SwallowTail Jig and Out on the Ocean

I got my concertina for Christmas 2008, so I've been playing about 2 months. Here's a couple of jigs I learnt: The Swallowtail Jig and Out on the Ocean.

The concertina is a 30 button Rochelle Anglo Concertina from The Music Room in G/C.

SwallowTail Jig: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/106

Out on the Ocean: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/108

Rochelle Anglo Concertina: http://www.themusicroom-online.co.uk/product_info.php/cPath/238_239/products_...

UPDATE: I've written a tutorial about playing this tune on the concertina here: http://david.dupplaw.me.uk/music/concertina/

Category:

Music

Tags:

• concertina
• guitar
• jigs
• irish
• music
• swallowtail
• ocean
• rochelle

[fledglingwhistler]

Well played :) I am attempting to learn concertina ..... fun little instrument!

[chansherly212]

@davedupplaw :) i was really lucky to get the chance to try one ^^ i actually found a session here in malaysia (with members who are expatriates working or retired here) and besides trying a flute, a concertina and a couple of melodeons, it was such a blast meeting people who live and breathe itm :)

[davedupplaw]

@chansherly212 I've yet to have a go on a high-end concertina. I fear that I will like it too much and they're never cheap!! Besides, I don't think I'm yet good enough to warrant one.. Cheers!

[chansherly212]

@davedupplaw 'slow when changing direction' yeah, that's what i meant to say abut mine too.. i tried a really high end concertina before.. the bellows are so smooth, with plenty of air in one go.. i guess, ease of changing directions and the smoothness are two different things..

[davedupplaw]

@chansherly212 Well, you can play quite long runs on the Rochelle as the reeds aren't too bad - they're a bit slow when changing direction but they're ok. I'll look forward to seeing your videos :) I should spend more time practicing on mine, but fiddle and piano accordion have taken over at the moment :)

[chansherly212]

@davedupplaw ah, i see.. it funny thing is mine feels tight and at the same time runs out of air pretty fast! anyways, i figure the rochelle would be an upgrade from my current one ^^

[davedupplaw]

@chansherly212 Well, the tightness is caused by there being no air leakage which in turn means the bellows move slower and you won't run out on long passages. Perhaps you can alter the way you sit a bit and use the weight of the instrument to help open the bellows so you're not pulling so much? I do find my arms ache a bit if I play for a long time or when I'm pulling on the bellows at their full stretch. But I've never played any other concertina, so I don't really know!! :-P

[chansherly212]

@davedupplaw hmm but isn't that a bad thing? like the bellows on mine's so hard to push and pull, i can't go too fast on it and my arms ache after a few minutes

[davedupplaw]

@chansherly212 Yeah, they are. It's a great starter concertina.  Personally, I think the buttons have slightly too much travel which makes it hard to do fast ornamentation but other than that it's very nice. Sweet sound.

[chansherly212]

@davedupplaw are the bellows tight on this concertina?