Musically challenged

I have written before on this subject, explaining how music came into my life and how it has stuck with me so as to provide me with a new interest in more recent years. So I thought an update here might be appropriate. This is, after all, a place where recent events are recounted and recorded.

The instrument I now play, a concertina, comes in various shapes and sizes, mine being what is described as an 'Anglo' (see photo). It distinguishes itself from an 'English' concertina by having two different notes on each button, one on the pull and one on the push (or squeeze) and with straps that pass over back of the hands. It has been an interesting journey to master the complexity that comes with this instrument since part of the process of learning any new tune is to decide which of various alternative button combinations to use. Some of the notes are replicated in different places on the instrument so the choice will often depend upon how fast or how smoothly one wants to play, some button combinations falling easier to the fingers than others. This decision-making process is common to other instruments too. Stringed instruments like the guitar and the violin can play notes in different positions on different strings so I guess this is not unusual. There is, however, an extra impediment to take into account in playing the concertina since it is a wind instrument and it therefore needs to breathe. It can make noises both when it sucks air in and when it blows out but if a tune has too many notes played in one direction, blowing out or sucking in, then it can either run out of air or become too stretched to draw in any more. When either of these situations are approaching the player senses this (one's playing is likely to become quieter in an effort to preserve the air that is left in the bellows) and sometimes we make use of the 'air' button to draw in or expel surplus air. Any tune where this happens regularly probably needs some rethought, a different combination of buttons, to eliminate the problem.

I take great delight in explaining things like this to other musicians and watching their faces as they try to grasp what it means to play a concertina. It took me by surprise when I first noticed that for most concertina players, including me, facial expressions whilst playing are impossible. Indeed any distraction is likely to cause a disruption to the tune being played as the human brain, well mine at least, has difficulty coping with any additional load to the senses. Having said this, there are those who can sing and play simultaneously so perhaps the failing is simply inside my head.

I have recently had opportunities to play my instrument and also to explain some of its workings, first of all to a small group of young schoolchildren at a local primary school and then to a local Friendship Group, mostly older people. To the older group I played a tune which I thought would be familiar to them although I was fairly certain that the name, 'Trumpet Hornpipe' would mean nothing. However when I told them it was a tune played by the cabin boy on a pirate ship called 'The Black Pig' some of the faces in front of me immediately lit up. A shout from the back confirmed it...'Pugwash!', as this was the theme tune from a TV cartoon series popular more than sixty years ago. As I played the tune some of the audience began stamping their feet or clapping along with me, a real delight to any musician.

More recently I attended a music workshop run by a band of young musicians as part of their ceilidh music tour. The band members seemed to be able to play not just their own but each other's different instruments as well, all with amazing ease. At first I felt uneasy about what was to be expected of me. I had put myself in the hands of this talented group of young players who now wanted me to play, not necessarily a tune with which I was familiar, but something they had chosen themselves. Thankfully their talents went beyond playing music as they were also capable of engaging with those much older than themselves and making them feel comfortable and willing to join in, slowing down the learning process so that we could all play together. I may have had nothing else in common with them but this did not matter for I did have something I could share, something they understood and could relate to. I had gone to the event not knowing what to expect nor what I would be playing and came away buzzing, my head filled with the tunes we had played. So would I do this again? Most certainly, indeed I then signed up for another music workshop run by another performer, again not knowing what to expect.

This second workshop was a totally different experience. It was run by a talented composer and performer called Nigel Gatherer who had booked a local community hall to contain the fifty musicians who had signed up for it. Some tunes had been disseminated in advance, both for printing out and in audio format for those unable to read music. Although all new tunes to me there was even a Zoom session in advance where we could meet Nigel and at the event itself he was both entertaining and patient towards his mixed audience. Perhaps the main message I came away with is the effect that making changes to the way we play, the speed, the volume, the type of instrument, can all enhance the quality of the music itself and make it into something that can give pleasure to those listening... and that this can be even more important than making the odd mistake.