Greg in London Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hi Leonard - I've managed it now, though it was more by luck than judgement as I couldn't figure out why my password worked sometimes but not others. If I'm browsing a Forum I wouldn't usually go straight to the technical bit. I mentioned it more in answer to the thread question. Some people will surely have signed up for the Forum meaning to access the tune database, as well as those who mean only to browse/lurk. Perhaps ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydster Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Hi Everyone, this is my first post, after a reasonable amount of time as a 'lurker'. As someone new to the concertina I have found browsing the pages to get tips, ideas, and more importantly the general feel of the site before comitting myself fully useful. I guess that the tone being friendly helps in recruiting us newbies in the first place. I think that when you start a new hobby/ addiction you take a while to find your feet amongst those already embedded in something, and so tread carefully before making a fool of yourself I guess I may not be a frequent correspendent for a while as I struggle to come to terms with a cheapish anglo, and lack of playing time due to three small kids, but just because I don't write doesn't mean to say that I don't find the experiences of other, and their recommendations valuable. yours, Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikefule Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I guess I may not be a frequent correspendent for a while as I struggle to come to terms with a cheapish anglo, and lack of playing time due to three small kids, but just because I don't write doesn't mean to say that I don't find the experiences of other, and their recommendations valuable. The beauty of the concertina is it's so portable and convenient. It's one of the few instruments you can easily play sitting in your car - maybe waiting to pick up the kids from school. It can be played quietly while you're half watching telly, or during the adverts. Keep it nearby with the box open and you will pick it up for a minute while you're waiting for the kettle to boil. Ring your bank or insurance company and practise the concertina while you're "in the queue". :0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 Besides, plenty of sites have occasional lurkers who prefer not to post - it's part of web culture (albeit one I don't quite understand). Och it's fair enough really, I suppose, if folks don't feel comfortable posting. However, I find that somehow I really do learn so much more by actually making the effort to contribute. I'm not sure how or why, but that's how it works for me. Of course, if we ALL only lurked, it would be rather quiet around here, methinks! Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 this is my first post, after a reasonable amount of time as a 'lurker' ....... and so tread carefully before making a fool of yourself Hello Lloyd, Yeah, the nice thing about making a total eejit of yourself is that nobody can actually see your RED FACE ... & of course you can remain completely anonymous if you like, so you've really got nothing to lose & everything to gain, at least that's how I see it. The fact is, I wish I had a £1 for every time I've asked a dumb question, but that's how you learn. Anyway, I didn't come on here to look Cool! .... as an 18 stone, baldy old fart, that's never going to happen anyway! Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 Ring your bank or insurance company and practise the concertina while you're "in the queue". :0) Hey, what a great idea. I wonder though, has anyone here ever tried doing that in a real life Bank queue? Let's face it, it's got to be better than that taped music they usually play & who knows, if you left the case open ........ Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 I wonder though, has anyone here ever tried doing that in a real life Bank queue? Let's face it, it's got to be better than that taped music they usually play & who knows, if you left the case open ........ lol! what about making your own 'lift' (elevator for our US cousins) music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 something that surprised me a little was the fact that around 1,422 members had gone to all the bother of joining, but had NEVER, EVER posted anything, not even a Hello! Why do people bother? Well, some of them might read English, but might not feel comfortable writing it. (That's at least true for me.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 something that surprised me a little was the fact that around 1,422 members had gone to all the bother of joining, but had NEVER, EVER posted anything, not even a Hello! Why do people bother? Well, some of them might read English, but might not feel comfortable writing it. (That's at least true for me.) Yes, I can see what you mean Sebastian. However, even although I don't speak German, if I joined a German Concertina site, I'd certainly say HELLO & also explain why they shouldn't expect any posts from me. Just seems polite to me, somehow. Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haimson Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I haven't had much to say, because I really don't think I have much to contribute at the moment. I have thoroughly enjoyed the contributions of many of you who contribute to this forum. It seems to be a very thoughtful, civilized group of musicians, and I am grateful to be able to enjoy your conversations. Most of my questions seem to be answered in the fullness of time, whether I ask them or not. But since you asked... I mostly play piano accordion for a Border Morris team, Breathless in Berthoud Border Morris. I guess piano accordion is not the preferred instrument for Morris, but the Colorado Morris teams have had a very fine piano accordion player, Rodney Sauer, as their primary musician for decades now, so for us it's traditional. I'd love to play the concertina, but I don't, much, yet. I love the sound and the look of the instruments, and I'd love to play a two pound box instead of a fifteen pound box. I love what I hear people doing on the Anglo, in the English style (on Anglo International, for example). I'd love to play like Alan Day! But I haven't been able to wrap my mind around the Anglo paradigm. A friend gave me a Scholer - red MOTS, with white leatherette bellows, and tuned in Eb-Bb (but a little flat). Not the most useful instrument for Morris, certainly. I've been diligently trying to play it, but it's been more of a frustration than a pleasure. I have been trying to play it both by ear and from music, and I seem to have no affinity for the way the scale is arranged. I've thought I might buy Bertram Levy's book, but I'm dubious that it would help much. I haven't really tried the English. My impression from what I've heard in recordings is that it's mainly a melody instrument, and my goal is to play in a melody-plus-harmony style, such as English-style Anglo, or duet... What I'd really like to play is a Hayden. I have had a few minutes with a friend's Stagi, but not enough to tell for sure whether that would work for me. I read with interest