Anglo and Duet systems.

[BobBobsta]

Hay everyone,

i just bought a Wren from McNeela Music and im hoping that it’ll fulfill my needs. 
 

I searched and skavenged the internet for some answers. Maybe you guys can help.

 

I mostly want to back up my singing  with the concertina. I come from Ukulele playing and the playing sheets I have are with guitar chords. I’d also like to play some soundtracks from Games and Movies. And I like the style of playing chords an melody at the same time it just sounds more complete to me.

 

I tried to get a Duet at a reasonable price but couldn’t find one for shipping to Germany. 
Would you guys say if I learn from scratch I’ll be able to do want I want with an Anglo? Or should I try to get a duet for my purposes?

 

thanks for y’all’s advice in advance!

[David Barnert]

Check out the work of John Roberts, an American (originally from England) anglo player/singer. As it’s a famously common name, and he doesn’t have is own YouTube channel, type “John Roberts Concertina” into youtube and you’ll find many examples, including this (three songs: anglo, banjo, anglo).

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by David Barnert
Got rid of inappropriate emoji

[BobBobsta]

so youd say id be more than capable to do what i want to do with a 30 k anglo. i wouldnt want to buy an elise duet and anything else is much more expensive.

 

or do You know a duet thats in the 500€ range?

[Ken_Coles]

A reality I find with anglo is that full chords (three notes) is too much sound for most accompaniment. Using broken chords (just two notes of the chord, take your pick) works. It also means you can play most any chord somehow. One song I do on C/G anglo with "chords" is in Bb minor (five flats).

 

I could listen to John Roberts all day.

 

Ken

[BobBobsta]

you know any tuition that i could follow?

is the book anglo concertina in harmonic style worth trying?

[David Barnert]

3 hours ago, BobBobsta said:

so youd say id be more than capable to do what i want to do with a 30 k anglo.

 

I don’t know what you’re capable of, but if you were concerned that an anglo couldn’t do what you heard JR do with it, well, there it is.

 

3 hours ago, BobBobsta said:

or do You know a duet thats in the 500€ range?

 

Concertinas are complicated instruments with many moving parts that must be perfectly aligned, even after rigorous use. Anything in the 500€ range will soon become unplayable, if it isn’t already right out of the box.

 

2 hours ago, BobBobsta said:

you know any tuition that i could follow?

is the book anglo concertina in harmonic style worth trying?

 

I don’t play anglo, I play Hayden duet (but I don’t sing), so I can’t answer that one.

[Luke Hillman]

6 hours ago, BobBobsta said:

you know any tuition that i could follow?

is the book anglo concertina in harmonic style worth trying?

 

Hi Bob, I started out with Anglo Concertina in Harmonic Style and it was a wonderful introduction. What works for me might not work for everyone, but @gcoover and his books are very well respected on this forum. I treat myself to a new one every year or so!

[Roger Hare]

51 minutes ago, Luke Hillman said:

...What works for me might not work for everyone...

I found the Anglo books by Mick Bramich to be particularly useful, though strictly (referring back to the OP), they are melody-only tutors. I used Absolute Beginners Concertina and In-Between Concertina.

 

There is some Anglo tutorial material available online from: Alan Day, John Kirkpatrick, and on the Australian Bush Traditions web site. At least one of these includes material related to using chords.

Edited June 27, 2023 by lachenal74693

[arti]

Rollston Press 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by arti

[AndyNT]

'Anglo Concertina in Harmonic Style' is a good starting point as it aims to keep the melody on the right hand and the chord accompaniment on the left as much as possible.

With some tunes, you may find it is easier to shift their key to make them easier/nicer to play in that style on your Anglo.

A 30 key Anglo can take you a long way along your desired path.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

I started out on a very simple book titled "First steps". A series of books on musical instruments, of which included also concertinas. It introduced a very simple number tablature system, which is quite straightforward to learn. I expect it is still available somewhere.  

Also I would say, that you should be prepared to take some time to get to know your instrument firstly, before expecting to really get going on the academic stuff. You will soon learn how to make the tunes with practice, and patience.

