EC learning curve

[Ubizmo]

As I mentioned in another thread, I acquired a used Jackie EC for not much money, for the purpose of seeing how I did with it, compared to Anglo, before committing fully to one or the other. And sheer curiosity was involved too. It arrived yesterday. One note, the highest C, didn't speak on the push, so I opened it up and liberated it. I've only had a few hours to play it so far. It's certainly interesting. 

1. This concertina speaks more freely than my Rochelle 2. I'm not fighting the bellows at all. 

2. It arrived with the thumb straps screwed down to the smallest opening. I enlarged them a bit but now I see I need to keep them at that small setting. My large hands are a disadvantage on this instrument, I think. To get my index finger into low C is a challenge, unless I angle my hands down a bit, and to do that I have to keep no more than my thumbnail in the strap. 

3. The buttons feel incredibly crowded, compared to the Anglo. I tend to overshoot buttons to find notes. 

4. It didn't take too long to work out *Britches Full Of Stitches", so that's a start. 

[seanc]

Jackie’s are a decent start.

keep the thumb straps loose… I mean not tight.

 

Just enough to keep the instrument in place relative to your fingers.

i think we all initially keep them tighter than they need or should be. But as you go along, the looser you will get them. And you will probably find as you increase in buttons you will need some more slack to be able to move to highest or lowest notes.

 

if you stay with it. I think you will quickly outgrow the Jackie. They are nice instruments. But, slow. If you are playing by reading, I think lacking those extra accidentals makes a big difference in your initial progress..

 

 

[Ubizmo]

Even if I don't decide to commit to EC, I'll probably keep the Jackie, just to have around. My first impression is that the ergonomics will take a while to get used to. It all feels very...delicate. 

 

As for more buttons, it seems to me that the enharmonics are more important than extended range into the stratosphere.

[seanc]

It all depends on what you are doing.

 

i find that, again, when reading.. everything just makes a ton more sense. Playing a c# as opposed to a Db. Or an Eb vs D#.

not having to think about it just really helps.

 

as for range, for me above the std 48 does not make sense.. but having the notes below open up a lot of things. 

[Ubizmo]

For most of my life, I've used sheet music to learn things, then once I know them I didn't bother with the sheet music again. Exceptions were when I was in band in high school, and in a recorder ensemble in grad school. And a few years ago, playing in a church. I didn't expect to be doing anything like that on concertina, unless at some point I try some classical music that's harder to memorize. Who knows?

 

I sometimes play things at open mics, and if I ever get to be any good on the concertina I'd like to do that. My point is that I doubt I'll be needing to decide an Ab from a G# on the fly very much. But having the redundancy could be handy. I know having just one option for C# and F# on the Anglo can be a challenge. 

 

I am frankly in awe of all concertinas players. When I see on YouTube the music that people can coax out of these things, I'm beyond impressed. But it's hard to know what will work best for me without actually having over in my hands, which is why I finally decided to get an EC. I've made enough progress on the Anglo to be able to read tunes in its "friendly" keys. When I get to a comparable point on the EC I'll know whether my eventual upgrade should be EC or Anglo. 

[fred v]

It takes time to get used to the fingering and thumb straps. You might like to read this: https://www.concertinajournal.org/articles/no-thumb-straps-no-finger-rests-but-it-is-an-english-a-personal-journey/

I have found in 30 years of playing ITM only one tune that used the high c3 note so there are 12 buttons that never get used. Several more if I count the flat low notes.

It's a journey and I hope you enjoy it.

[Pianist]

Depends what you play. Scots tune (really traditional) often require the fiddler to use 3rd position so high c3 is quite usual. Similarly, both Scott Skinner and Phil Cunningham will start on a low A and work up. Scots tunes can often be in A major so use a lot of G#.

Playford tunes will often be in B flat - again a challenge. The real beggar is Carolan who can write in F minor (A flat major equivalent) and the EC doesn't have a D flat.

[seanc]

There are Irish tunes… trying to remember.. home ruler? Where it goes down to a low a… I am thankful for the TT to not have to transpose the riff or whole section up.

 

but I also find that when playing scales, having the “right” accidental makes a big difference.

you can Lear to work around anything. But, I think especially starting out, having those notes will make a difference.

 

[Gail_Smith]

Hi.  In equal-tempered tuning ( which is what most of us have on our ECs ), the EC does have Dbs. They're C#s.

 

Took me ages to get used to reading the dots for them though... I could see a Db geting closer and closer but didnt have the brain capacity to remember where to put my finger when I got there. 

 

[Ubizmo]

1 hour ago, fred v said:

It takes time to get used to the fingering and thumb straps. You might like to read this: https://www.concertinajournal.org/articles/no-thumb-straps-no-finger-rests-but-it-is-an-english-a-personal-journey/

I have found in 30 years of playing ITM only one tune that used the high c3 note so there are 12 buttons that never get used. Several more if I count the flat low notes.

It's a journey and I hope you enjoy it.

That article was very interesting! 

When I started playing the Anglo, not so long ago, I faced similar issues of "Can I ever get used to this?" In particular, the whole disonoric thing was just maddening. Six weeks later, I don't give it much thought. I don't want to give the impression that I always get it right; I still sometimes fumble it. But it no longer feels "unnatural." So, when I pick up the EC and try to find the low C with my index finger, I tell myself I'll soon be doing this without thinking about it. I do wonder, however, how long it will take for me to get past the "crowded buttons" feeling, and the uneasy feeling that the concertina is dangling from my thumbs.