Newbe in search for d/a literature

[rekibor]

Hi folks, 

 

I was gifted a concertina in a/d and I cannot play ANY concertina so far. However, I can play violin and flute and can read notes. I also read this: 

 

Is there any literature for a/d concertina, preferably with fingerings?

 

I am happy for every help.

 

Thanks and best regards

Kim

 

[Caroline]

Hi Kim,

 

I was gifted a D/G Stagi (Anglo 20b) back in August.  I began learning on it, but treating it as if it were a C/G.  About two months later I ordered a Clover from Concertina Connection, which should ship this week.  The only drawbacks I have found is the inability to play along with recordings and no accidentals save F#.  I feel I’ve made good progress learning to play across the rows, using both Irishconcertinalessons.com  and OAIM.  I’m hooked and can hardly wait for the Clover.

Caroline

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Like any instrument, concertina music can be usually fitted to accommodate its range, by transposition. And same goes for your 20 key Anglo.  Before moving onto 30 key Anglo - I started out playing on 20 key Anglo model and had to transcribe various pieces to fit its range, and I found a lot that worked within the range of 20 key [40 notes]. You will certainly have the skills as existing musician to know how to make tunes fit into other keys to fit - a different instrument.  Have a go - some will work, and others won't but you will find many hundreds that do work very well [ I did].

 

[Takayuki YAGI]

Just FYI, The button layout for D row can be found on page 24 of the "The Westmeath Hunt" booklet.

https://www.itma.ie/shop/the-westmeath-hunt

The booklet also includes the music, but not the fingering.

 

If you need a full button layout of 20 buttons, https://anglopiano.com/ will be useful (select DA20).

[Roger Hare]

I'm a little confused. A/D and D/G concertinas have been mentioned, but I can't

remember ever coming across these configurations. Are D/A and G/D meant here,

or am I missing something?

[RAc]

Traditional Scottish dance tunes are frequently set in A or D major and their respective modal variations (as opposed to English tunes which are predominantly in D and G).

 

As has been mentioned before, current digital technology allows for transposition of any tune to any key practically without effort, but for an instrument like the concertina, a "mechanical" transposition is not always helpful (a transposed tune may "fall out of the range" of the melody side or yield awkward fingering).

[Mikefule]

3 hours ago, lachenal74693 said:

I'm a little confused. A/D and D/G concertinas have been mentioned, but I can't

remember ever coming across these configurations. Are D/A and G/D meant here,

or am I missing something?

 

In melodeons, it is normal to say DG because the D row is the lower of the 2.  The rows are a 4th apart.

 

For Anglo concertinas it is more common to say GD because the G row is the lower of the 2.  The rows are a 5th apart.

 

So you get CG Anglos (most common), GD, DA, BbF, and so on.

 

However, it is only a convention, and some people perhaps refer to the near row first and the far row second.  GD becomes DG.  Perhaps some people, not realising the difference in the relationship between the rows on melodeon or Anglo, just habitually use the same terminology.

 

As it is only list that is 2 items long, and the relationship between the main two rows of the instrument is standard, the exact terminology is not crucial.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Mikefule

[Roger Hare]

3 hours ago, Mikefule said:

In melodeons, it is normal to say DG because the D row is the lower of the 2.  The rows are a 4th apart.

For Anglo concertinas it is more common to say GD because the G row is the lower of the 2.  The rows

are a 5th apart. etc...

Yes, I take your point, and that was my point really. I'm sometimes a little bothered that new/prospective players  might not take this on board at first (I didn't when I very first started). Maybe I'm being a little over-cautious...

____

Maybe I'm not. 'Different differences', if you see what I mean, but moderately critical? I can remember two instances where someone was trying to learn Anglo after rotating the thing through 180 degrees in the horizontal plane, and one instance where someone appeared to be quite happily setting out to learn to play a 30-button English using the tutor for a 30-button Anglo.

Edited January 22, 2023 by lachenal74693

[Caroline]

The Stagi gifted to me had this little sticker on it.  Not sure if it came that way from the manufacturer?

 

 

[Mikefule]

Could be the manufacturer, could be the retailer, could be a previous owner (if there was one).

 

It has 2 major keys, G and D.  It may be more technically correct to call it "GD" but "DG" is unambiguous in  the context of it being an Anglo.  If the rows really were "the wrong way round" it wouldn't be an Anglo.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Maybe that GD sticker on the instrument is just someone's initials (ie; Gordon Davies!)?.. you never know.

Anyway, you get on and enjoy playing it, although with all the advice being provided here... It may seem a bit overwhelming as to what to do!😁😁😁😁😁😁

[Leonard]

Deo Gratias?...

[rekibor]

Dear all, thank you for all your replies and links. This is much appreciated!

 

I get that most concertina literature is for C/G. I am a little surprised that there appears to be no literature dedicated to the D/A.

 

Are there 30 keys D/As or only 20 keys? Asking because it was assumed that my concertina is 20 keys - which is true btw.

 

Best,

Kim

 

PS: sorry for mixing up the indication of the range, A/D was really just a typo.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

I think you will certainly find there's plenty of 30 key concertinas in a range of keys ( other than the C, G variety). But don't let the apparent initial key detailed put you off playing all kinds of music ( outside the given range).

[Mikefule]

7 hours ago, rekibor said:

Dear all, thank you for all your replies and links. This is much appreciated!

 

I get that most concertina literature is for C/G. I am a little surprised that there appears to be no literature dedicated to the D/A.

 

Are there 30 keys D/As or only 20 keys? Asking because it was assumed that my concertina is 20 keys - which is true btw.

 

Best,

Kim

 

PS: sorry for mixing up the indication of the range, A/D was really just a typo.

For many of us, the Anglo is a transposing instrument.  I play a tune in C on my CG.  I pick up my GD and lay the same tune with the same fingering, and I am playing in G.  When I had a BbF, the same fingering produced a tune in Bb.

 

Thus, if you have a DA, and pretend to yourself that it is a CG, you can work from the CG book.  The tunes will come out sounding perfectly good, but in D rather than C.  (Or in A, rather than G.)

 

If later you get a CG, you will be able to use the fingering you have learned, apply it to the CG, and the sound you make will be in the same key as the book says.

 

DA is a fairly uncommon concertina.   That does not mean there is anything wrong with it.  It is just a convention that certain keys are more popular.  I have seen at least one 20 button DA, but I cannot recall seeing a 30 button DA.

 

A 20 button instrument is very versatile, and offers a certain raw purity of Anglo sound, especially if you play in a harmonic style.  I have 4 concertinas, 2 of which are 20b and they get as much use as my 2 that have 30 buttons.  I love the simpler layout so much that I have a 21 button instrument on order.

 

However, there is no doubt that the 30 button offers even more versatility.  Generally, CG for Irish style, although GD is more popular for English/Morris type sessions.