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Some years ago I stopped playing my Lachenal Crane duet concertina because a tiresome neuromuscular condition was impairing the agility of my right hand, instead I concentrated on various button accordions formy squeezing purposes. My condition has now progressed to the point that I'm having to stop those too so,as my left hand is unimpaired I'd like to see if I can make a go of things playing the melody side of my duet with it. My right arm is no longer strong enough to push/pull against it so I'll have to anchor the other end to my body somehow, probably left hip when standing, left thigh when seated. I read in one of his obituaries that the late great Dave Brady used to grip one end beween his knees but that doesn't seem to work for me.

 

It shouldn't be too hard to get the left hand handle put on the right, and it needs some other general maintenance work, but I haven't completely decided what to do with the left hand side. One possibility would be to have a new, blank end made, so that I wouldn't be accidentally sounding unwanted notes, and the whole left-hand mechanism and reeds can sit at home out of harms way until it's time to pass the whole thing on.

 

So, has anyone done anything like this before and has experiences to share? What could go wrong?

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At the moment I have enough movement to play chords with my right hand but it's on its way out, and I'd rather have a stable situation (my left hand/arm appears to be unaffected) than a temporary one. Do you remember how Dave attached his concertina to the strap?

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Some years ago I stopped playing my Lachenal Crane duet concertina because a tiresome neuromuscular condition

 

Hi.

Have you seen the medics? Why are you so unclear about this "condition"? Sounds to me like you may benefit from Neuromuscular Reprogramming therapist.

It's massage technique, where therapist is looking into the cause of the problem. It may be the nerve been pinched somewhere, may be circulation disrupted due to muscle spasm etc. In worse case it will not bring about the cure, in best it will result in one session. Unless there is something NOT neuromusclular. It'll be cheaper than going to the doctor and more benefitial.

I'd search around massage schools, there is tendency for high ranking specialists to teach and massage schools usually have clinics associated with them.

 

http://www.ahpweb.org/articles/healthcare.html

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m3838 I find your post intrusive and offensive. This is a concertina forum, not a health forum. I am not at all unclear about my condition, but neither am I interested in discussing it with you. Not that it's any of your business but I've received superb care and advice from some of the top legitimate healthcare professionals in the country and it hasn't (directly) cost me a penny. There is no evidence that neuromuscular reprogramming has any benefits beyond those of a placebo, except to the bank balances of its practitioners. You are free to believe in whatever new-age treatments you like but to advise someone with a serious condition that they are better than those offered by conventional evidence-based medicine, as you did, is irresponsible and immoral.

 

I'd be happy to talk concertinas with anyone here (including m3838) and I'd be grateful for any advice and help about the concertina-related issue I've asked about, but my health, and what I do about it is NOT up for discussion here.

Edited by Waltham
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I cannot remember how the strap was fixed to the concertina,but in those days Velcro did not exist.Which must be the better option now.

I'm sure Velcro did exist then, I'm not sure how you're suggesting it should be used, do you mean to connect the concrtina to the strap? If so I'd worry about pulling it off with a particularly vigourous chord.

We have discussed this subject before and also designs for one handed players using Concertina rest,but I cannot find it at the moment.

I must admit i was assuming the Left hand was affected ,but as it is the right and you play a Duet then you have no air button problem.

If you are concerned about touching the right hand buttons,then remove them,as long as the arms and pads are square over the holes and no air is escaping then that solves that problem.The concertina being easy to revert back to it's original state as long as you leave the packet of buttons in a safe place.

As it happens I don't have an air button on either side so the issue doesn't arise. I am indeed concerned about playing buttons on the 'thigh' side inadvertantly, but I still see the blanking plate as a better option because it would allow me to fix multiple firm mounting points without worrying about damaging the fretwork. Also it would distribute the pressure on my thigh better, rather than putting it all through the handle and the opposite edge. But for this to work it would have to be properly airtight and I don't know how hard/expensive a proposition that would be. A related question is which repairer might be amenable to such a project (I'm in Hampshire, England by the way)?

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m3838 I find your post intrusive and offensive. This is a concertina forum, not a health forum. I am not at all unclear about my condition, but neither am I interested in discussing it with you. Not that it's any of your business but I've received superb care and advice from some of the top legitimate healthcare professionals in the country and it hasn't (directly) cost me a penny. There is no evidence that neuromuscular reprogramming has any benefits beyond those of a placebo, except to the bank balances of its practitioners. You are free to believe in whatever new-age treatments you like but to advise someone with a serious condition that they are better than those offered by conventional evidence-based medicine, as you did, is irresponsible and immoral.

 

I'd be happy to talk concertinas with anyone here (including m3838) and I'd be grateful for any advice and help about the concertina-related issue I've asked about, but my health, and what I do about it is NOT up for discussion here.

 

Oh my, Oh my!

