So I Bought A Concertina Off Ebay, Now What?

[Samantha]

... stops you from get a feeling of "having to be in the mood" to play and restricting your practice.

...

Robin Madge

 

When I was young I did an informal around the music school I attended on a Saturday and found it almost universal that the most difficult thing about practising was getting the instrument out of the case. Piano player have it easy, because there is the instrument ready to play at all times (if you leave the lid up), but the minute you have to open a box to get out an instrument or, worse still, put it together in some way (think bassoon or clarinet) there is an immediate obstacle to overcome.

Samantha

[mick]

Thanks for all the advice, tips and encouragement everyone.

 

Geez lessons in an Irish Pub!! I dont even wanna tink about it! my livers not what its used to be would hospitalise me for a week, get me barred from the Pub and life ban from Irish Music Society I reckon! I might tink about that in the future.

 

I got it today, as expected its plasic, wood and paper and made in China but it will let me know if I have the will, desire and sniff, talent to take it up.

 

I am looking forward to it, even tho the neighbours may not be, not to mention the poor dogs.

[Guest]

Geez lessons in an Irish Pub!! I dont even wanna tink about it!

It's ok, we're usually in a back room, tucked out of the way

 

Best of luck with it,

Morgana

[mick]

will let you all know how Im going in a couple of weeks everyone.

 

Safe happy Christmas and New year to all of you, drive carefully, dont play too hard!

[mick]

Happy New Year all.

 

Well where were we? ah the Chinese Ebay masterpice. Well one of the keys stuck on the first go so I had to pull it apart and its a very sad machine Im afraid( but not unexpected) Its really clever how its hand made with all those pieces of wood and glue, all those criss crosses.. However the workings are tin and what could be best described as strips of fake leather that flap about on the bits of tin with varying size strips cut out of them.

 

Anyway how did I go? It sounds crap down low and the high notes only squeek and I reckon the lil buttons are too close together for my liking.

 

I have been playing along to REM. Theres usually a few parts in most of their songs for a note to be played on the concertina, so thats what Ive been doing. Pretending to be in the band and joining the organ and guitar mainly at parts of the songs that it fits in. I can change up and down a key on a couple of them. Its a great effect to play a note for example during "nightswimming" that has a great cello solo, just now and then. Id be interested in any of you listening to that song and playing along and see if you think it could be one of the great Concertina tunes of all time!

 

Well I reckon it sounds great anyway. I can see the idea is not to over do it, to accompany the music, to be a part of the harmony or to accentuate a big fininshing note. (sorry for the lack of technical talk).

 

I dont think the keys on this thing match any of the diagrams I have seen so seeing its so cheap Im thinking of temporarily removing the ones Im never going to need to use at the moment. Thats probably 3 or 4 on the LHS and I think I might roughen the tops of the buttons of the few that I use on the RHS and leave the rest alone, I wont "feel them"

 

So Im having fun, when I play the live REM dvds I have I play along and I find I am hitting the right note by feel in a few of the songs. Its kinda hard to accept that I might actually be on the right button without looking and go for it so Im a bit timid with it at the moment.

 

So alls good with It, Im enjoying myself and Id recommend anyone give it a go.