Angle Thumb Woes

[Magiallo]

I have small hands, and I’ve encountered a little trouble with my Anglo. If I have the hand strap tight, I can’t maneuver my thumb to press the air button. If I loosen the hand strap a bit, I can hold the concertina at a bit of an adjusted angle to reach the air button with my thumb, but the short part of the hand rest really digs into the lower part of my thumb when I press it, and my wrist is at a bit of a rough angle when I play (which I try to compensate for by resting the right end of the instrument on my right leg, to limit movement and strain).

 

are there any suggestions on how I could compensate for my smaller hands more appropriately? Or is there perhaps another type of concertina where this issue may be less prevalent due to button placement?

 

thanks in advance!

-mag

[Tiposx]

Some players rotate the anglo forward by a flat of the hexagon. So they rest a different flat on their knee, tilting the wrists upwards, and placing the thumbs more in line with the hand rests. It might be worth a try.

The English Concertina can also be awkward for some shapes of people though.

[Magiallo]

I’ll give it a try, thank you!

[Jody Kruskal]

Loose hand straps are normal for me on the Anglo.

 

[wunks]

I moved the attachment point of the hand strap to an end bolt so it crosses my hand outside and behind the thumb joint.  You may still need to scoop out or lower the end of the hand rest.  Bob Snope at the Squeeze Box Garage is in Ashville and could probably assist.

 

Edited January 12 by wunks