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$8000 equals of one nice concertina.

Or two Hawai'i vacations for 3 weeks.

Or one Hawai'i vacation for 4 weeks and one nice midrange instrument.

But you are right, and the benefit, besides having a nice instrument, is that after initial wife shocking, marriage shaking, kids crying payment you are in the club of very nice instruments. You can exchange them, with very good trade-in value. It's like buying luxury car. From that moment on, with only moderate installments, you are "sentenced" to spend your life driving luxury cars.

 

 

I play expensive concertinas, drive very cheap 'boneshaker' cars and do not go on foreign holidays.

 

Purely a lifestyle choice

 

Dave

 

ps - if you think you can part me from any of my concertinas for a mere $8000 - think again !

Edited by Dave Prebble
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Hi,

Living half a mile from the nearest neighbours, and having a concertina tolerant wife, I do not suffer from your problem.

 

$8000 equals of one nice concertina.

Or two Hawai'i vacations for 3 weeks.

Or one Hawai'i vacation for 4 weeks and one nice midrange instrument.

 

What a coincidence. My partner Rosie is on vacation in Hawaii right this minute. Fortunately, she also plays the concertina (and melodeon) and so, is well tolerant! Unlike a concertina playing friend of mine, whose wife can't stand him playing that infernal thing (why they got married, I don't know) and banishes him to the garden shed.

 

Chris

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Thinking outside the box (or booth). . . my other really expensive hobby is large format photagraphy and for loading film holders outside of the darkroom I use a "changing bag", which is usually a double lined bag of rubberized fabric closed by a couple of zippers and having two arm holes. I stuck my stagi (should have my Tedrow in another week) in mine and it really muffles the sound. My bag is 16" x 16" and really to small for concertina playing but you can get them up to 24" X 30" and that might do the trick. They're warm too (well, actually sweaty on a summer day) so if you're banished to practising on a mountain top it should be splendid. Anyhow, you can find them on ebay in the camera section.

Kevin

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I am very fortunate. My upstairs neighbors just had a little baby girl. They are so concerned about all the noise of the baby over our heads (which will only get worse), that I feel very secure that their tolerance and acceptance for my concertina playing is wide and deep. My wife and I sealed the deal with a cute little child's book as a "welcome to this world" gift.

 

Richard

 

My small children beg me to play when they go to bed. You may be doing the little girl a service by providing her sleep-time serenades! Don't be surprised if at some point the neighbors come down and ask you to play to calm their baby!

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Thinking outside the box (or booth). . . my other really expensive hobby is large format photagraphy and for loading film holders outside of the darkroom I use a "changing bag", which is usually a double lined bag of rubberized fabric closed by a couple of zippers and having two arm holes. I stuck my stagi (should have my Tedrow in another week) in mine and it really muffles the sound. My bag is 16" x 16" and really to small for concertina playing but you can get them up to 24" X 30" and that might do the trick. They're warm too (well, actually sweaty on a summer day) so if you're banished to practising on a mountain top it should be splendid. Anyhow, you can find them on ebay in the camera section.

Kevin

 

Brilliant!

Thanks.

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I live in a small flat and wondered if there's any way i can make my concertina sound quieter?

 

Any ideas?

 

:huh:

If ya got a closet you can fit in...try doing that & put some pillows around you. But it can get hot in the summertime.

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My small children beg me to play when they go to bed. You may be doing the little girl a service by providing her sleep-time serenades! Don't be surprised if at some point the neighbors come down and ask you to play to calm their baby!

I find myself doing that occasionally on the trains around here.

 

Normally I don't play on the train, since while some people enjoy it, others don't. But no one has yet complained when I've taken out my instrument and used it to quiet a crying child. Only once have I been unsuccessful, as opposed to more than a dozen times where the child quiets... some smiling, some sleeping, and more than one waving goodbye as we parted. :)

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Thinking outside the box (or booth). . . my other really expensive hobby is large format photagraphy and for loading film holders outside of the darkroom I use a "changing bag", which is usually a double lined bag of rubberized fabric closed by a couple of zippers and having two arm holes. I stuck my stagi (should have my Tedrow in another week) in mine and it really muffles the sound. My bag is 16" x 16" and really to small for concertina playing but you can get them up to 24" X 30" and that might do the trick. They're warm too (well, actually sweaty on a summer day) so if you're banished to practising on a mountain top it should be splendid. Anyhow, you can find them on ebay in the camera section.

Kevin

 

 

thats a good suggestion, your not supposed to be looking at the ends of the concertina anyway while you play.

 

Now you need to sell that idea to singers as well :0

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I heard of an accordeon player who insulated a small closet underneath the stairsn with egg cartons. I tiny place where he could practice. For myselfe - my neighbors must suffer a little. On sundays I sometimes go to the river and play and sing under the bridge - harbor left and right and a nice sound and from time to time a boat of the water police as an audience.