of Rich Morse's ongoing progress in building a Hayden, and I was delighted to learn that Wim Wakker plans to produce a 30-something button Hayden in 2009. So at the moment, I await further developments. I hope to be able to contribute to this fine forum some time in the future. David Haimson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12barblues Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi, your nickname here is interesting. Can we assume that you are coming to the Concertina from the Blues? It's always fascinating to me to hear how folks reach Trad Music. There is certainly not just one route to ye olde Diddly Dee! I, like I suspect a lot of folks came to trad through the Beatles > Rock/Blues > Singer Songwriters > The Dubliners/The Corries > then Trad! I'm sure our musical journeys greatly influence how we interpret the tunes we play, making our versions just that little bit different from the next guys. Cheers Dick Hi Dick, Apologies for the delay in replying. Country blues from the 1920's and 1930's has been a favourite ever since I first heard Mike Raven's radio show sometime in the late 60's (?) and thought 'What on earth was that?!' That said, I have somewhat eclectic tastes and my record/CD collection includes all manner of stuff. A listening session could be Bach or Coltrane or Hendrix or Steve Turner (why isn't he better known?), or ............ Folk music, in its broad sense, has been a constant throughout, not least because I have a better chance of producing something vaguely musical on guitar when I produce my (cough!) 'interpretation'. There are so many interesting musicians around, many of them unrecorded and performing in the back room of pubs or with only very limited distribution, that I am happy to continue my wanderings through the musical highways and byways. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Hi Dick, Apologies for the delay in replying. Country blues from the 1920's and 1930's has been a favourite ever since I first heard Mike Raven's radio show sometime in the late 60's (?) and thought 'What on earth was that?!' That said, I have somewhat eclectic tastes and my record/CD collection includes all manner of stuff. A listening session could be Bach or Coltrane or Hendrix or Steve Turner (why isn't he better known?), or ............ Folk music, in its broad sense, has been a constant throughout, not least because I have a better chance of producing something vaguely musical on guitar when I produce my (cough!) 'interpretation'. There are so many interesting musicians around, many of them unrecorded and performing in the back room of pubs or with only very limited distribution, that I am happy to continue my wanderings through the musical highways and byways. Cheers, Mike Hi Mike, I'd love to hear how you get on playing the Blues on your Concertina. Bending notes, I would imagine, is an important part of what Blues music is all about, so I guess you'd need to be bending your Concertina notes too. I'm not sure how easy that is, but perhaps there are Bellows tricks you can employ. Obviously Harmonica players manage to bend notes on their reeds, so it must be possible on a Concertina. Please keep us posted. Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 I haven't had much to say, because I really don't think I have much to contribute at the moment. David Haimson Hey David, that must be the LONGEST post ever, from someone who reckons they have nothing to contribute! Very interesting. Good luck with your quest for your ideal instrument. I'm sure if anyone can help you, all those experts on here can. Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 A belated first post from me, as well. I originally signed up as I like to belong to a forum that I make use of - just feels better to me. However, I hadn't considered how impolite it was to join and not say hello, so apologies for that. I first joined as I was interested in buying a concertina but knew nothing about them, other than roughly what they looked like. I hadn't even realised that there were different types of concertina when I started looking. So this site, and a few others including youtube, were really useful in gathering information. I can't quite remember why I wanted a concertina, other than my son saying something about seeing someone playing a squeeze box (his description), which must have stirred an interest in me. Once I'd read a bit about them and heard a bit as well, they looked fun, so I decided to get one. Having read all the information and opinions on this site, I decided to buy a Rochelle. I chose it as I thought I'd better see if I liked the concertina before I spent too much. I had considered the cheaper ones that are on on ebay, but I remember the first guitar I had which really would have been better used as a cheese cutter and nearly put me off guitar for life due to the pain of playing it, so I decided that I'd get something that people seemed to recommend as a reasonable starter rather than the very cheapest. For all I know, a £75 one from ebay would have done me just as well, but I reckoned that if I ever came to selling, I probably wouldn't lose much more money selling the Rochelle than I would selling a cheaper one. I've had it for about 3 months now and find it great fun - I'm playing very badly but it keeps me happy and I'm slowly getting better. I originally didn't believe all the mentions of concertinas being addictive, but now find that they are true. It sort of draws me to play it and hardly a day has gone by since I bought it when I haven't spent an hour or more with it. Anyway, thanks again to all who have at one time or another left such useful and helpful information on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 AH HA! ... yet another long & interesting intro letter. Good to hear from you Pete. I'm sure it's of great encouragement to all those knowledgeable members who regularly post here, to know that their writings aren't falling on deaf ears ...... after all! You certainly won't find a friendlier forum on the net, or a more generously helpful bunch of guys, than this forums resident .... social misfits'! Wishing you many years of happy Concertina playing. Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 AH HA! ... yet another long & interesting intro letter. Good to hear from you Pete. I'm sure it's of great encouragement to all those knowledgeable members who regularly post here, to know that their writings aren't falling on deaf ears ...... after all! You certainly won't find a friendlier forum on the net, or a more generously helpful bunch of guys, than this forums resident .... social misfits'! Wishing you many years of happy Concertina playing. Cheers Dick I never thought I'd be happy to be called a social misfit - until I looked in a mirror and thought about my life that is! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I never thought I'd be happy to be called a social misfit - until I looked in a mirror and thought about my life that is! Makes note to go and buy a mirror ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Thanks for the welcome. I'm happy to be a misfit! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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