For some reason, after umpteen years of playing along on guitar to tunes played mainly on melodeons or concertinas, I find myself yearning to play in some key other than C,F,G or D! Someone turned up with a clarinet - whoopee, B flat for a change - not so, it was an A clarinet, and the player proceded to fit in with the DG mob!

The names of the tunes seldom come to my attention, since the free reed mafia communicate with the first three notes of any tune without announcing it.

I recently attended a session where there were 14 melodeons present. After that evening, I seriously considered that there should be a limit to the number of melodeons in any one pub ("one" would be good here!).

IMHO things are getting out of hand, at least here in Essex, UK. Tunes are great for the musicians, and possibly for dancers, but have little or no entertainment value for the average member of the audience, especially when they are repeated ad infinitum and/or are indistinguishable from each other.

Free reed instruments in less than totally expert hands have only pitch and duration, dynamics seem totally lacking.

And some of my best friends are (were?) melodeon players!