Concertina question

clark · Post by **clark** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:48 pm

OK, I know, I could probably find a concertina site to ask this question; but they might not be nice and let a new guy play. My C&F "family" I know and trust - so here goes.

I've been thinking about adding concertina to my instrument mix. It would sometimes be nice to play a tune and ... well, like breath whenever I want! How strange that would be. So in looking at Lark in the Morning and Elderly Instruments catalogues I find that most concertinas are available in "C and G" tuning (one row in C another in G). This is touted as the "Traditional Irish tuning combination". My question is why? Most of the tunes my band plays is in D or G. Seems to me that the easiest would be to get a concertina that played in those two key signatures. i am probably missing some crucial piece of concertina lore here. I also gather that the Anglo style is most common in Irish music. True?

Clark

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 12:00 am

clark wrote:OK, I know, I could probably find a concertina site to ask this question; but they might not be nice and let a new guy play. My C&F "family" I know and trust - so here goes.

I've been thinking about adding concertina to my instrument mix. It would sometimes be nice to play a tune and ... well, like breath whenever I want! How strange that would be. So in looking at Lark in the Morning and Elderly Instruments catalogues I find that most concertinas are available in "C and G" tuning (one row in C another in G). This is touted as the "Traditional Irish tuning combination". My question is why? Most of the tunes my band plays is in D or G. Seems to me that the easiest would be to get a concertina that played in those two key signatures. i am probably missing some crucial piece of concertina lore here. I also gather that the Anglo style is most common in Irish music. True?

Clark

OK Clark, here goes. Anglos are traditional. This is probably because they were cheaper originally. The contrast is with the English concertina (that was going to be popular in Ireland, right?) and the duet (too pricey and fancy.)

The C/G is the most common but for Irish music it would be wise to buy a three row concertina—the extra row has accidentals and a few notes on the draw or pull that you would make moving in the opposite direction on the C or G rows. To play most tunes in D you really need C# and you get it only on the three row concertina. You can get concertinas in D/G tuning but they are hard to find and probably more expensive ..so just get a three row and be done with it. Be very wary of cheap concertinas.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 2:59 am

Also, most tutorials and workshops are designed for the C/G concertina. And don't buy any off ebay till you're sure you know what you're doing.

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 3:02 am

You can quickly spot the difference between an English & an Anglo concertina, because the English is help with leather loops or metal holds for the thumb and little finger, and has more buttons because each plays only one note (same on push & pull). The Anglo is held with a leather strap over the back of the hand.

Bob Tedrow Anglo

The English concertina is apparently so rare or disliked I can't even find a picture of one!

see this article for why: http://www.concertina.net/rd_time4english.html

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 3:21 am

The Jackie model, 30-button English, cheap as English boxes go. £195 from The Music Room. In the US they have a trade-in policy in which they buy them back when you upgrade to a 48-button or an antique.

Have a look at http://www.concertinaconnection.com/ for details of the Jackie model if'n you're interested.

Actually English boxes aren't that rare. Beloved of the Salvation Army, there're loads of 'em around. Fully chromatic. But yup, definitely more expensive than their Anglo-German counterparts.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 4:39 am

While I would not say the C/G Anglo is 'traditional' (afterall within living memory the cheap concertina of choice was the two row German concertina) it is the concertina used these days for Irish music.
The old german two row used to be played 'on the row' while the modern C/G is played across the rows, giving easier access to notes and more alternative buttons.
There are still a few players left who play 'on the row' on the anglo, holding on to the old style. Kitty Hayes from the older generation is the prime example, Mary mcnamara reverts to playing on the rows at times as does Jaqui McCarthy. Ofcouse you end up playing in C and F when you do that.

The anglo is now much dearer than the English, or at least the old ones are.

There's a buyer's guide and loads of information on C&F's sister site, www.concertina.net

Jens_Hoppe · Post by **Jens_Hoppe** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 4:41 am

Peter Laban wrote:The anglo is now much dearer than the English, or at least the old ones are.

That was my impression too.

clark · Post by **clark** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:14 am

Thanks for the info... I knew I could count on you! Any suggestions on what tutorial to get? I'm an experienced musician, but will have to teach this to myself. Doesn't seem to be any box players out here in the middle of the Pacific.

Clark

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 7:32 am

By the way the folks at concertina.net are a great bunch, too. I posted a few stupid questions in the past few months and they answered all of my questions without telling me I suck, which is a good start!

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 8:16 am

I started playing a Tedrow Anglo concertina about two months ago, can recommend several tutors:

John Williams has an excellent tutorial video called "Learn To Play Irish Concertina"

madfortrad.com has a very good CDROM based class.

Mick Bramich has a tutorial on Mel Bay called "The Irish Concertina" that has excellent discussions of various scale patterns as well as a CD of all the tunes in the book.

You should absolutely head over to concertina.net and dive right in.

Cheers,

Michael

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 8:20 am

eskin wrote:I started playing a Tedrow Anglo concertina about two months ago, can recommend several tutors:

John Williams has an excellent tutorial video called "Learn To Play Irish Concertina"

madfortrad.com has a very good CDROM based class.

Mick Bramich has a tutorial on Mel Bay called "The Irish Concertina" that has excellent discussions of various scale patterns as well as a CD of all the tunes in the book.

You should absolutely head over to concertina.net and dive right in.

Cheers,

Michael

I agree about the tutors (except for the CDROM which I haven't investigated).

toughknot · Post by **toughknot** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 10:10 pm

www.schylling.com
Schylling accordians.
There is a used one on E-Bay going for $9.99
I got one from e-bay for $8.00 and was amazed at the sound and quality of the little thing. One row of reeds has been covered with tape to make it sound more concertina like. I had considered perhaps attempting to learn the concertina.This is a very inexpensive way to dabble in it ( like buying a meg before getting a Copeland).Can a person actually learn good basic technique on the thing? Even if not it sure is fun.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 1:15 am

You can certainly play real tunes on a Schylling. I learned Rolling Wave on it at one point. It was fun to watch people's reactions...

toughknot · Post by **toughknot** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 1:24 am

avanutria wrote:You can certainly play real tunes on a Schylling. I learned Rolling Wave on it at one point. It was fun to watch people's reactions...

Hopefully it absorbed some of your skill ......I sure could use it

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:31 pm

I say get a 30 Button (3 row) do not buy from Lark or Elderly a Concertina is a very intricate instrument and the ones they sell there are really just concertina shapped accordions go with something nicer. If you can't aford something better than go with a Stagi upper model even though it will sound like a box you will still be able to learn on it then later upgrade.

Chiff and Fipple Forums

Concertina question

Concertina question

Re: OT: Concertina question