First you mention your condition on public forum, that is full of professionals of all traits, then you mention that despite "superb care and advice from some of the top legitimate healthcare professionals in the country" your condition is progressing, then you accuse poorly paid massage practitioners of benefitting from unfortunate sufferers. That's very strange to me. I'm not discussing your condition, just offering yet another way of improving things. In the States it is becoming common practice for legitimate "health care practitioners" to prescribe massage to patients, with stupendous benefits and results. Take it from someone, whose 80yo mother suffers from chronic pain due to pinched nerve. NMR is just another way of looking at things and it is scientifically proven, to the point, that some 5 year old anatomy books are wrong and misleading, since they don't mention superficial fascia and miss out on physical connection between all the muscles from head down. And this is what NMR is working with. And don't underestimate placebo effect as well. I'm in no way specialist in the field, but recently was introduced to it due to accident during hockey game, where I injured both of my hands. I would strongly doubt your superb doctors, if they didn't mention massage to you, and also would offer very clever advice on one handed concertina.

 

1. if you play sitting down, with bellows over your knee, you don't need to strap instrument to your right hand, concertina is anchored solid enough. Some may caution against bellows wear, but if you fan the bellows instead of dragging them, you'll be OK. Not perfectly free from wear, but workably OK.

2. If you desperately need to play standing, or your right hand is weak, so it can't support the end sitting, here's very easy and simple, yet workable method, that I have published way back and now again:

Mount two metal rings, one per side, keeping the right ring on top and left side on the bottom.

Hook belt (use accordion shoulder belt for comfort) to both of them. Put it on, so it goes from top hook over your right shoulder and under your left armpit to the left bottom hook. Adjust the shoulder belt so it's tight enough for the instrument to be propped up against your belly or any other part of the body, that is comfortable.

There you go. Your right arm will secure the right end by simply pressing down a little, using it's own weight. Your left arm will be free to pump and play, just like free bass accordion. However, for best results you simply may choose small chromatic accordion (make it three row diatonic), but re-arranged for the left handed, or simply learn to play it upside down. Accordion will have better ergonomics for you, as it is tall and flat, will not embed into your body with it's sharp corner and is usually better secured, so your right arm may not even be part of playing. If it's too big, consider British Chromatic two row, one reeded, if you like that kind of sound.

 

P.S.

It is not uncommon for people on this forum to complain about some health conditions and discuss it. There are many here, who have suffered or are afraid of suffering from instrument related conditions, and good advice is usually appreciated. But what is good advice? The one given with open heart and compassion and you can be guaranteed to find it here. Your reaction may set another attitude, where people will feel uneasy to offer advice, including medical one. I think it will not benefit those who need one.

P.P.S.

Massage therapists do tend to sound a bit New Age-ish, and I am bothered with it too. But on the other hand there are many here, who hold ridiculous belief that some unnatural being, named "God", had sex with married Jewish woman, named Miriam, who gave birth to child, named Ieshuah, who happened to be God himself, making Monotheism looking suspiciously Pagan. Majority of Legitimate Doctors do believe in it, and some even believe in more bizarre things, like Hell and Heaven, Creationism, special mission of the Jewish Nation etc. So don't be so hard on poor guys, they try to explain the things they feel the best they can.

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1. if you play sitting down, with bellows over your knee, you don't need to strap instrument to your right hand, concertina is anchored solid enough. Some may caution against bellows wear, but if you fan the bellows instead of dragging them, you'll be OK. Not perfectly free from wear, but workably OK.

No, this doesn't work for me at all.

Mount two metal rings, one per side, keeping the right ring on top and left side on the bottom.

Hook belt (use accordion shoulder belt for comfort) to both of them. Put it on, so it goes from top hook over your right shoulder and under your left armpit to the left bottom hook. Adjust the shoulder belt so it's tight enough for the instrument to be propped up against your belly or any other part of the body, that is comfortable.

This just seems to replace the idea of strapping the non-playing end to my thigh, by strapping it to my torso instead, which seems like a less comfortable way of achieving the same result. In any case, I'm more interested in the question of what to do with the non-playing end.

 

I suppose I need something a bit like this. with a longer strap on the blank end. I suppose I could put a helical spring inside the bellows instead, but I'm not sure if that would give me enough control, tempting though it is to be able to play against any surface. I got this idea having heard from Ron Shuttleworth, the mumming maven, about a music hall 'special' with a plate half way along the bellows which was actually two plates dovetailed together. In mid-performance the player could slide the two halves apart and play each half-concertina (which was spring-loaded) against each hip.

 

A friend has suggested offline that it might help if I said a bit more about my concertina, so here goes. It's a Lachenal Crane duet, #381/C&S5946, so I think it was made in the 1880s based on the helpful articles on this site. I bought it in (I think) 1991 from none other than McNeill's Music Shop in Dublin, from the window of which it had been beckoning and shouting "come and buy me" as I walked past on my way to & from work for a week or so. The proprietor, a certain Stephen Chambers (Hi, how are you? Remember Canray Fontenot at Whelan's?) pointed out that the label in the leather box saying Vickers indicated potentially superior reeds, and that's certainly how it's seemed to me when I've compared it with other Lachenals. I could only afford it on the salary I had then because 1) a tax rebate was burning a hole in my pockt and 2) it was being sold on behalf of someone who'd specified that only the minimum amount of work to make it playable be done. At some point in its life all the bellows corners had been patched but with ridiculously thick leather, these patches are still there and are top of the list for replacements.

