Irish Concertina Paperback – January 1, 2001

Mick is a good teacher, there is a lot to learn in this book, and it is beautifully explained. The less experienced player will appreciate the good list of cords.

If you are looking for a tutor for the Anglo Concertina look no further. Bramich's instructions are clear and his writing style is enjoyable and at times witty. This tutor is not for someone who does not know how to read music. Bramich introduces a tablature system but it is only used in the first few tunes. By the third tune, you are mostly on your own. Actually, I think this is quite a good thing as it forces you to follow the written notes rather than relying on the push-pull notation. Progress is much quicker this way. The book is very thorough and explores all the key offerings for the 30 button Anglo and has a good selection of Irish tunes in all styles. The only short coming is that there is not much of a discussion on ornamentation and there is no discussion of chords. You will definitely want to have the CD that is available for this book as that is the only way to really understand the phrasing and timing of the tunes. Bramich does play the chords and uses ornamentation on the CD so with some experimentation and careful listening most people should be able to figure it out.

This is a more advanced tutor for anglo concertina. Seems to assume that you are familiar with music theory.Gets fairly technical rather quickly (compared to some other tutors), but includes some alternate fingeringtechniques that are useful. Primarily for 30 button anglos. Rating of this might improve as I get deeper into it.Worth the $.

I've this book and think that is among the bests for the absolute beginner in irish concertina. Standard notation and tablature, the last one disappering while the tunes are becoming more complex. Good explaining of the modern irish style of 'cross-rowing', instead the 'along the rows' used by ancient players. Good emphasis in alternate fingerings and unusual keys. The only weak point I can see is the poor treatment of the ornamentation.Two important points. you absolutely need a 30 button anglo, and the accompanying CD is invaluable for to a better understanding of the scores - the settings of the tunes are very nice, too -.Finally, I did't give it five stars because it would have to be the bee's knees for to deserve it, but indeed is worth any penny.

I don't think this is a tutor for people with no musical knowledge. Having said that the tablature used seems useful. I have had a similar musical journey to the author and appreciate that he jumps straight in with scales and music. Having bewailed the fact that too many people play 'up and down the rows' the author starts with the scale of G on the C row rather than the G row! In fact he tells you which buttons to use and the names of the notes and leaves it at that for the scale. No baby steps and then right in with 2 dance tunes of which the first should be familiar to everybody. The book is well laid out with interesting pictures and text and I know I'll enjoy reading it even when not practicing.

I have a few Beginners books for the 30 Anglo. I have only been playing for 3 weeks. I bought this book and CD and although I have limited playing ability I am already playing Tune 3 (slowly but almost got the whole tune sorted) and dabbling with others. The CD is a must as you can check your playing and ensure you play the right tempo which is important as the tune sounds nothing like it should without knowledge of "note values"All in all I would say this is a good book for Beginners and Intermediates. I would add that the CD is invaluable and I give this a 5. You could always sell it in a year or so when you can play the tunes proficiently and you shouldn't lose too much which means its even better value! My advice . . . . BUY IT its worth every penny, its very informative and interesting.

Great book have learnt so much from this book. Not easy but so worth the effort. Great help in sight reading as you are working from music straight off. Love it

Habe früher Arcordion so leidlich gespielt und habe mir eine Concertina aus einer Laune heraus gekauft. Jetzt kann ich ein paar Weihnachtslieder bereits schon spielen.

gute Beschreibung - ist aber auch wichtig, da jede Concertina anders ist von der Tonhöhe und von der Tastatur - prima Melodien