New Player Looking For Tips

[Brian-O]

Hello, I've been playing around with music for a many now. I briefly dabbled with the trombone, and played around with the guitar for a year or so. I finnally settled on drums and have been happily drumming away. Until now. I began to get jealous of everyone who could play "a real instrunment," and being a huge fan of sea shanties and irish folk music, I decided one day to purchase a concertina. Not really thinking (or caring about) the consequnces I bought a cheap Honer Concertina. I believe its Anglo style, 20 key.

 

The only thing is, I dont really know where to begin, beyond fiddling around with notes and playing some scales! That being said I was wondering if I could get any input from you guys, any help or advice would be great, as in what exercise to do, what books to buy etc etc.

 

Thanks in advance, I look forward to offering more to the community once i figure out what to do with my squeezebox!

[Henk van Aalten]

The only thing is, I dont really know where to begin, beyond fiddling around with notes and playing some scales!

Just have a look at this concept tutor (in Dutch) or check out Alan Day's tutor

[Charlotte]

Hi.

 

Have a look at: http://www.concertina.net/learning.html, where a number of tutors are listed.

 

Charlotte

[jburke]

Hello, I've been playing around with music for a many now. I briefly dabbled with the trombone, and played around with the guitar for a year or so. I finnally settled on drums and have been happily drumming away. Until now. I began to get jealous of everyone who could play "a real instrunment," and being a huge fan of sea shanties and irish folk music, I decided one day to purchase a concertina. Not really thinking (or caring about) the consequnces I bought a cheap Honer Concertina. I believe its Anglo style, 20 key.

 

The only thing is, I dont really know where to begin, beyond fiddling around with notes and playing some scales! That being said I was wondering if I could get any input from you guys, any help or advice would be great, as in what exercise to do, what books to buy etc etc.

 

Thanks in advance, I look forward to offering more to the community once i figure out what to do with my squeezebox!

 

Well Brian, you could join the Irish Concertina cult and learn to play real Irish music on a real instrument. In a just a few short months we'll have you pawning all your worldly goods to ransom a Jeffries or Dipper or Carroll, and by this time next year you'll be pounding pints in Clare and speaking knowingly about turf, whisky, and Hurling. American musicians will sound lame and slow to you. You'll learn completely different names for tunes everyone knows, and get the inside story on tunes like "the Doverman's Wallet." Don't wait, sign up for Noel Hill school and get started properly on the concertina. See concertina.net/learning.html

 

Jewels

[njurkowski]

Ah....a man after my own heart. I too play trombone, and have picked up the concertina after becoming mildly obsessed with free reeds.

 

I have had my concertina for about a week, and am really enjoying it. I come from a classical and jazz background with trombone, so that has definitely colored the way I practice an instrument. Though I am playing the English concertina, I imagine the ways we learn could be quite similar (e.g. getting a feel for keyboard layouts, how to manage the bellows - an even bigger task for a beginning Anglo player, I'd imagine). To that end, I personally like scales and etudes to help me familiarize myself with the instrument. You definitely have to learn tunes, too, (lest you become fantastically bored), but I find doing scales and excercises to be most helpful. Try learning a few tunes from a tutor and seeing what gives you the most trouble. If you can isolate those spots and make little excercises from them, it ensures you will have less trouble from spots like that in the future. In short, the best excercises you can do are the ones that you need to do (if that makes sense). I'm having good luck with that method so far, and wish the same to you!

 

Nick

[pmmack]

Hello, I've been playing around with music for a many now. I briefly dabbled with the trombone, and played around with the guitar for a year or so. I finnally settled on drums and have been happily drumming away. Until now. I began to get jealous of everyone who could play "a real instrunment," and being a huge fan of sea shanties and irish folk music, I decided one day to purchase a concertina. Not really thinking (or caring about) the consequnces I bought a cheap Honer Concertina. I believe its Anglo style, 20 key.

 

The only thing is, I dont really know where to begin, beyond fiddling around with notes and playing some scales! That being said I was wondering if I could get any input from you guys, any help or advice would be great, as in what exercise to do, what books to buy etc etc.

 

Thanks in advance, I look forward to offering more to the community once i figure out what to do with my squeezebox!

 

Enjoy and make the most out of the box that you have!

 

Do not mind the "flat 7th" and skip the notes that cannot be played quite right. Just make the thing sing and no bother about cross rowing and the like, yet.

 

How many times have we heard about "The Greats" playing upon small boxes and making great music?

 

Go for it!