Alex Wade was brought up in a musical family. She gained a deep appreciation of traditional music visiting folk festivals and music sessions from childhood. She fell in love with the English Concertina when was given one at the age of ten. An early start, dedication, practice and performance have given her an expertise that many much older players, can still only aspire to.

Dave Mallinson didn’t discover traditional music until the late age of twenty-two and is completely self taught. Hard work, sheer dogged determination and lengthy practice have had to be his way of life. His constant struggle to maintain his skill gives him a unique insight into the problems and difficulties facing beginners and novices.
Alex’s enormous skill and knowledge combined with Dave’s affinity with beginners make an ideal combination to present this introduction to the English concertina and traditional music.

Foreword by David Ledsam

I became aware of Alex Wade’s concertina playing when judging a Rapper Sword Dance competition in Derby. Right from the first note I knew I was listening to a very special musician and player of the English Concertina. She played with touch, great speed and what was most important, driving rhythm. I awarded her full marks, which is generally unheard of in this competition.

Since then I heard her many times playing for dance or at sessions, and I have remained as impressed as when I heard her first. She has a great musical ear and I am very pleased that Mally asked me to contribute to this excellent beginners English Concertina tutor. 

Many learners of the English will be inspired by the playing of Alex, and this book will give them an invaluable start in their journey to becoming a player of this most beautiful and portable instrument, the English Concertina.
 
Contents

Foreword by David Ledsam
Music Basics for Squeezers
Fingering Chart
The English Concertina
The Scale of C Major
The Musical Ladder
The Key of G Major
4/4 Time
Play Some Sea Songs
Traditional Music
Play Some English Tunes
The Key of D Major
Play Country Dance Tunes
6/8 Time
Play Cotswold Morris Tunes
3/4 Time
Play Some Welsh Tunes
2/4 Time
Play Some American Reels
Slip Jigs and Slides
Play Sliabh Luachra Tunes
The Key of E Minor
Play Some Playford Tunes
The Key of A Minor
Play Some Irish Tunes
The Hornpipe Rhythm
Play Northumbrian Tunes
The Key of A Major
Play Some Scottish Tunes
Rants and Double Reels
Play Some Easy Melodies
Double Jigs

Tunes

Little Brown Jug
Go Tell Aunt Rhody
Skip to My Lou
Lightly Row
Shepherds’ Hey
Bobby Shaftoe
This Old Man
The Muffin Man
Donkey Riding
New York Girls
South Australia
Johnny Come Down to Hilo
Winster Gallop
Jimmy Allen
Rattlin’ Bog
British Grenadiers
Uncle Bernard’s
Winster Processional
Buttered Peas
The Tip Top Polka
Banbury Bill
Harper’s Frolic
Nelly Bly
My Love She’s but a Lassie Yet
I Have a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue
The Huntsman’s Chorus
The Rose Tree
Cock o’ the North
MacNamara’s Band
Hey Away
Shave the Donkey
Laudanum Bunches
Swaggering Boney
Michael Turner’s Waltz
The South Wind
Shoe the Donkey
Sweet Jenny Jones
All Through the Night
Men of Harlech
Camptown Races
Egan’s Polka
Chinese Breakdown
Buffalo Girls
The Road to Boston
Uncle Reuben
Angelina Baker
Drops of Brandy
The Star Above the Garter
Dennis Enright’s Slide
Scotland
The Brosna Slide
Maggie in the Wood
Scattery Island
Tom Sullivan’s Polka
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The Rigged Ship
Newcastle
Jack’s Maggot
Hunt the Squirrel
Grimstock
Tralee Gaol
Spancil Hill
The Enniskillen Dragoon
Sonny’s Mazurka
Rakes of Mallow
The Derry Boat
The Keel Row
Katie Bairdie
Green Grow the Rushes
Some Say the Devil’s Dead
Salmon Tails up the Water
Hexham Races
The Redesdale Hornpipe
A Hundred Pipers
Roxburgh Castle
Peat Fire Flame
The Duke of Perth
Kate Dalrymple
Durham Rangers
Drowsy Maggie
Jack Broke da Prison Door
Timmy O’Connor’s
The Ash Grove
Goodbye Girls I’m Going to Boston
The Rambler
The Bush on the Hill
The Blackthorn Stick