New Learner

[helenjayne]

can anyone suggest a few easy to get hold of books etc for learning. the one i have is veryvery old and im almost scared to turn its already fallen apart pages in case it all disintigrates in my hands. I am a very beginner and the approach i take with most of my other instruments of experiment and work it out for yourself, though working, is only working very slowly and most likely giving me very bad habits and skills . any suggestions would be most gratefully received.

helen x

[asdormire]

I don't remember what the box is that you inherited (how come other people inherit instraments, and all I inherited was farming hand tools), but I think it was a twenty button Jones? Anyway, I always found the

de Ville book "The concertina and how to play it" useful and informative. Hope this helps.

 

Alan

[helenjayne]

I don't remember what the box is that you inherited (how come other people inherit instraments, and all I inherited was farming hand tools), but I think it was a twenty button Jones? Anyway, I always found the

de Ville book "The concertina and how to play it" useful and informative. Hope this helps.

 

Alan

 

thanks alan will certainly check it out

 

(its a 30 button)

[PeterT]

can anyone suggest a few easy to get hold of books etc for learning. the one i have is veryvery old and im almost scared to turn its already fallen apart pages in case it all disintigrates in my hands. I am a very beginner and the approach i take with most of my other instruments of experiment and work it out for yourself, though working, is only working very slowly and most likely giving me very bad habits and skills . any suggestions would be most gratefully received.

helen x

Hi Helen,

 

This is a straight forward, and obvious, question to ask but not an easy one to answer.

 

I re-read your original posting, and see that you like Irish and other Celtic music. You can use the very same C/G Anglo for both, but it is played in a very different way. As I understand it, other Celtic music (I play a few Welsh tunes) can utilise what we would loosely describe as an "English" style of playing the Anglo. This is mainly melody on the right hand, chords or counter-melody on the left hand. Much of the melody will be played an octave higher than written.

 

Irish style tend to be more single line melody, with the occasional chord, where appropriate. Also, in Irish style, much of the melody, as written, will fall onto the left hand, and the key to this style is to learn the few notes overlap between the two ends of the instrument (middle row on right hand and inside row, left hand).

 

So, what to do? Others may post links to earlier threads on the Forum (or you can use the "search" facility). But I think that you need to find a tutor book to cover both types of playing. On the Concertina FAQ (link on my posting in another of your threads) you will find tutor books. I will suggest the Alan Day and Mick Bramich books as a good starting point. I see Alan each month, but have not seen Mick for about 10 years.

 

What I would also suggest is to see whether there is an Irish scene in your part of Devon. If you can find another Anglo player, a few lessons might make all the difference in this style of playing, which I think is more technical than the English style of playing.

 

Please keep us posted with your progress. You have a great incentive to do well on your instrument, and time is on your side.

 

Regards,

Peter.