balou Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Yeah, you read it right, ol' 9 fingers here. I would love to learn how to play but I don't know if I can. I had a run in with a wood splitter 16 years ago and lost the middle finger on my left hand. Am I a lost cause? Is it even possible for me to play even basics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3838 Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Yeah, you read it right, ol' 9 fingers here. I would love to learn how to play but I don't know if I can. I had a run in with a wood splitter 16 years ago and lost the middle finger on my left hand. Am I a lost cause? Is it even possible for me to play even basics? At my one only time at Button Box' Squeeze-in, there was a guy with two fingers missing, and two remaining looked like they were put back by doctors on his right hand. He was playing EC and he was fast, comfortable and confident. Guitar? - not sure, although a friend of mine is missing middle finger on his left hand (same cause) and he is playing sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Firstly - welcome aboard. Yeah, you read it right, ol' 9 fingers here. I would love to learn how to play but I don't know if I can. I had a run in with a wood splitter 16 years ago and lost the middle finger on my left hand. Am I a lost cause? Is it even possible for me to play even basics? You'd have to try it for yourself but I can't see that you'll have any problem. To get a basic tune I think all you'd need would be one functioning digit on each hand. Working out how I use my fingers on an Anglo Concertina I think the main usage comes from the main three fingers (index, middle and ring) with less work done by the little finger, so you may find that your little finger may do more work than mine. Given the amount of time it's been since your accident your little finger may well have been doing a lot more work to compensate anyway. Good luck - W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Am I a lost cause? Is it even possible for me to play even basics? Welcome. I've seen a fiddle played by someone who had suffered a similar accident; if you either listened, or watched him play, it was certainly not obvious. If you are approaching concertina as a potential new player, I would have thought that Anglo gives you the best chance, since much of the melody can be played by the right hand. The left hand can be used for chords or counter-melody. Full chords, using fingers 1,2,3 of the left hand can sound very heavy, and overpower the melody. I often advise dropping the middle note of the chord for a lighter effect. This corresponds to the finger which you are missing. I'm sure that certain notes will have to be re-fingered, but, if you master the basics, you will probably work out how to do this quite easily. Regards, Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Hi, As a result of a mild stroke a few years back my left hand is imprecise and I find it difficult to hit the buttons I intend to hit with any but the index finger. Fortunately I play the G/D anglo mostly, placing the melody almost entirely on the right hand with with the low D and E notes being played by the left hand index finger. So after some initial problems I am now blasting out the melody as well (or badly) as ever. It seems to me that you are better placed than I am if you play the G/D anglo, because you can play melody on the right hand and still have fingers to spare for chords on the left (to my mind two note chords sound better than three note chords anyway). I should also have thought that you would do well with one of the duet systems for the same reason. English concertina and C/G anglo I can't speak for, but in both cases I should have thought a missing finger on either hand would have been a disadvantage though probably not insurmountable. So go for it, I should. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 English concertina and C/G anglo I can't speak for, but in both cases I should have thought a missing finger on either hand would have been a disadvantage though probably not insurmountable. Well, I also cannot speak for C/G anglo (or any other anglo), but I do play English. Most people (unless they're getting into really complex arrangements) seem to play each side with three fingers: index finger for the top two rows, middle finger for the third row, and ring finger for the accidentals in the fourth row. However, since you use the index finger for two rows (one of them being accidentals), I see no reason at all why you couldn't do the same with the ring finger on your left hand. Especially since you wouldn't be unlearning any established habits, I don't think you would have any trouble at all with an English. So, it sounds like you have pretty much all the same options the rest of us do. Time to start figuring out what system works best for you, but that's based on how your brain works, not the missing finger. Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balou Posted June 29, 2006 Author Share Posted June 29, 2006 Thanks all! That's encouraging news and I'm off to find one to learn on. I'm an absolute green horn at this obviously so am lucky to have found this forum to help me along the way. I would love to buy top of the line but since I'm just learning, I'm going to start off with a less expensive (under $100) instrument. I'm looking at a 20 button, 40 reed Anglo C/G on ebay. I'll read through the forum a little further too but can anyone recommend a good book/video for the very beginner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 I'll read through the forum a little further too but can anyone recommend a good book/video for the very beginner? What sort of music do you want to play? That is relevant because if you want to play, for example, Strauss waltzes and the tutor was for Irish music then it might not help so much Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balou Posted June 29, 2006 Author Share Posted June 29, 2006 I'd like to be versatile. I guess not so much into the waltz and polka style but I love the Irish jigs and dance tunes but would also like to learn to play cajun and even some Beatles or Frank Sinatra tunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Yeah, you read it right, ol' 9 fingers here. I would love to learn how to play but I don't know if I can. I had a run in with a wood splitter 16 years ago and lost the middle finger on my left hand. Am I a lost cause? Is it even possible for me to play even basics? Remember Django: amazing jazz guitar with several fingers missing on his fretting hand. Take a look at this video if you want some inspiration. I've been a django fan for many years, but never saw film clips of him playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLzK_w6ZeM&search=django Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balou Posted June 29, 2006 Author Share Posted June 29, 2006 Remember Django: amazing jazz guitar with several fingers missing on his fretting hand. Take a look at this video if you want some inspiration. I've been a django fan for many years, but never saw film clips of him playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLzK_w6ZeM&search=django Wonderful music. Humans are amazingly adaptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianmayne Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Wow! Amazing stuff. While we're on the subject of videos (sorry to go OT), do any videos of Peter Bellamy exists (online), particularly videos playing concertina? A quick search has yield nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) Take a look at this video if you want some inspiration. I've been a django fan for many years, but never saw film clips of him playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLzK_w6ZeM&search=django Jim, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks! I'm another Django fan (for 35 years), but I've only ever seen a short clip (less than a minute) from that film before, to see it in its entirety is absolute magic. I've been watching it over & over, with goose-bumps, a big grin & tears in my eyes. And it's amazing that they are playing my favourite French tune too; "J'attendrai", which I believe they otherwise only recorded once under its original title "Tornerai". It's a tune that I often request when I'm in France ( and I should have been there last week, for the festival in Samois, but had important things to do here instead). What that man could do, mainly with his two good two fingers and his thumb! Edited July 2, 2006 by Stephen Chambers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Thanks You're welcome. I was mesmerized by the video. I have many Django CDs, but this was something special, watching him play. I read a pretty good biography of him a few years back: Django : The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend by Michael Dregni . Very interesting descriptions of French music at the time and Django's impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 I've not seen or heard of any video recordings, but logic dictates that there must be some, if only lurking in personal archives. Of our Forum members, I would have thought that Roger Digby would be best placed to answer. The other option would be to contact E.F.D.S.S. to see whether they have any video recordings. http://www.efdss.org/ Regards, Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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