Tom C

Yes indeed - Concertina Workshop album, about 1970 something (sigh)

Well, it was a fine morning, and I wanted to capture the moment. Video nerves caused a few glitches.

The latest journal of the ICA reports on an initiative to put the Jackie into schools in the North East - heck, it Alastair Anderson supports this (as he does) then it must be an adequate instrument. The Jackie does what it says on the box. Its in tune, the action is fine, the bellows are good and it will let you play Bobby Shafto to as good a standard as any teacher could require. Tom

I have an "Olympus WS-300M Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player ". It records up to 8 hours of music into its own memory. You then take the cover off the USB plug and stick it in your computer's USB port. It records in WMA format, so Windows Media player immediately fires up to play the recordings. I then convert them to mp3s with a shareware utility. This is a tiny device, and you can leave it on the table in a folk club and record the whole session. I think minidisc has had its day now for computer / mp3 users.

Wonderful! You're going to have some great times with that. And now you can contribute to this forum as an "insider". Tom

I have not been on this forum for a few days so am late replying and I see Danny has already referred you to me. I bought my Edeophone (pictures here) on November 2006 and am still getting used to it. It had recently been restored by Andrew Norman and he rated it as a good example, and apparently it was manufactured about 1918. My other instrument is a Lachenal brass-reeded student model which is much quieter and has a softer tone altogether. The Edeophone is more strident with terrific volume - ideal for playing with other instruments, or for live performances. The bellows seem to have a very high capacity, and the action is very comfortable and quick. It is a heavy instrument compared the other concertina I own and I notice the weight after playing for half an hour or so. I think it is a beautiful instrument to look at with its 12 sides, but I am fanatical about never putting it on a table in case it rolls off. It is very obviously a "top of the range" model and I found the catalogue on concertina.com which showed it cost £17.17.6d in 1904, which works out about £5500 in todays prices. However, all concertinas have their qualities and I could see that some people would prefer a smaller or quieter instrument- I am very pleased to have the smaller Lacehenal for practicing at home, particularly when others in the house are sleeping. I recorded Barrington Hornpipe on my Edophone on YouTube . Tom

So we get to hear it via the recorded tunes page then? (or youtube?). I hope so. Tom

on my Lachenal. About the zillionth take - there's something about sitting in front of a camera isn't there. Tom

I recently bought this and am enjoying it greatly. Much to play and plenty to read also. I'd say its essential for anyone wanting to develop their skills on English beyond the usual material - the Bach pieces sound particularly good. Tom

As an English 'tina player I study Dick Miles' book Song Accompaniment for the English Concertina and work extremely hard for a three weeks and learn "Rounding the Horn". I then record it on my home recording system and listen, amazed that what I wanted to do for so long, has now become possible. The best investment in a music book I have ever made. Tom

Great Stuff looking forward to links on the recorded tune page! Tom

You'd need a qualification in computer security to be able to avoid all the many and various approaches being taken to separating you from your money these days. I am personally unhappy about the close linking between ebay and paypal. I am sure that most people use the same password for both services - this is very unwise. Also, those people who have registered a credit card with paypal, rather than operating periodic cash transfers to their paypal acocunts, potentially risk someone breaking into their paypal account and having unfettered access to their VISA/MASTERCARD/whatever. Tom

Great stuff Gary. The Jackie is a fine instrument to learn from - I started off on a Jackie after a long break, and found it very reliable and responsive. Scales are great - I agree. Another very useful variation which adds interest to scale playing (which you may already know) is to play the scales like this (C used as an example) going up: CDE DEF EFG FGA GAB ABC BCD C then going down: DBA BAG AGF GFE FED EDC CDB C When you get to a scale like A with three sharps, this exercise is really useful in limbering up Tom

Don't give up on the English - its can have a really punchy sound as well - see the video here which I made of a friend of mine. http://www.southcoastsounds.org.uk/videoclips/rounding.mp4 Then perhaps the Jackie is a good starting point - I certainly found it so. I could send you a soundfile of what it sounds like if you like - sure after a while you'll want something better but by then the Jackie will have enabled you to achieve a good standard of playing. Tom

There's certainly a demand for cheap concertinas. I just put my Jackie English on ebay on Sunday on a buy it now price, and it had 6 watchers by the next day, two personal enquiries about it, and a sale yesterday. Tom