 

I find it difficult to play jigs and reels in a quiet hushed way and therefor would prefer buffles (or give away earplugs ;) )

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I heard of an accordeon player who insulated a small closet underneath the stairsn with egg cartons. I tiny place where he could practice. For myselfe - my neighbors must suffer a little. On sundays I sometimes go to the river and play and sing under the bridge - harbor left and right and a nice sound and from time to time a boat of the water police as an audience.

 

I find it difficult to play jigs and reels in a quiet hushed way and therefor would prefer buffles (or give away earplugs ;) )

Egg cartons will not do anything, they are excellent sound conductors, loudspeakers are made the same way, and often with the same material.

That accordion player was in the state of blissful ignorance.

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On a long drive up from Devon to Nottingham today, I stopped at Brent Knoll: an iron age hill fort overlooking the sea in one direction, and with Glastonbury Tor visible across a wide green plain in the other. I sat in cool spring sunshine and played for a bit with no complaints about the noise from anyone. I also had the benefit of an invigorating walk!

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On a long drive up from Devon to Nottingham today, I stopped at Brent Knoll: an iron age hill fort overlooking the sea in one direction, and with Glastonbury Tor visible across a wide green plain in the other. I sat in cool spring sunshine and played for a bit with no complaints about the noise from anyone. I also had the benefit of an invigorating walk!

You dwellers of a tight world, crowded with Glastonbury Tors in all directions, will not even understand the self-conclusiveness of omny-present american wilderness. There is no wall to turn your back to, only wind. So much, that the idea of sitting down and playing in the woods makes no sense. Human presence here is so superficial, it's disturbing.

Edited by m3838
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i myself take some blankets and sweatshirts and put them on top when i really want to be quiet. it works pretty well. i ironically ended up learning some good lessons about bellow control from doing that (somehow), thus enabling me to play quieter, and then not needing the blankets.

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i myself take some blankets and sweatshirts and put them on top when i really want to be quiet. it works pretty well. i ironically ended up learning some good lessons about bellow control from doing that (somehow), thus enabling me to play quieter, and then not needing the blankets.

On the other hand we shouldn't go too far into playing quietly. For one, not everyone's concertina is top notch, and it's responce on lower pressures will be rather different.

For two, I remember my CBA teacher always pointing that I play too quietly, and I need to learn to send the voice without making instrument scream. When I tried, I always was missing the buttons and my playing was much worse. There is this different attitude, when playing loudly.

I vote for a minivan, must be cheaper than sound booth, and has some other minor uses.

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i myself take some blankets and sweatshirts and put them on top when i really want to be quiet. it works pretty well. i ironically ended up learning some good lessons about bellow control from doing that (somehow), thus enabling me to play quieter, and then not needing the blankets.

On the other hand we shouldn't go too far into playing quietly. For one, not everyone's concertina is top notch, and it's responce on lower pressures will be rather different.

For two, I remember my CBA teacher always pointing that I play too quietly, and I need to learn to send the voice without making instrument scream. When I tried, I always was missing the buttons and my playing was much worse. There is this different attitude, when playing loudly.

I vote for a minivan, must be cheaper than sound booth, and has some other minor uses.

 

i myself tend to push it too loud, which means i get to a session (which isnt very often) and if i dont watch it it goes flat.

 

there is nothing wrong with playing quietly. if you play quietly, you can then accent more notes. i would say the problem might not be your volume, but how you are controlling and using the bellows. if you are applying pressure to the buttons, and not using your shoulders and pecks to apply pressure, your sound can be dull and lifeless. by playing loudly, you would therefore be adding more energy to your playing. you can add more energy, however, by adding more energy while still playing with a delicate touch.

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i myself take some blankets and sweatshirts and put them on top when i really want to be quiet. it works pretty well. i ironically ended up learning some good lessons about bellow control from doing that (somehow), thus enabling me to play quieter, and then not needing the blankets.

On the other hand we shouldn't go too far into playing quietly. For one, not everyone's concertina is top notch, and it's responce on lower pressures will be rather different.

For two, I remember my CBA teacher always pointing that I play too quietly, and I need to learn to send the voice without making instrument scream. When I tried, I always was missing the buttons and my playing was much worse. There is this different attitude, when playing loudly.

I vote for a minivan, must be cheaper than sound booth, and has some other minor uses.

 

i myself tend to push it too loud, which means i get to a session (which isnt very often) and if i dont watch it it goes flat.

 

there is nothing wrong with playing quietly. if you play quietly, you can then accent more notes. i would say the problem might not be your volume, but how you are controlling and using the bellows. if you are applying pressure to the buttons, and not using your shoulders and pecks to apply pressure, your sound can be dull and lifeless. by playing loudly, you would therefore be adding more energy to your playing. you can add more energy, however, by adding more energy while still playing with a delicate touch.

 

It's not about non-delicate touch. Playing loudly doesn't mean screeching. One has to be aware of the max limit of one's instrument and dance with that. Within the limits loud playing simply means more dynamics. There must a room up from those off beat notes. Loud playing also allow the reeds to show their full spectrum (given you have good ones). I haven't mastered loud playing, to tell the truth. It's something I have started trying recently, only to discover that I have to learn not to miss the buttons again.

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