Beginer

[DanK]

I'm thinking about learning to play the concertina. I'm looking for an inexpensive concertina to start off learning on but want one that is not going to be a piece of junk. Does anyone know anythng about the Morelli 2009 Concertina. Is it a good concertina? Any help would be appreciated as I'm new to the whole thing.

 

Here is a link to the Morelli 2009 Concertina

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLOWOUT-NEW-BLUE-PEARL...1713.m153.l1262

[Mark Evans]

Don't do it....junk and a sho' nuf' bad time to be had!

[Christian Husmann]

I'm thinking about learning to play the concertina. I'm looking for an inexpensive concertina to start off learning on but want one that is not going to be a piece of junk. Does anyone know anythng about the Morelli 2009 Concertina. Is it a good concertina? Any help would be appreciated as I'm new to the whole thing.

 

Here is a link to the Morelli 2009 Concertina

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLOWOUT-NEW-BLUE-PEARL...1713.m153.l1262

 

Hello,

 

maybe you should post it a bit further up under "Buy and sell" or the part for general questions.

 

by the way, I wouldn´t buy it.

 

Christian

[DanK]

Don't do it....junk and a sho' nuf' bad time to be had!

 

What would you suggest is a good cheap concertina to start off learning on? Thanks.

[catty]

BLOWOUT...

 

Not an auspicious word...concerning concertinas

[Dirge]

The inevitable advice always boils down to if you want to play Anglo buy a rochelle; if you want to play English, a Jack or jackie, (if you want to play duet, there is no decent cheap duet!). Nearly everyone seems to think they offer excellent 'toe-in-the-water' start points; they are turning up s/h fairly steadily too, these days. Punch the names into the search box and do some reading and you'll see what I mean. (remember that it's all only personal opinion as you go, too)

 

Anglo and English are quite different instruments; sound the same, but key layouts are completely different. Good players can do anything they like with them but normal mortals find the 2 types are suited to different music styles ; that's something else you can research as well if you hadn't realised this is a choice you need to make at the outset.

 

Great instrument the concertina. You'll love it, I promise.

[Anglo-Irishman]

Anglo and English are quite different instruments; sound the same, but key layouts are completely different. Good players can do anything they like with them but normal mortals find the 2 types are suited to different music styles ; that's something else you can research as well if you hadn't realised this is a choice you need to make at the outset.

 

Great instrument the concertina. You'll love it, I promise.

 

Absolutely!

When I started out on a 20-button Anglo, in the pre-Internet era, I was unaware that there were different kinds of concertina. So I just became an Angloist. The Anglo suited what I wanted to do - accompany singing and play harmonised melodies. Had I happened upon an English concertina, no doublt I would have developed more classically.

 

If it is the Anglo you decide for, 20 buttons are enough for a start. When you've got the feeling for them, you can upgrade to a 30- or more-button Anglo, or even a Bandoneon! (Been there, done that! ) These 20 buttons are at the centre of all diatonic concertina-type instruments. Bigger instruments just have additional buttons for more capabilities.

 

As to the financial side: Even a cheap 20-button, pearloid Anglo is going to cost money - not much, but nevertheless.

Two things can happen: you find you don't like it after all, and your moderate investment is lost. Resale value for these concertinas is low.

Or you like it, and take to it, and would like to have a quality sound come out when you play it. You will not get this from a cheap 'box. So you'll have to upgrade, i.e. lose the investment on the starter 'box AND pay for a "proper" one.

 

Either way, the cheap concertina is a write-off.

 

Good vintage concertinas, on the other hand, keep their value, or even increase in value. There are really good, old 20-button concertinas going on Ebay all the time. These are more expensive than a new Rochelle, but the sound and playability will be far superior. The chances of your falling in love with such an instrument are much higher, and you can make really good music on them when you've got the hang of it.

And whether you later want to upgrade to 30 buttons, or (unlikely) think it's a waste of time - you can probably recoup your expenses by re-selling.

You haven't got enough pocket money? Then regard the vintage Anglo as an investment - take the money from your savings account, not from your current account! One way or the other, you can pay it back later, probably with interest.

 

One aspect of the Rochelle as an entry model is that you can trade it in when buying a better model. But you're tied to that maker, or to makes that the dealer carries! And this advantage is further offset by uncomfortable handling and a mediochre sound (I've tried one).

 

If I had to begin again, I'd go for a restored, vintage Lachenal 20-button Anglo, rather than the cheap East German one that I had!

 

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

John

[DanK]

Thanks for all the advice!!

[Steve_freereeder]

Lots of good advice here, Dan. Good luck with your choice of instrument, whether you plump for Anglo or English.

 

I'll add a couple of my own opinions based on my own experience as a teacher....

 

1. Don't go for the Morelli. It is little more than a toy. You will rapidly be disappointed and frustrated with its sound, sluggishness of response and poor quality of workmanship.

It has been said by many people here that the best instruments for beginners are the Rochelle (anglo) and the Jackie (English). I agree totally with this. Both these models are well made and are 'proper' instruments, and really good value for money. With either of them you are unlikely to be held up initially because you are struggling against poor quality and workmanship.

 

2. If you choose to go down the Anglo route, my advice to any beginner is to go for a 30-button 3-row instrument straight away (like the Rochelle), rather than be tempted by the apparent simplicity of a 20-button 2-row instrument.

Why?

In a 30 button C/G anglo there are the same standard two rows as on a 20-button anglo, one in the key of G nearest your wrist and the next row in the key of C. The 3rd row, furthest from your wrist, in a 30-button anglo contains not only accidentals (the sharps and flats) but crucially, a couple of reversals for the notes G and A. 'Normally' the note G is found in various octaves as a push-note on both the G-row and the C-row; similarly the note A is a pull-note on both the G and C rows. On the 3rd row of a 30-button anglo, there are usually at least two buttons where this push-pull arrangement is reversed so that A is on the push and G is on the pull.

 

To a beginner, this might seem very esoteric (and there is not room and I don't have the time currently to explain fully why here) but those G and A reversals are a couple of the most useful buttons on the concertina, and can greatly facilitate many sequences of notes and chords. I thoroughly recommend that using these reversals be learnt at a very early stage. It really helps in learning the chordal style of playing where the left side of the concertina is important for chordal accompaniment at the same time as the right-hand side is mainly used for melody. And if you are attracted to the Irish style of playing which tends to use mainly melody and fewer chords, you will soon need those C-sharp accidentals found on the 3rd row for playing tunes in the key of D.

 

Yes - you can get a long way on a 20-button 2-row instrument and have a lot of fun with it, particularly if it is of reasonably good quality, but you will have picked up a fixed fingering technique which you will then have to partially unlearn if you are going to get the best out of a 30-button 3-row if and when you subsequently decide to upgrade. And unlearning a habit is much harder than learning it in the first place!

 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. The really important bottom line is to dive in one way or another and get playing!