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I just came across this great video of Rick Epping and Mick Kinsella, both playing Harmonica & English Concertina along with the Murphy brothers.

 

 

It made me wonder what % of the Irish population of English Concertinas was in the bar that day?

 

Cheers

Dick

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I just came across this great video of Rick Epping and Mick Kinsella, both playing Harmonica & English Concertina along with the Murphy brothers.

 

 

It made me wonder what % of the Irish population of English Concertinas was in the bar that day?

 

Cheers

Dick

 

When I first saw that many harmonica players, I was sure it was going to be a mess. It actually sounded pretty clean. Sorry I didn't respond to your question. :rolleyes:

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I guess the question I have is. Ho do you play a melody on a diatonic instrument causing in and out of air, and not play the same melody on the English concertina using the same bellows pattern?

Multi-tasking?

 

How does a person play an anglo for song accompaniment and not copy the in and out of the bellows in their breathing as they sing? Same principle, I'd say. It's just one of the many things the human brain can be trained to do.

 

So I think the real answer is: Practice!

 

But it looks to me as if those guys are just playing rhythmic chords on their Englishes. I've seen/heard Ken Sweeney play melody on both the English and the harmonica at the same time.

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I just came across this great video of Rick Epping and Mick Kinsella, both playing Harmonica & English Concertina along with the Murphy brothers.

 

 

It made me wonder what % of the Irish population of English Concertinas was in the bar that day?

 

Cheers

Dick

 

What's with the guy on the right plugging his ears?

 

---

Patrick

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What's with the guy on the right plugging his ears?

 

---

Patrick

 

He's only plugging one ear, right at the end of the video you see him putting doen his own gob-iron onto the table which he was holding in the other hand. The plugging-one-ear thing was probably to help him hear what he was doing, in much trhe same way that some folk singers put their finger in their ear.

 

Or, as I put it in the FAQ of the uk.music.folk newsgroup (see the full FAQ at http://www.lesession.co.uk/umf:

 

31. Why do folk singers sometimes put a finger in their ear?

 

Some people find that putting a finger in their ear (or an alternative is cupping a hand over one ear) cuts down external noise, amplifies the internal resonances in the singer's own head, and therefore enables the singer to hear what they are singing better - it therefore gives the the singer more confidence in staying in tune and hearing themselves properly.

 

Whether it is always done for this perfectly reasonable reason, or whether there is occasionally a degree of affectation involved, is open to debate. And on being asked why he put his finger in one ear when he sang, Dominic Behan is said to have replied "Sure, and I don't like half the stuff I'm singing".

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I guess the question I have is. Ho do you play a melody on a diatonic instrument causing in and out of air, and not play the same melody on the English concertina using the same bellows pattern?

 

That was my question at first also... but having played a guitar and harmonica together it makes sense. Both instruments require totally different ways of playing (Strings and reed), Bob Dylan managed it (Can you mention Bob Dylan on this forum without getting stoned? :o ) ... It is a matter of having something so ingrained on both instruments that you play by ... instinct?

Anyway a great combination of sounds - Concertina and Harmonica. I'll have to try that out one day.

Dave

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