Irish music

[Shevy]

Hello everyone.

I was wondering which concertina suits Irish music best? Anglo, English or Duet?

Would you choose differently when joining a jam or playing a solo? 

Thank you. Shevy. 

[Ken_Coles]

OK folks, opinions gently and tactfully expressed please!

 

Dear OP - there are many opinions on this so you won't get a consensus. You will get lots of ideas from folks about what works for them. Welcome to the crazy world of concertinas (and concertina players).

 

Ken

[David Barnert]

Many here will tell you that all genres of music can be played on any type of concertina, and I don’t argue with that.

 

But the fact is that in traditional Irish sessions, the concertina players are almost always playing 30-button C-G Anglos.

[LateToTheGame]

C/G anglos are the best choice for Irish music.  There are exceptions when pros or folk who want to play solo pick an instrument in a different key.  But if you want to play along with 95% of the Traditional Irish Music out there, C/G anglo is the instrument for you.  Maybe that is 99.4% haha.  There will be players of other systems that swear they can play on other systems, and if they have other systems in their possession already it makes sense for them.  But if you want to start off with the system most pros, session players and living room players use it is the C/G.

[fred v]

I play Irish on the English tina but I work the bellows to add the rhythmic punch that is so needed with ITM. 

Fred V

 

[Robin Harrison]

One thing to ponder, Shevy, is that yes, ITM can and is played on a wide variety of instruments...........if you choose concertina and want to have any lessons then there will be scads of web sites, videos and people who can help you if you play a C/G anglo, irrespective of the make or button number.

[papawemba]

Anglo ! It has that swing with the push/pull, it sound great and more notes on fewer buttons.

I tried on a English mimicking anglo with change of bellows  but then you have to remember when to change bellow direction 😉

And If you want to follow online lesson (oaim, Caitlin, youtube,...), it will be an anglo. 

 

Nicolas

 

[David Barnert]

A little historical perspective...

 

The reason the Anglo became associated with Irish traditional music is not because it was particularly well-suited to the style. It was, in fact awkward. But because they had only 1 reed per note, where the English has 2, they were less expensive. So they were taken up in large numbers and became “de riguer” so that now 1) they are more expensive and 2) it is not uncommon for players of other types of concertina to imitate the sound of an Anglo when playing Irish music (see Fred V’s video, above).

[PaddyLosty]

While I support the argument that Irish music can be played on other systems than the Anglo, I've never personally heard a convincing example of it. 

 

I don't know that the issue is the bounce from the in-out. Most Irish players will seek to finger a tune in a way that avoids bellows changes in favor of smooth transitions and cohesive phrasing. The anglo lends itself well to the cuts, crans and other ornamentation that does a reasonable job fitting in approximating the uilleann pipes, and as such is consistent with the dialect of the tradition. 

 

I'm sure Irish music could be played well on systems other than the anglo, but I don't know that trying to imitate the anglo is the way to do it. Having a deep understanding of the music and approaching it from the ground up would be the way to go about it. I'm sure there are a few people out there who have done this successfully. Rick Epping makes good use of the English, as an example, and is well regarded amongst Irish trad music circles. 

 

Hell, here is a well-played example of a couple jigs played on a Nintendo DS. This person obviously understands the tunes and how the phrasing is essential. I bet they could make good use of an English or a Duet in a pinch. But why wouldn't they choose the anglo, given the choice?

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Pgidley