Back-handers

[Hilary]

Ok - we've had left and right handers, but how about ambidexterousness (not sure of the spelling).

 

In a session only last night, I was delighted to hear a tune I knew, grabbed my box (GD anglo) and started to play. I knew the tune, I knew I had the right (sorry correct) possition on the buttons but it sounded horrible.

Had my box gone dramatically out of tune?

It was passed around and tested, but eventually returned to me with shaken heads. I went to put it away and only then realised that we were trying to play it the wrong way round! AND no one else had noticed either! oopps!

 

Anyone else made such a silly mistake? I imagine it would be harder to do on an english as the thumb strap and little finger support would be in the wrong (or is that left?) place.

[JimLucas]

Hilary, I'd like to compliment you on the title of your new Topic.

[PeterT]

Ok - we've had left and right handers, but how about ambidexterousness (not sure of the spelling).

 

In a session only last night, I was delighted to hear a tune I knew, grabbed my box (GD anglo) and started to play. I knew the tune, I knew I had the right (sorry correct) possition on the buttons but it sounded horrible.

Had my box gone dramatically out of tune?

It was passed around and tested, but eventually returned to me with shaken heads. I went to put it away and only then realised that we were trying to play it the wrong way round! AND no one else had noticed either! oopps!

 

Anyone else made such a silly mistake? I imagine it would be harder to do on an english as the thumb strap and little finger support would be in the wrong (or is that left?) place.

My dictionary says: ambidexterity.

 

Reference the problem of the "box going out of tune", I'm sure that this problem would not have occurred early on in the evening. However, you should have noticed that the air valve was "missing" .

 

Never mind, it's cheered up our evening .

[David Barnert]

Anyone else made such a silly mistake?

I heard a story once about a guy who got an anglo concertina and was the only one in the state at the time (New Mexico?). He took it out of the box backward and taught himself to play it in isolation, never realizing he had it the wrong way 'round until many years later when he met another concertina player.

 

You couldn't do it on an english (the thumb loops would be on the bottom and the pinkie rests on top). A Hayden can be played that way, but not without noticing. The rows would slant the wrong way.

[groeswenphil]

Nothing to do with concertinas, but I once taught a lad who was ambidexterous. He was perfectly happy working either left or right handed with anything at all.......except that he couldn't do maths with his left hand !

Phil

[Chris Drinkwater]

Nothing to do with concertinas, but I once taught a lad who was ambidexterous. He was perfectly happy working either left or right handed with anything at all.......except that he couldn't do maths with his left hand !

Phil

Well, that figures!

 

Chris

[jlfinkels]

As I like to say, I'm ambidextrous, i.e. equally deficient with both hands.

[Stephen Chambers]

He took it out of the box backward and taught himself to play it in isolation, never realizing he had it the wrong way 'round until many years later when he met another concertina player.

Back in the 1970s Irish button accordion player Paddy Hayes won the Concertina Competition at the All-Ireland Fleadh playing the Anglo that way, as it made more sense to him to have his right hand on the low notes. And he didn't even own a concertina, he borrowed one to go in for the event off fellow-accordionist Raymond Roland!

[Jody Kruskal]

Anyone else made such a silly mistake? I imagine it would be harder to do on an english as the thumb strap and little finger support would be in the wrong (or is that left?) place.

 

Hilary

 

Sometimes after a few I’m walking on the ceiling and I have that exact same problem.

 

I believe that Simon Thoumire plays English concertina upside down even when he's sober.

 

Jody