Absolute Beginners Concertina: A New Guide to Playing the Twenty Key Anglo Concertina

This is probably OK for anyone with absolutely no knowledge of music but I found the tablature format to be really confusing. Most of the tab songs have no time signature or tempo, just a line of quarter notes and eighth notes with a button designation (like 1L, for first finger, left hand) with a dark or clear box for push or pull (I can never remember which is which) and under that the actual letter note. If the tunes were written in musical notation a person would have a much better idea of how the tunes sounded (picture the tones going up and down). The tunes might actually be familiar but it is not easy to tell in this format and beginning this way for novices is counterproductive. I'm transcribing a couple into my music workbook to make it easier to read. Ultimately a player will want to learn all tunes by heart but it's easier to pick up new tunes if they are written properly. I would not have purchased this had I known that this had only tablature. I believe there are books with both that would be much better. There are some handy tips for novices but if a person has a computer there is that knowledge elsewhere. It probably deserves three stars but I personally really don't like it because it is too simple for me. Shoulda known.

Being someone who has been reading music since my youth, I was not expecting the method used for learning to play the 20 button anglo concertina I have. I can see that this book will be practical for the instrument and understanding how it works. I would recommend the book for the novice.

Having nothing but the determination to learn how to play, and no prior experience, this book has helped me begin what will likely be an extended learning curve (and no doubt a delightful experience for friends and family).

Helpful and useful used in conjunction with the other books if you are a shut-in and teaching yourself. Doing that, I am now able to play some songs.

I bought an Anglo Concertina for fun and this book is easy enough to get me started. I read the comments of others who thought it was too easy/simple... but it just what I needed, as I want to just learn to "play by ear" but needed the basics. For this I would recommend it highly.Jim

its very easy to use, perfectly written!

Not real easy for my husband to understand.

Mick does a great job of explaining with easy to understand instructions for playing. He even answered a question about technique when I emailed him! (and almost immediate response allowing for time difference between US and UK!)

As someone who new nothing at all about concertinas and was buying as a present for a relative, I discovered that the tuning of the buttons on 20 button Anglo concertinas does vary from one instrument to another. Although this is mentioned very briefly in this book, it is a significant problem, especially for a beginner, if the tuning of the concertina you have differs from that in any tutor you may buy. I had purchased a Scarlatti SC-20R from Amazon - a relatively cheap, Chinese made instrument, but one that I suspect a large number of beginners are quite likely to purchase. The tuning of this instrument does not correspond with the tuning used in the Absolute Beginners' Concertina book. Specifically, the book specifies the notes B and A for the left hand G row 5th button and F# and F for the right hand G row 5th button whereas the Scarlatti actually produces the notes G and D and B and F# respectively. I have subsequently discovered that "Mel Bay's Deluxe Concertina Book", also available on Amazon, is based on the tuning of the Scarlatti SC-20R, so would recommend this for anyone purchasing a similar instrument.Otherwise, The Absolute Beginners' Concertina is a good beginners' tutor if you happen to have a matching concertina.

This would be a good book if it did not contain so many errors. It's as if it were never proofread before publishing. The musical 'notation' used with the tablature is often done incorrectly, and there are places where the book makes no sense. I understand music theory, and spent a while trying to work out why I could not follow some of the book. I eventually realised it was the book, not me, which was at fault. The system of entabulating a tune, which comes near the end of the book, is good and in fact was the one reason I ended up using the book. If you can follow that, you won't need the book - just get a book of tunes and apply the system. If you are a total beginner, with no music theory, beware - the book may confuse rather than help, due to the uncorrected mistakes.

I have to say, (like many others) I also had never played a Concertina before-This book really does teach you everything to begin. As you progress through the book it teaches you several core priniciples to playing the instrument.However, going further through the book, being able to read music is definitely a help as it doesn't really explain all too well for a layman to be able to play.

the book was of a good quality and arrived quickly

A good introduction. An easy resource to start with. A couple of tunes had errors in the tab written, but, so easy to fix if you are following the tunes you just know what to play.