The Irish Concertina

Mick Bramich presents a systematic approach to playing the Anglo concertina, Irish style. His method is one of the most efficient ways of exploiting the peculiar nuances of this instrument. Keys are taken in order of difficulty and all types of tunes are tackled.

Many people buy or acquire an Anglo concertina and find that it is less intuitive to play than it first appears. What is needed, instead, is a systematic approach and, at last, here it is. You don't have to play specifically Irish music to utilise this style; the system employed is one of the most efficient ways of exploiting the peculiar nuances of the this instrument and can be applied to any genre. Keys are tackled in order of difficulty and all types of tune - including slow airs - are tackled. A decent selection of tunes is included.

The book contains 17 photographs and numerous illustrations and diagrams; 14 reels, 20 jigs, 10 hornpipes and 12 miscellaneous tunes, (56 in total, many with chords), rudiments of music, list of dealers, extensive bibliography and discography and a chord chart. The optional tape contains extracts from each chapter on side A and a selection of the tunes from the book on side B.

As an active song club organiser for many years before moving to Devon in 1983, Mick Bramich's connections with traditional music go back to the heyday of its revival in the mid-sixties. He comes from the Birmingham area where he trained as a tool maker and later as a teacher.

He is known as a singer and guitar player to many older hands on the folk club circuit but has been an enthusiast of the Anglo concertina since about 1979. His style of playing developed independently and it was by accident that he discovered he was playing in what is loosely termed the 'Irish' way. This tutor combines his teaching skills with an inherent love for the material being taught.

Contents

Index of tunes

Introduction

Choosing the right instrument

Blank 30 button layouts

About the Anglo concertina

The key of G major

Some tips on air control

Another way of playing G major

The key of D major Scales

The key of A minor

The key of E minor

Modulation

The key of D minor

The key of F major

The key of B minor

The key of A major

The key of G minor Decoration of melodic lines

The slow air

Conclusion and acknowledgments

Appendix one (a selection of tunes)

Appendix two (other tunings)

Appendix three (chordpatterns)

Appendix four (rudiments of music)

Appendix five (dealers and suppliers)

Appendix six (bibliography).

Appendix seven (discography)

Tunes

Apples in winter 

Boys of Bluehill 

Carman's jig 

Carolan's welcome 

Christmas Eve 

Cliffs of Moher 

Cock o' the north 

Cúil Aodha jig 

The home ruler 

Dear Irish boy 

Drowsy Maggie 

Dullagen reel 

Eavesdropper 

First House in Connaught

Flogging 

Flowing tide 

Garrett Barry's jig 

Glen of Aherlow Hag with the money 

Her mantle so green 

Hullichan jig 

Humours of Ballycastle 

Humours of Westport 

I ne'er shall wean her 

Wish my love was a mire 

Kesh jig 

Kinnegad slashers 

Lannigan's ball

Martin Wynne's no. 2 

Mist on the meadow 

Morning star 

Off to California 

Britches full of stitches 

O, love, lie beside me 

Out on the ocean 

Paddy Fahey's no. 1 An Páistín fionn 

Peggy Levin 

Pipe on the hob no. 1 

Plains of Boyle 

Pleasures of home 

Princess royal

Rakes of Kildare 

Rights of man 

Rolling wave 

Sailing into Walpole's Marsh 

Shandon bells 

Shannon's flowery banks 

Six mile bridge 

The Steeplechase 

Sullivan O'Moore's march 

Tomgraney castle 

Top of the Maol 

Wheels of the world