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First Tunes For Anglo Beginners?


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[wind-up alert]

I sometimes wonder whether beginners would be better learning cross-row tunes straight away?

Something like Jimmy Allen in G on the C row, has a lot less bellows reversal that playing it all on the G row.

[/wind-up alert]

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The first songs I learned were Star Wars and Willie's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." After that, I started writing my own songs.

 

But I love how every now and then, the most unassuming song will find its way through the reeds on my 20-button Anglo. Such as "Total Eclipse of the Heart," "Losing my Religion," "Jerk Off (Tool)," et cetera.

 

Just figured out Pink Floyd's "Wish you were here." Can't wait to play that bad-boy live.

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  • 3 years later...

I was amused to see twinkle twinkle mentioned so often. I find myself suggesting it also, but for when a person decides to start playing in octaves. It has an advantage in that it stays neatly in the most accessible place on both hands on either the C row or G row (start ion middle C), and does not cross to another or venture out over the great divide.

 

You can learn to play it on each hand separately and then put the two together.

 

Chris

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depends on whether the learner has experience playing other instruments, versus starting cold with playing music of any kind. i started straight in with jigs and reels (slowly), but i already played b/c accordion, and before b/c had played PA, and before P/A had had about six years of piano as a kid. not a virtuoso or anything, but i knew what phrasing was, and playing in a time signature (learning the swing and phrasing specific to irish music was a different thing, of course).....many new anglo players have no experience playing music and no musical knowledge, so they are learning rhythm as well as the instrument, and if they are adults, it is a very big jump indeed. not impossible by any means, but a big initial jump...

 

 

anyway, my two cents concerns irish music. if the student got into it specifically because they have fallen in love with irish music and irish concertina and are dying to play it, i would start them off with polkas straightaway--the melodies are as simple as the elementary melodies listed in above posts, but you can feel you are truly playing irish music, which you are, and you can begin to teach the difference between playing in the time signature and having a beat, and impress that one needs both. you can start to give a feel for the movement, beat, and syncopation (swing) of irish dance music right fromt the start. i would give them polkas with zero or only one accidental initially--in G/e minor, and in C and a minor. i can't remember what keys jackie daly's brilliant solo recording of sliabh luachra music is in, but i would a) require the student to get that cd and/or other cds with polkas played by wonderful kerry concertina or box players and listen to them constantly; and BEE) i would transpose material in multi-accidental keys for the student into in zero-or-one-accidental keys as needed.

 

i would then gradually extend this to slides and simple jigs. if the student needed written music, i would happily write it out and give it to them provided they signed a contract to do their copious listening as well. (those yellow board fanatics are making fools of themselves on this issue given that most teachers in ireland do the same)...there was an irish tv special series archived for a while, don't know if it still exists, in which each installment featured a master player teaching the instrument to an adult--the gimmick being the adult was noted or famous in some way in another metier. michael o'r taught an irish dancer. he commented that she was biting off a big chunk by wanting to do a reel straight off, and that what was normally done with beginners was to start them with polkas. so for the irish-centered learner, that is the way i would go....the button box installment of that series featured mairtin o'connor teaching a playwright, and indeed he taught her a polka....the fiddle installment featured a polka set being taught to some movie star....

Edited by ceemonster
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Hello! My first three tunes were Quare Bungle Rye, Mountain Dew, Whiskey In The Jar.

Hi Dave,

 

That was your first post here and thank you for reviving this old thread that clearly is still of interest to us all seeing as how we were all beginners at some point. What kind of concertina do you play? Anglo? Brand? Key?

 

So what desert are you in?

Edited by Jody Kruskal
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  • 2 weeks later...

I would also like to say thanks for reviving this topic. It is very interesting reading about all of the tunes. I didn't initially realize that it was an old topic and I was going to post that I didn't know one of the tunes, and there was my post saying exactly that. It was a little eerie, to say the least. Sorry that I have been gone so long, but it is nice to be back. And I have jotted down many of the tunes people mentioned on this thread to play. Also the tune books. I am especially interested in the piper book. So, thanks all and happy holidays.

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  • 1 month later...

This is a good topic :)

I would make a list to find some of the tunes you have mentioned to try when I have my concertina. Fortunately I have no tin ear... I think. Many times I played another music instruments by ear, moreover, sometimes it's a bad habit I have not reading music sheets.

 

I have to read and learn more about concertinas but I'm wondering if it would be better learn by notes or with "ABC" scores :/ (or both of them!). With notes no problem but I'll be new with "ABC" music sheets haha

 

Edit: ok, I found some scores with notes+numbers... it looks pretty easy :P wow, I want to try, I want a concertina!! XD

Edited by Gaueko
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This is a good topic :)

I would make a list to find some of the tunes you have mentioned to try when I have my concertina. Fortunately I have no tin ear... I think. Many times I played another music instruments by ear, moreover, sometimes it's a bad habit I have not reading music sheets.

 

I have to read and learn more about concertinas but I'm wondering if it would be better learn by notes or with "ABC" scores :/ (or both of them!). With notes no problem but I'll be new with "ABC" music sheets haha

 

Edit: ok, I found some scores with notes+numbers... it looks pretty easy :P wow, I want to try, I want a concertina!! XD

Hi Gaueko,

 

You do not need to learn to read ABC scores to use them. Just paste the ABC code here http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html and presto, there are the notes and a midi to listen to.

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