The Scottish Concertina
Stuart Eydmann
Contributions to the Concertina Library by
Stuart Eydmann.
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The Life and Times of the Concertina:
the adoption and usage of a novel musical instrument
with particular reference to Scotland
- by Stuart Eydmann
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This much-anticipated study is the first book-length account of the history and
development of the concertina, in the context of the people who played it and their
music. It is based on field work as well as historical research,
and deals with the concertina in traditional music, art music, sacred music,
band music, the music hall, and many forms of popular
music—reflecting the richness, contradictions, and complexities of
music and society over the more than 150 years since the invention
of the concertina as the high-tech sensation of its day.
Twelve chapters, bibliography of more than 400 items, over 90 figures and musical examples, 365 pages.
Text of thesis for the Ph.D. degree, Open University, 1995.
Supervisors: Dr Peter Cooke and Dr Richard Middleton.
- Posted 15 August 2005
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The concertina as an emblem
of the folk music revival
in the British Isles
- by Stuart Eydmann
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The post-war folk and traditional music revival in the British Isles was a complex
phenomenon which involved more than just the simple rediscovery and promotion of
neglected music and song. The ideology of key individuals was important in
determining the scope and subsequent diction of the revival including the sources of
the revived repertory and how it should be re-packaged. The selection and use of
appropriate musical instruments was a major issue and, for a time at least, the
concertina family was endorsed by the revivalists to the extent that it could act as a
symbol of the revival itself. This paper identifies and discusses the processes involved.
First published in
British Journal of Ethnomusicology,
vol. 4 (1995), pp. 41–49.
- Posted 15 August 2005
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The Cult of the English Concertina: a Chat with Miss Christine Hawkes
- by Norman Fraser
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Informative interview with Christine Hawkes who in 1907 had given successful concertina concerts
in the West End of London. Miss Hawkes has been “inundated with … shoals of letters from
people anxious to learn the concertina,” and she gives a number of practical tips on buying a
concertina and on practising. She recommends “the English concertina as patented by
Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1829,” … “as distinguished from the cheap German atrocities
with which Bank Holidays make us all too familiar.” Miss Hawkes “was lucky enough at the
beginning to come across a copy of Regondi’s ‘Concertina Exercises,’ but whether this
work is published now she does not know.”
Contributed by Stuart Eydmann.
First published in
Cassell's Magazine,
June 1908 to November 1908, pp. 159–161.
- Posted 26 March 2007
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Joseph Scates English Pricelist, MDRA 1862
- contributed by Stuart Eydmann
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Summary of prices and models for English concertinas from Joseph Scates,
"for the last twelve years established at 27, College Green, Dublin",
from the annual Musical Directory, Register and Almanac (London: Rudall,
Rose, Carte) for 1862.
- Posted 07 March 2005
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» read full document in pdf
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Playing the English Concertina—My Technique
- by Simon Thoumire
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Scottish concertinist Simon Thoumire discusses his unique approach to playing the English concertina,
based on holding the instrument so it is rotated 45 degrees from the conventional
position. This allows his fingers to play across the columns of an English concertina,
taking advantage of the uniform reach possible to left and right and avoiding the
need to stretch for far notes or curl the fingers for near notes in the traditional way.
- Posted 15 August 2005
- » read full document
Do you know another resource that we should include?
Tell us about it.
Reprinted from the Concertina Library
http://www.concertina.com
© Copyright 2000– by Stuart Eydmann
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Stuart Eydmann with
English concertina,
performing Scottish
traditional music,
circa 1982.
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