Concertina Revival?

[Alan Day]

A nice picture of a concertina band:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/bunter/images/...rtina_Band1.jpg

 

The mouseover caption says: "JW Rooney - tallest in the back row, Harold Rooney with small drum".

 

The original Page with a little backround:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/bunter/ralph_rooney.htm

 

Thanks

Leo

Thanks very much Leo a great posting.

Tottington is in Greater Manchester, almost exactly half way between

Bolton (Who John Nixon played for from the age of seven,a Cnet member) and Heywood the home of The Heywood Band who's archive clip is featured. I have pictures of Bolton,Heywood and Premier Bands and the earliest recording so far is of Premier on cylinder about 1915. One of the players on your photo Leo looks very similar to one of the Premier players, but all with moustaches it is very difficult to be certain.

We have had a mixed reaction to the archive clip and after discussion, we do not intend to put a packet of paracetemol in with the booklet. A darkened room and damp towel over the forehead is recommended when a band archive comes on.

Thanks again Leo

Al

[Peter Brook]

A darkened room and damp towel over the forehead is recommended when a band archive comes on.

Thanks again Leo

Al

 

It does take all sorts but I actually like the clip very much. There again my dad has his own barrel organ, and I've been to many steam rallies with large fairground organs so perhaps I am sensitised to "mechanical" sounding music .

[Alan Day]

A darkened room and damp towel over the forehead is recommended when a band archive comes on.

Thanks again Leo

Al

 

It does take all sorts but I actually like the clip very much. There again my dad has his own barrel organ, and I've been to many steam rallies with large fairground organs so perhaps I am sensitised to "mechanical" sounding music .

Having listened to a number of these big band peices the Fairground Organ going out of control is a bit hard on some of the very nice playing I have listened to. The Salvation Army Band playing hymns,the slower classical pieces are far from being mechanical,but one example is not really sufficient for a full understanding of the Concertina Band ,in the same way that one peice of Brass Band playing would not demonstrate the flexibility of that group of instruments.This does show how difficult it is to appeal to all tastes and of course one cannot.

I was thinking today about the times of these bands,that a certain day in the week or month they would all walk or cycle to the local village hall (some of which still exist) and join up in the common aim of playing concertina music as a group.There must have been at least two hundred English System Concertina players in the Manchester area alone,working on about twenty plus per band.All aiming for that big day at Belle Vue for the big prize. Thank goodness some of their music still exists and like it or not we should at least understand their achievments. Please listen to the fact that twenty plus players are playing as a tight unit,very few if any mistakes on a very difficult piece of music, the soloist can be heard clearly, the timing is almost perfect and the wonderful depth of sound when all the band are playing.

"I rest my case M'Lord let the jury decide"

Al

[paperpunchr]

While the upper quality makers may be leading the resurgence of the concertina, ...as much as everyone on the list seems to talk them down, the easy availability of the really cheap chinese, german, and italian instruments is more likely to boost the sheer number of rank beginners and younger folks...the instruments may not be lightning fast or built to last, but they are affordable and instantly available compared to waiting times and prices for "real" concertinas. Even if only one in fifty of the cheapies netted someone who enjoyed the experience enough to want to continue and move up, that's a whole bunch of people who would probably never have shelled out five or six hundred dollars or more for a "student grade" lachenal...who are now interested in the instrument and the music.

 

I'm not a teenager or a newbie to music but I for one would never have taken up the concertina if I couldn't have proven to myself that it was a workable instrument for me to play at a much lower investment, even if I eventually throw the thing away. Large numbers of really affordable instruments, even if they don't last, will stimulate a surge in the concertina playing population more than a few hundred fine instruments from a half dozen master makers...and eventually some portion of those folks will want to move up.

 

Paperpunchr

[paperpunchr]

I've noticed that Rock 'n Roll seems to be running out of energy, slowly winding down. There does not seem to be much left to be said in the genre. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who looked back at folk music to see what other sounds and structures were around to please my ears.

 

Bluegrass is doing very well now, as is "old time" Americana, thanks in a large part to the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Some of the most creative work in Bluegrass is being done now as part of that surge of interest.

 

Robert

 

 

A bit of a digression, but the music in O Brother and The Tunecatcher is pre-bluegrass...more akin to old-time and gospel than to Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs...and bluegrass has moved on and gotten jazzier with each passing decade...which is one reason I hopped backwards to get into Irish music, which is one of the major taproots of Bluegrass and old-time music. I sold my five string and moved upstream, if you will, further into the past!

 

Paperpunchr

[Woody]

While the upper quality makers may be leading the resurgence of the concertina, ...as much as everyone on the list seems to talk them down, the easy availability of the really cheap chinese, german, and italian instruments is more likely to boost the sheer number of rank beginners and younger folks...

 

I'm not a teenager or a newbie to music but I for one would never have taken up the concertina if I couldn't have proven to myself that it was a workable instrument for me to play at a much lower investment, even if I eventually throw the thing away....

The same's true for me. I might have considered stretching to the cost of a Rochelle, but I suspect that if I hadn't been able to buy my blue & yellow plastic "Sutherland" for less than £100, I'd have never have got into Concertina playing.

[Guest Mick Diles]

..... but I suspect that if I hadn't been able to buy my blue & yellow plastic "Sutherland" for less than £100, I'd have never have got into Concertina playing.

Amen !!

[stuart estell]

A darkened room and damp towel over the forehead is recommended when a band archive comes on.

Thanks again Leo

Al

 

It does take all sorts but I actually like the clip very much. There again my dad has his own barrel organ, and I've been to many steam rallies with large fairground organs so perhaps I am sensitised to "mechanical" sounding music .

Having listened to a number of these big band peices the Fairground Organ going out of control is a bit hard on some of the very nice playing I have listened to.

 

Sorry Al, when I first made that comparison with a fairground organ I was only referring to the tone-colour; I didn't mean to suggest that the top bands would sound at all mechanical.

 

That excerpt Chris posted up for you really is wonderful though. Now all we have to do is persuade Jenny Cox that the Hawkwood Band needs to meet every weekend instead of once a year

[Alan Day]

That excerpt Chris posted up for you really is wonderful though. Now all we have to do is persuade Jenny Cox that the Hawkwood Band needs to meet every weekend instead of once a year

There is no reason why a big concertina band cannot go on after one of these events.Henk developed a computer system of combining players to produce a Big Band.Sadly, apart from yourself Stuart few went for it, but it is possible .We could have a UK versus USA event yearly and revive the old tradition on this site.

Al

[Roger Gawley]

We could have a UK versus USA event yearly and revive the old tradition on this site.

Al

 

Must have missed that one; is this an annual punchup between American and British readers?

 

Roger