It took me 15 munutes to fix this. Interestingly, the English lower classes, who had no pianos, flocked to the German concertina, and later to the Anglo!
In some ways the Anglo is undeniably superior to the English. But to master the sound of a concertina is tremendously more difficult, then of an accordion. £599.00. Gosh, there's a terrific echo around here! Paste as plain text instead, × At the end of the day all you can do is try the various systems as far as possible and see which suits you best. I thought that the Hayden system, being relatively new, was not at all common - and will not be the most common until more are produced, which may change the situation. × If you are looking for Anglo diversity, it's there in abundance. 30 buttons is an odd number of buttons for an English. Leather work has lots to do with the comfort and accentuation, no doubt. The trouble is that this is so easy you are expected to do something different with the other hand. Some say that the Anglo sounds more Irish because it has more "punch" (that stupid clichee about Irishmen always wanting a fight ... ) - but what has the ability to emphasise notes got to do with the fingering system? English manufacturers copied them and they were called "Anglo-German" concertinas. It's small and has little air in the bellows, it's very sensitive and needs mastering of bellows control. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Alistair Anderson has shown how successful the English can be for dance music and band work. Pasted as rich text. a full 40 keyed Anglo is fully chromatic in the middle two octaves
Any other ways of using pinkie rests are anatomically compromised, and playing seated with such a small and light instrument seems like a compromise as well. See the world’s smallest concertina in action!
The English playing, it seems like, begins in any key the melody was written in, rarely transposed, so often I see two, three sharps right away, but more often I see flats. PS. And increasingly useless in the "further" keys. I also have a piano background that goes back, well, let's just say a lot longer than I've played English. Putting punch in the playing involves both bellows control and a certain amount of stacatto fingering. On the flip side some people take natually to the fact that the notes of the scale alternates sides on the English while others find it a real challenge. How about it, you English players - can you "punch" out a dance tune with heavy and light beats (like a Strathspey, for instance) on the English? With the Anglo, the heel of your hand is firmly on the end of the concertina, and the back of your hand is pressed firmly against the wide, heavy strap. So why do some English players go to the lengths of learning Anglo just to get more "punch"? As a (moderate) box player,I found the English hard to get going on but once the system is mastered, it is a great instrument, particularly for accompaniment. Clear editor. So to master the keyboard of any kind of concertina is not a big deal, it's only the matter of some short time. A similar thing happens in bowing a fiddle-- delicacy in bowing comes from the wrist and hand, heavy accent more from the arm. | Cookies & Privacy Policy. To sum up, as Chris Timson puts it, all instruments can be used to play all music. The easy one for you is the one you get on well with. Get thee unto the Recorded Links page. I don't think that playing one type is an impediment to playing another (nor is it an advantage). Maybe there's some sort of musical gathering in your neck of the woods with a few box players?
Currently in Hopkinton, NH, USA. (3) I eventually found I was ready to graduate to a medium bucks hybrid, which I've ordered. I'm not dead-set on Irish music only, and have found a great deal on a 30-button English. No 4, 1969. Occasionally when stuck in a boring work meeting, I'll challenge myself to play "air concertina," imagining how I would finger a tune on one system, then on the other.
The nice thing about renting is that you can physically try several systems out for less than the hit you'd take on buying a single cheap box and trying to resell it. although of course, only in a very limited range of keys. Anglo is the easiest to get started on, but still requires a lot of work to become good (still working on that part!). It is equally hard to become adept, on any melody instrument. in every way" (i.e. Is an Anglo harder to learn than an English; also, once learned, is it easier than an English to play? SHBS28305 - Bristol .
From The Concertina Newsletter, Issue No 4, 1969.
All Concertina systems are brilliant in terms of compactness and logic of the keyboard for particular type of music they were designed for. But which is easier seems to depend on the way your brain works. Simple
Newbie Greg