Concertina Foundations

Concertina Foundations is aimed at those who already know how to play the anglo concertina but who want to learn or improve, on the basic foundations. It’s an excellent follow-on course for those that have already taken Concertina Basics.

By the end of the course, you will have added a further twelve popular Irish tunes to your repertoire plus mastered some common ornamentation styles. The course has 12 lessons, broken into 3 to 4 tutorials each, where tunes are taught phrase by phrase.

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Course Structure

Concertina Foundations starts with polkas, slides and jigs and progresses to reels in the second part of the course.

The course is essentially a ‘bag of tools’ to have in one’s belt to help create variety and personality when playing the concertina. These ‘tools’ include the use of long notes, staccato notes, ornaments, upbeats, double octaves, chords, stops and emphasis. Ornaments and triplets are clearly broken down and demonstrated effectively.

A lot of time and attention is given to the integrity of a tune, with good rhythm, momentum and emphasis important above all else. Ornamentation is taught after the tune and its rhythm have already been firmly established. Tunes are frequently related back to the dancing tradition from which they emerged which is helpful in understanding their context and how to approach them.

The tutor accentuates using the whole concertina, not being stuck in rows but moving from either side of the concertina for optimal flow and personality.

In lesson 9, using The Edenderry Reel, students are taught how to double octave a tune.

In lesson 11 ‘ The Good Natured Man’, the notes at the very top of the instrument’s register are explored. In the last lesson ‘The Castle Jig’, attention turns to the notes at the very bottom of the range of the concertina.

The tutor plays a Jeffries C/G 38 button Anglo concertina.

The traditional Irish tunes taught in this course are:

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Sample Sheet Music

Download The Humours of Glendart ABC Sheet Music.
Download The Humours of Glendart Standard Notation Sheet Music.

Sample mp3 of The Humours of Glendart

Your Tutor

Caroline Keane has been playing the concertina for more than twenty years and professionally since 2007. Growing up in Limerick, she was surrounded by the musical richness of both Clare and Sliabh Luachra, influences which have become the cornerstone of her uniquely vibrant, passionate and emotive style of concertina playing.

At the age of seven, Caroline began taking tin whistle lessons at her local Comhaltas branch, and soon afterwards progressed on to concertina. Under the guidance of her teacher, Noel Hill, she developed proficiency in her art, and by fifteen, was performing both nationally and internationally. In 2006, Caroline was awarded the prestigious Lán Mara award, in recognition of outstanding achievement in national music examinations.

She holds first-class honours degrees at both BA and MA levels in Irish Traditional Music and Traditional Irish Music Performance respectively from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. Caroline is also a prolific composer of contemporary Irish repertoire inspired by her interaction with traditional music on a local and national level, since studying composition within her BA degree.

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For detailed Frequently Asked Questions check out the end of our Concertina Basics Course page.