Playing chords on Anglo system can be relatively straightforward; I use published music books .. often with the parts printed in, where I can then see where the chords used go, although most of the time I have learned to provide chords by experience over many years. (Most I do not write down). Thirds are generally very easy to make, and you can play in parts also, using ( Anglo) with it having left and right keyboards, and note layout.

Keep up practicing, do not be put off by those days when progress is slower, and you should soon play and sing all the music you wanted

to all along🌝🌝 

 

[Steve Schulteis]

14 hours ago, BobBobsta said:

you know any tuition that i could follow?

is the book anglo concertina in harmonic style worth trying?

 

I also started with that book, and I believe it's a good fit for your stated goals.

[BobBobsta]

9 hours ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

I started out on a very simple book titled "First steps".

I’ll take a look into it.

9 hours ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

Keep up practicing, do not be put off by those days when progress is slower, and you should soon play and sing all the music you wanted

to all along🌝🌝 

 

Thanks 🙏 really motivating 🤗

[gcoover]

The First Steps book does not talk about chords, and only includes one tune with multiple notes, so it's not a very good start for wanting to learn accompaniments and harmonies.

 

A much better starting point from scratch would be Easy Anglo 1-2-3 (shameless plug alert), available in paperback from Red Cow Music or Amazon, also on Kindle. It introduces basic chords very quickly, and starts with one row, then two, and finally tunes using all three rows. Anglo Concertina in the Harmonic style will provide a lot more tunes with harmonies, including some that are quite difficult. And then there is the new tutor by Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne which is absolutely excellent.

 

Unfortunately, there are not any Anglo books that specialize in song accompaniment. I reached out to Andy Turner a while back to see if he could help put something together, but he said he had no idea how to teach it! So best advice would be to listen to others, try lots of different variations, and make sure the accompaniment complements the singing instead of overpowering it.

 

Gary

Edited June 28, 2023 by gcoover

[gtotani]

I do not understand why you do not stick to your Uklele, but congratulations for getting your own concertina and welcome to the Concertina world.

 

Gary-Coover's 'Easy Anglo 1-2-3' would be a good tutor book. I started with that.  

Step-by-step, you wil get used to playing with 1 row, 2rows then all 3 rows. Single melody line, Oom-Pah with chords, and more complex harmonic style. 

The book also includes list of chords that could be played on 30 button C/G Anglo including Wren. You will get a general idea on how capable the instrument is, and you will understand the limitation  as well.

 

Happy concertina life!

 

Totani

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by gtotani

[RAc]

On 6/26/2023 at 3:42 PM, BobBobsta said:

 

I tried to get a Duet at a reasonable price but couldn’t find one for shipping to Germany. 
Would you guys say if I learn from scratch I’ll be able to do want I want with an Anglo? Or should I try to get a duet for my purposes?

 

 

if you haven't done so yet, check out konzertinanetz.de, in particular the Treffen/Kurse section. In the meetings, you generally find a good mix of folks playing all kinds of concertinas as well as beginner's introduction courses. You will be able to test play numerous systems and ask the participants about their sources.

 

It is impossible to say from a distance which system would  suit you best.

[Jim2010]

6 hours ago, RAc said:

if you haven't done so yet, check out konzertinanetz.de, in particular the Treffen/Kurse section. In the meetings, you generally find a good mix of folks playing all kinds of concertinas as well as beginner's introduction courses. You will be able to test play numerous systems and ask the participants about their sources.

 

It is impossible to say from a distance which system would  suit you best.

Expanding on what RAc said, it is conceivable that an English, Hayden, or Crane concertina would suit you best. As a guitar player (who has very limited experience with playing concertinas), the three types of concertina I just mentioned share two general concepts with the ukulele: they have repeating patterns of note placement and each note/button (as string/fret position) sounds the same note regardless of whether you push or pull (strum up or down). While it will take time and practice to actually play and make music with them, you will be able to learn how/where to play chords on these instruments in a matter of minutes. They take shapes that you can move around similar to ukulele chord shapes that can be moved around.

[BobBobsta]

What is your alls opinion on the Troubadour Duet concertina from CC.

 

and dose anyone have experience witch CC shipping to Germany? 
 

i know they have the Elise duet but I know that that one will not make me happy.

 

or do you guys know about a duet concertina made or sold in the EU that I could get as a beginner one?

Edited June 29, 2023 by BobBobsta