Concertina help? -I know it ain't a whistle but...

fox · Post by **fox** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:16 pm

Hello!
I know this is far out but I can't think of better people to ask than whistle players -especially those of you who actually know other musicians (I live under a rock). I aquired an oldold concertina (BeaverBrand) from a friend and am considering possibly restoring it or at least learning alot more about it.
I'm just wondering if any one here knows of a good concertina forum or can maybe point me in the right direction on the web. I of course, did an on-line search and found overwhelming squeezebox stuff but nothing as helpful and cool for concertinas as Chiff and Fipple has been with whistles.
Thanks for any help at all that you may have -I appreciate you all and this wonderful forum!
Fox K.

Digger · Post by **Digger** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:27 pm

Check out www.concertina.net

Rand

Rando7 · Post by **Rando7** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:27 pm

Try www.concertina.net, or if you are familiar with newsgroups you can check out rec.music.makers.squeezebox and ask around there.

chattiekathy · Post by **chattiekathy** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:28 pm

Try this site. http://www.concertina.net/index.html . I don't play concertina but I use their ABC converter. It looks like they have a forum there too.

Cheers,
Kathy

fox · Post by **fox** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 9:32 pm

Thanks!!!

You guys are great!!!

Fox K.

csharpd · Post by **csharpd** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 10:18 pm

Fox,

Your mention of a "Beaver Brand" concertina rang a bell. I've seen instruments of that make advertised on eBay -- and they're not concertinas at all! Rather, every one has been a button accordion.

I've never seen a Beaver Brand concertina, though of course that doesn't mean they don't/didn't exist.

Here's a short field guide to telling them apart:

Concertinas are small, usually hexagonal or octagonal instruments with buttons on either end. Usually there are about the same number of buttons on each end, the buttons are the same size on each end, and the buttons move in and out in the same direction as (parallel to) the bellows.

Button accordions, on the other hand, have buttons that move perpendicular to the direction of the bellows. If a button accordion is strapped on your chest, when you press the buttons you're pressing them toward your chest. Button accordions usually have more buttons on one side (the treble side) than the other (the bass/chord side).

Concertinas and button accordions can be grouped in an instrument family (bellows-driven free-reeds), but they're quite different instruments

If you have a concertina, then www.concertina.net is the best place for information. If it's a button accordion, try the rec.music.makers.squeezebox newsgroup. If you don't have your mail/news software set up for newsgroups, you can access the group through Google. From the main Google page, click on the Groups tab, then enter the group name (rec.music.makers.squeezebox, no spaces around the periods) in the search field. You'll see all recent posts and can create a post after you register with Google. Good luck!

C#/D
player of button accordion, concertina, and (occasionally) whistle

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 11:41 pm

csharpd wrote:
I've never seen a Beaver Brand concertina, though of course that doesn't mean they don't/didn't exist.

Me neither, and I play concertina. Well, this is certainly a learning experience. But for who .. that is the question.

Duckrasta · Post by **Duckrasta** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 11:41 pm

I'm no expert, but I think you should try www.concertina.net

Edit: Beaten

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 5:41 am

OK, it looks like it's confession time. Just how many of us on here are also learning/playing concertinas?

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 5:53 am

More importantly, how many have been to...
http://www.concertina.net/ ??

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 7:20 am

Tony wrote:More importantly, how many have been to...
http://www.concertina.net/ ??

I think only two, if I get your drift. The other three all submitted the web site address in less than a minute of each other.

I play concertina, and BTW, will be playing it with my band tonight (along with the uilleann pipes and whistles) for 2-3 hours at Whitman College's opening weekend of school...for a coffee house in the new, state of the art, SUB building on Boyer Ave. (for any of you nearbyers).

PS: try this website http://www.concertina.net/ for some good info. Ignore those others sites above...they're all the same.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:04 am

So now that I know what a concertina is (well, I knew it was a type of squeezebox, but could never keep straight which kind), can someone tell me what a melodeon is, and how it differs from a concertina?

Some of the Morris musicians play something that looks like a small piano accordion...is that a melodeon?

BTW, if one wanted to learn the concertina, are there relatively inexpensive ones out there for one to learn on? The few of this sort of instrument I've seen have been frightfully expensive.

Redwolf

csharpd · Post by **csharpd** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:42 am

Redwolf wrote:So now that I know what a concertina is (well, I knew it was a type of squeezebox, but could never keep straight which kind), can someone tell me what a melodeon is...

It depends where you are. Seriously.

In Ireland, a melodeon is a one-row button accordion.

In England, a melodeon can have one row, two rows, or more.

In the U.S., most people, I think, follow the Irish usage: Melodeon = one-row button accordion.

... and how it differs from a concertina?

Totally different instruments. See my post above, substituting "melodeon" for "button accordion."

Or look at www.buttonbox.com for pictures of concertinas and melodeons/button accordions.

Some of the Morris musicians play something that looks like a small piano accordion...is that a melodeon?

Not if it has piano-style keys. Melodeons and button accordions, by the way, have different notes on the press and draw of the bellows. Piano accordions do not.

Technically, what those Morris musicians are playing are probably ... small piano accordions.

BTW, if one wanted to learn the concertina, are there relatively inexpensive ones out there for one to learn on? The few of this sort of instrument I've seen have been frightfully expensive.

Ah, the topic of endless discussion among concertina players and envious onlookers. My take (with which others should feel free to differ):

- Stay entirely away from the very cheap ($100-$200) 20-button concertinas offered on eBay.

- Lots of people learn on concertinas made by Stagi (formerly Bastari), which sell in the $500-$900 range. These can be disappointing in the long term, especially if you play them hard, and they don't hold their value well ... but if that's all your budget allows, go for it. And yes, in the concertina world, these are relatively inexpensive.

There's a really good web site for advice on concertina selection (type, price range, etc.) ... you can probably guess the URL.

--C#/D

lddulcimer · Post by **lddulcimer** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:43 am

I know nothing about them myself, but Hobgoblin Music has this faq page:
http://www.hobgoblin-usa.com/faqmelodeon.htm

Another interesting little instrument is the melodica. One of the guys in my group ordered one a few months ago. I didn't think much about it when he ordered it, but it is actually a pretty cool instrument. Adds a nice texture to the music at times.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid ... _id/38702/

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:01 am

I was pretty sure a melodion was a single row button accordion but I looked on Google. In doing so, I misspelled it "melodian" and found this page on reed organs. The early American portable reed organs were called melodians.

http://claw.org/theater/clydeconc/melodia1.shtml

Steve

Chiff and Fipple Forums

Concertina help? -I know it ain't a whistle but...

Concertina help? -I know it ain't a whistle but...

thanks!!!