"The concertina has a long tradition of being a woman's instrument in Irish folk music. The instrument was even known in Gaelic as the woman's accordion. Now the concertina's enjoying a huge surge in popularity among Irish musicians of both sexes, but it still seems women are in the majority. Sarah Swadling's met three concertina players, who span the generations."
I listened to it and although it was interesting, I was quite disappointed. There wasn't much depth to it and the item following it on womens' hygiene products was much more interesting.
Yes I heard it too. Quite good I thought, and no it wasn't an in-depth item, but Woman's Hour is often a programme with little "Magasine" type articles.
Just nice to hear it at all.
stereotype or no, what makes an accordion female is its being a petite version. the roster of female concertina players who began on accordion and moved on to concertina includes wonderful players such as mary macnamara and dympna o'sullivan.....of course, the roster of male concertina players is also replete with wonderful players who left box for concertina, including but not limited to tim collins, gearoid ohallmorhain, and the late tony crehan, son of junior.
diatonic free reed instruments have a bias of how they want to inflect when played on the pull. they also have a bias on the push. when those biases fall with the expressive points of the tune, you're golden. when they don't, you must gain the control to compensate and get not just a smooth sound, but the little expressive cadences that make a tune sing. you can't often see this in videos or live, but on accordion that is extremely hard physical labor. the accordion is fighting you or you are fighting it. this is why many great players are on record cursing the box, and not humorously. they are not cursing the sound---you can have a box tuned to sound however you like. they are very, very, difficult to play well. this is true for big strapping types, but it is truer for smaller-framed types.....you can have the same musical ability or more, but the physical challenge may make you seem to lag in your chops, see?
concertina has the very same mechanistic/expressive biases, but the thing is so small and light, that you wouldn't know it....it is just a touch to get it to inflect the way you want. it is as responsive as a fiddle in terms of touch-sensitive lightness. the expressive control and the relief from physical stress is unbelievable with concertina versus box.....this goes for the guys as well, even though lots of them wouldn't admit it.....
also, aside from issues of expressive inflection, to manipulate the box's back-and-forth mechanism fast, as in, fast ceili speed, is also extremely taxing physically and physically hard to do well....unpleasant, one might even say.....the "bean chairdin" is vastly more responsive......on concertina, the challenge is learning all those different fingering pathways. but lugging it around, whether in transport or in play, is worlds easier...
Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
I haven't seen this mentioned, and you have till next thursday to "Listen again":
A great set of interviews on R4 UK Women's Hour at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2008_09_fri.shtml
"The concertina has a long tradition of being a woman's instrument in Irish folk music. The instrument was even known in Gaelic as the woman's accordion. Now the concertina's enjoying a huge surge in popularity among Irish musicians of both sexes, but it still seems women are in the majority. Sarah Swadling's met three concertina players, who span the generations."
# Posted on March 2nd 2008 by spindizzy
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
Spindizzy,I heard it,vey interesting.Thanks.
# Posted on March 2nd 2008 by Dick Miles
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
I listened to it and although it was interesting, I was quite disappointed. There wasn't much depth to it and the item following it on womens' hygiene products was much more interesting.
# Posted on March 2nd 2008 by Fiddlebabe
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
Yes I heard it too. Quite good I thought, and no it wasn't an in-depth item, but Woman's Hour is often a programme with little "Magasine" type articles.
Just nice to hear it at all.
# Posted on March 3rd 2008 by Rudall the time
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
‘Bean chairdin’, a female accordion.
# Posted on March 3rd 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
What makes an accordion female? Inverted buttons?
# Posted on March 4th 2008 by Fiddlebabe
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
stereotype or no, what makes an accordion female is its being a petite version. the roster of female concertina players who began on accordion and moved on to concertina includes wonderful players such as mary macnamara and dympna o'sullivan.....of course, the roster of male concertina players is also replete with wonderful players who left box for concertina, including but not limited to tim collins, gearoid ohallmorhain, and the late tony crehan, son of junior.
diatonic free reed instruments have a bias of how they want to inflect when played on the pull. they also have a bias on the push. when those biases fall with the expressive points of the tune, you're golden. when they don't, you must gain the control to compensate and get not just a smooth sound, but the little expressive cadences that make a tune sing. you can't often see this in videos or live, but on accordion that is extremely hard physical labor. the accordion is fighting you or you are fighting it. this is why many great players are on record cursing the box, and not humorously. they are not cursing the sound---you can have a box tuned to sound however you like. they are very, very, difficult to play well. this is true for big strapping types, but it is truer for smaller-framed types.....you can have the same musical ability or more, but the physical challenge may make you seem to lag in your chops, see?
concertina has the very same mechanistic/expressive biases, but the thing is so small and light, that you wouldn't know it....it is just a touch to get it to inflect the way you want. it is as responsive as a fiddle in terms of touch-sensitive lightness. the expressive control and the relief from physical stress is unbelievable with concertina versus box.....this goes for the guys as well, even though lots of them wouldn't admit it.....
.
# Posted on March 4th 2008 by ceemonster
Re: Concertinas - itm women on Radio4 UK
also, aside from issues of expressive inflection, to manipulate the box's back-and-forth mechanism fast, as in, fast ceili speed, is also extremely taxing physically and physically hard to do well....unpleasant, one might even say.....the "bean chairdin" is vastly more responsive......on concertina, the challenge is learning all those different fingering pathways. but lugging it around, whether in transport or in play, is worlds easier...
# Posted on March 4th 2008 by ceemonster