Hi all,
figured I'd introduce myself here as well. I'm a fairly young, and extremly novice, C/G anglo concertina player from Sweden. Visited Dublin in late summer 2007, bought myself a mandolin and started luring my friends into the lovely irish traditional music... Visited Dublin again late summer 2008, and started to see the charm of free reed instruments. I thought the concertina had a very appealing... charm to it, did my research on the net, and got a Rochelle from Concertina Connection in late october. I recently got my hands on an old Lachenal, and I'm absolutely loving it. Playing concertina is my favorite spare time activity nowadays, either on my own or with some friends. I know enough tunes now to start focusing on ornamentation, and I've found that there's a whole world of possibilities (and challenges).

It's a very odd little instruments. The things that make it challenging are the things that keep me motivated to keep playing.

_________________
Gusten
Mandolin & Concertina player in
Long Gone Leprechaun

Hello everybody,
I'm Nicolas from France and play harmonica. You can hear me on my myspace page : http://www.myspace.com/themidshipmen
I started playing irish music a few years ago when i was in Galway. I play chromatic an diatonic harmonica and i want to try the tremolo

Nicolas !

_________________
http://www.myspace.com/nicolasmoreau

Hi-
My name's Robert and I am an accordion player. In order of proficiency, I can play:
Piano accordion
Chromatic button accordion (B-eyestem)
Irish button accordion
Concertina

I currently have 19 accordions of various types in my collection. Some old, old Paolo Soprani (circa 1915) button boxes, two bayans, a few other misc B-system boxes, a couple of dallapes, one fine Italian C-system box (double tone chamber), a bandoneon, a really crazy Colombo 140 bass with button AND piano keyboards, and a bunch of other arcane squeezeboxes.
I've been playing steadily for the last five years, but really started playing fifty years ago (before the internet), with a 45 year hiatus.
I also play the fiddle, uilleann pipes (beginning), mandolin, tenor banjo and various card games.
I'm a big devotee of trad irish music. I live in San Anselmo, California, where it's almost always very pleasant. I can say without a doubt, that it is never too late to start learning a new instrument.
I first visited this site looking for info about making low d whistles. I found it!
Thanks.
Robert

No stranger to the c and F board.... I was unaware that there was an area catering to multiple intrument obsession disorder. Herself complains about my whistles occupying every coffee cup in the house.

Anyway, my tale of woe. Polish father drops a piano accordion into my bassinette as I am being wheeled out of the Delivery Room at St. Francis.

Followed by years of trekking between classrooms at Assumption spreading culture and awareness of Polish accordian by serenading my classmates with the 'Blackhawk Waltz' and the 'Barbara Polka'. Subtle indoctrination with the steady oompah of continuous L'il Wally Polkas through childhood.

In high school. Enlightenment! The discovery of Rock 'n Roll and the Farfisa combo compact organ, followed by the rude awakening that I could make more money playing weddings and funerals at the Polish churches on the South side of Chicago.

40 years in the wilderness of Catholic Church music, keeping bills paid with real estate, construction and other folderol.

In desperation, I threaten to run away to distant Islands of Chicago (Rock Island, Stony Island and Blue Island). I even considered inching to the precipice, jumping off of Beverly Ridge.

In my malaise, while aimlessly wandering the aisle of Italo-American Accordion, I hear my name being called softly, in hush tones...by a diatonic 2 row accordion. An exotic, mysterious device. No black keys? Suddenly a swell in the background of majestic Irish Traditional Music led by chorus of angels all playing button boxes. (You do know that the myth of the angelic hosts playing the harp as primary instrument was a plot by Lyon and Healy in the early twentieth century- they converted to accordions early in the 19th century).

Herself said...."well it's not a blonde...it's not a red sports car, no blades or sharp parts to threaten extremities...and I certainly can tell where he's at when he is of with it".

Anyway. my current 'squeeze' is a Saltarelle 2 1/2 row, though there is a Gastignari or Vander Aa out there whispering my name.

