G'day aagin Kipling,

I had a look at the dots for Shoals of Herring in my old copy of the Ewan MacColl Peggy Seeger Songbook. This is a fairly simple tune, given here in the key of 'C', so it isn't difficult, even on a 20-key Anglo ... and the chords given in the book are just the simple C, G7 and F - the classic "3-chord trick" and nothing tricky for left-hand chording. This implies, of course, that you play as much as possible of the melody on the right hand so that the left hand has only to deal with the chords/bass/vamping/ whatever you use for accompaniment.

The one problem this tune presents, for the simplest Anglos, is the 4 instances of a high 'd' note, which isn't on the right-hand 'C' row of a 20-key model. You can grab it as 'push' on the third button on the 'G' row ... but it is on the push, so you need to find a 'G' chord on the 'G' row's left hand (the whole row, actually!).

Of course, if you have a 30-key Anglo-chromatic, you will probably have a high 'd' on the draw somewhere in the third row ... and, if you have a 34+ key model, you should have it on the far end of your 'C' row.

I have not heard Louis Killen's version, but I suspect that it goes well beyond the simple chording in the book - and, since he plays English System, it won't be a simple tune and chords approach. Because the English alternates notes from side to side, it is almost impossible for ordinary humans to play a separate chord bass - and the stage virtuosi of the concertina's heyday used techniques of playing in 'parallel intervals' ... having practiced scales of: 'thirds', 'fourths', 'fifths', 'sixths', 'octaves' ... 'tenths' ... etcetera! I don't know what Louis does on this tune. The best thing for you to do would be to listen to what you can do easily on your own instrument ... then go back and listen to Louis's version and see if you can do what you can hear him doing ... there is a lot of differnce between English and Anglo!

I think that Alf Edwards plays concertina on the Radio Ballad Shoals of Herring - but I don't remember anything too flash (OK: I should go back and listen to the CD ...). I think Alf just plays one line in an arrangement of the small BBC orchestra for the production.

Regards,

Bob Bolton