 

A few weeks after I bought it I took it back for tuning and valving, and the young(er) fellow asked how I was getting on with the Crane system. I said I liked it but I was finding it hard to play leaps of a perfect fourth quickly, and demonstrated with a quick snatch of the teetotaller's reel. "Just change the tune, then" was the reply from Micheal O'Raghallaigh (for it was he) and he whipped out an anglo to demonstrate. Those were the days.

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I'm not sure if I expressed myself clearly or if you understood it correctly.

Here is what I'm talking about and I made the prototype, made video of me playing and posted here. But unfortunately deleted the video.

So the picture is what's left.

Strapping an end to a thigh is by all means unworkable. You would be intimidated every time you'll want to play. The goal is to have a strap that is easy to put on/off and which doesn't cut circulation.

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Strapping an end to a thigh is by all means unworkable. You would be intimidated every time you'll want to play. The goal is to have a strap that is easy to put on/off and which doesn't cut circulation.

Do you speak from experience having tried it?

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Strapping an end to a thigh is by all means unworkable. You would be intimidated every time you'll want to play. The goal is to have a strap that is easy to put on/off and which doesn't cut circulation.

Do you speak from experience having tried it?

 

I think my drawing made it rather clear, no need to elaborate. I have made such a strap with Velcrow and two rings from $10 camera bags and old accordion shoulder belt. It worked pretty well, very comfortable, easy to make, use and store. All done with no intrusion into the instrument construction. It works best with larger instruments, like your Crane. My little Morse wasn't as comfortable as larger Jackie. Your right hand/arm will be supported by concertina wrist strap itself, and in turn will anchore right end of instrument by just hanging there by it's own weight. The only problem could be if you'll need to use air button and your right hand will not be able to do so. But with Crane air button, even if present, is not crucial.

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No, I meant do you know from experience that strapping an end to a thigh will be 'unworkable' and cause the player to be 'intimidated'? Or is this just a guess? In post #2 of this thread Alan Day said he'd seent the great Dave Brady use a thigh strap successfully, so I think 'unworkable' might be slight exaggeration. But if you have actual experience to the contrary I'd be glad to hear it.

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No, I meant do you know from experience that strapping an end to a thigh will be 'unworkable' and cause the player to be 'intimidated'? Or is this just a guess? In post #2 of this thread Alan Day said he'd seent the great Dave Brady use a thigh strap successfully, so I think 'unworkable' might be slight exaggeration. But if you have actual experience to the contrary I'd be glad to hear it.

No, I have not seen thigh strap in action and my opinion is a guess.

I think great Dave Brady didn't have a chance to talk to me first, or (and) his thigh strap may have been a hap-hazard rescue device, or simply he didn't have Velcrow and accordion shoulder belt handy.

It also may have been one time only desperate attempt to keep playing, and instrument was probably push/pull energetic Anglo Concertina.

Now:

1. you need something easy and quick

2. you have Crane, bigger and heavier, but not played in jerky Anglo style.

3. imagine, you sat to play and your phone rings. So you unstrap the whole thing or waddle to the phone with concertina strapped to your leg? What if you need to use bathroom? Or open the door, turn the light on? My idea may be very useful, but if you think you can come up with something better, go for it. But don't forget to share your experience with us. Nobody is imune to anything and my ideas aren't the greatest, though not the worst, I fancy.

P.S.

There was the whole thread about various straps and one of yet another ideas of mine was to replace leather strap with metal or plexiglass wide hook. So yes, you can put that hook over your leg and anchor it this way. If you will need to stop playing and put instrument aside, just slide it up and you're done.

However, this method will result in driving at least two more powerful screws into your concertina or doing very elaborate work to secure such a "thigh hook", using additional end plate, held by longer screws through existing holes. It may destroy resale value and you may simply not be able to make such a thing.

P.P.S.

Yes, you can use existing holes in the wrist brackett and replace right leather strap with two velcrow strips, that fasten over and around your leg. The bracket will dig into your leg like crazy, so you'll need additional wide plate, screwed to the wrist bracket -- all and all elaborate, doubtful, ugly and playing technique will be compromised, as one knee must be significantly lower. Another potential danger will be working with just one arm, which will result in severe disbalance of your posture and possible aggravation of your problem. I wouldn't risk this. If possible to use your right arm at all, I'd go for it.

Here's the drawing

Only take speed lever to "fast".

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I remember once seeing Dave Brady play (so far as I can recall he played duet). I don't recall him using a thigh strap, but I do remember he held down one end of the instrument against his leg with the stump of his arm.

 

In this thread at the time of his death Dave Higham mentions that he held the instrument between his knees.

 

In the same thread, Roger Digby tells of being given a lift by Dave in a car which hadn't been adapted. I too once had a lift from him, that car had been adapted for one-handed driving with one of those knobs on the steering wheel, but it was nevertheless one of the more exciting rides of my life!

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