At the Session.org, I am Zip

I know. 'C'astignari

At the Session, everyone knows I can't splelle adn always blow the punch lines on my jokes

Hi, I am Al, play a B/C Saltarelle Irish Bouebe, but not terribly well as of yet. Just wandered in from thesession.org.
Hi everybody!

Hi Al

I can't wait to see if Ilig or SWFL show up here!

Good to see you here, zip! It seems that Steve Shaw has already disappeared from here, these moderators don't mess around. This is a pretty nice discussion area, well laid out, hope more people find out about it. I always thought it was just whistles, which always seemed too limited to me, but the accordion pages, and especially the Irish music pages, have promise!

Took your time, didn't you Al? I invited you over here a few years ago when this forum was first started, in an effort to get some momentum going. I think I might even have invited Zip.

The effort was a total failure anyway. I blame the tina and gobiron freaks for insisting on being let in here too.

BTW you don't appeared to have answered the poll, which currently shows the superior kind of halfstep box outnumbering the B/C by 9 to 1. In the real world, the reverse is probably the case.

All I can say, Steve, is better late than ever.
I got here after the poll had closed, and yes, its results do not seem to be in line with the mix of boxes that you see in the real world.

I think I saw ceemonster lurking around also.

To think I hung around the whistle parts of the board forever and did not realize there was a reed page.

the C#/D's need someplace to hide

I've been playing Anglo Concertina for about 7 years, influenced primarily by Noel Hill, generally attend his summer NHICS workshops every other year. Of the various instruments I play (whistle, flute, Uilleann pipes, mandolin/tenor banjo/bouzouki), Anglo concertina is the most recent and to me I find often the most challenging, even more so than the Uilleann pipes. I think this is because of the instruments I play, the Anglo concertina is the most machine-like.

I also develop virtual Anglo and English concertina apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad, and have recently started developing a series of button accordion apps in B/C, C#/D, and D/G for both the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.

My main instrument is a C/G Anglo (#13) by Wally Carroll, also have a very nice Edgley C/G currently on loan to a student, as well as a 1860s vintage Lachenal Bb/F, restored by Colin Dipper that I use when playing with Uilleann pipers on sets in the key of C.

I'm interested in hearing from any Anglo concertina players in the Southern California area. There are five times as many Uilleann pipers around here as concertina players!

I run a website with free tune videos and information about my apps at: http://www.tradlessons.com

Hi, I'm Steve and none of my boxes appear on the list

I play (to various degrees of incompetence) a Dino Baffetti D/G, an Alfred Arnold 126 Bandoneon and (my latest acquisition) a Bernard Loffet G/C Pro 2+6.

I've played assorted instruments (including also guitar, bass, mandolin and whistle) for nigh on 35 years now and everything from renaissance music to hard rock (again with varying degrees of incompetance).

All the best

Steve

Oops, only just found this - I mainly hang out in the whistle & flute corner of the forum, although my main instrument & obsession is the piano accordion. I'm currently awaiting delivery of my dream 'cordie, but in the meantime continue on the 120/41 3-voice Galotta. I play all sorts, incl Irish, Scottish, English, Welsh and any other suitable trad music. My accordion guru and mentor is Karen Tweed; I'm a member of her No 1 Ladies Accordion Orchestra and have performed with them once so far (we play everything from Norwegian polskas to the Moonlight Serenade via a Scottish medley).

Steffen from Münster/Germany. I'm learning to play the button box for a few months now, B/C system. I started off with an old Hohner Double Ray (there is a thread about it in the forums) and got bitten right away, and today I got my new box, a Paddy Clancy B/C "Mini Celtic".
My main instrument is the wooden flute, and I make those things, too. I'm also playing the whistle and the pipes, and mainly irish music on them (but I'm playing all sorts of stuff on the flute with a particular love for jazz).
I enjoy browsing the threads here and might be able to contribute something useful one day...
Cheers!