one bat.

 

Okay, I am rotten with analogies and don't play baseball, but you will be thrilled with the new concertina and will easily transfer what you learned on the stagi. Don't throw away all of that learning time.

 

I started on a stagi. Didn't know anything else was available. I love, absolutely love, my Edgley. But as Morgana rightly said, you bought what made economical sense at the time.

 

Have fun. Write back for more moral support.

 

Tell us how you are doing. :)

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Thanks,

of course, in reality, I can't keep my hands off it and yesterday my wife said "it's sounding very nice since you've been on that workshop" so I'm feeling more encouraged. But I want to play more than I want to learn, so I'm impatient. Of course I get better all the time but I want to reach the stage where getting better is a bonus and not a necessity and when I played a Suttner last week I realised that I am better then I am on the Stagi. I chose the rhythm not the bellows, ornaments sounded crisper etc and it just felt like a different instrument.

But i will keep going in anticipation...

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Having started on a really cheap and frustrating 20-b Hohner from China, I moved up to a 30-b Stagi. To me it is like night and day and I am very pleased with the instrument so far. I am and will be able to learn a lot with it. That being said, I know from reading this forum that far better instruments are out there. And, once I save enough hope to upgrade once more. But relative to what I began with I'm happy to have the Stagi to work on.

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Cary,

Just throwing in my 2 cents worth. I have had exactly the same progression and experience as you. I started on a 20 button chinese anglo and after about 4 months later updated to a 30 button stagi. I really enjoy it and it sounds almost like a "real" concertina to me. I am still a long way from getting everything I can out of it. Eventually I hope to upgrade to one of the better ones that I have learned about here, but for now I will keep working on this one. Hang in there. :)

John

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  • 4 weeks later...

My first EC was a Stagi. It served me well untill I recieved my Morse EC. Though I dont play the Stagi much I do bring it with me when I go to my favorite pubs. I play some tunes on the Morse and then break out the Stagi for the listners to have a go on. Its a lot of fun showing folks how to play a Concertina.

 

Brad

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I started on a FIRE TRUCK RED 20 button Stagi for which I horrendously overpaid. When all was said and done, it helped me understand the basics of the instrument until I purchased a 20 button Lachenal which was no easier to play but sounded like a concertina.

 

It'a "long and winding road" and "long, strange trip" to a better concertina. The important trip is learn stuff along the way.

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