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[Ollie]

What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?
I can't really remember. A mixture of the sound, the fact it looked like a lot of fun, was suitably esoteric, and good for Morris music (I'd just started dancing at this point). Also, it's Englishness; I now see this as being total rubbish, but there was something about it when I was 13...

Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason, which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).
I'd love a Hayden duet concertina.

Did you start playing in your childhood or later?
Yes, I got my first melodeon for Christmas when I was 13.

If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you or was it your own choice?
I'm incredibly lucky that my parents have always supported my musical activities. I've been playing music since the age of 4 when I started recorder lessons, and I've played many instruments since then, all of which have been my choice to learn to play.
We went along to Hobgoblin in Newport Pagnall to try some boxes, and I settled on a Scarlatti Nero. Thankfully, after getting in touch with Dave Jolly of Jollybox, I was persuaded to get a Pokerwork instead. Dave had a Nero in, and didn't think much of it, and offered me a nearly-new Korean Pokerwork for the same price. What a gent. I probably owe him a pint...

If it was your own choice, can you remember why?
I think I've covered this in the above answers.

Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or by someone playing an instrument other than the box?
It was the track "Raggle Taggle Gypsies" by Waterson:Carthy that made me want to play the melodeon; I think Saul Rose was the box player on that track. It was the first track on an English Folk compilation, which I'd picked up for a fiver from somewhere. Up until then, I'd been heavily into folk-rock (and had heard Morris On, but the box never called out to me from that) and Irish folk, but something just 'clicked' when I heard this. Saul continues to be an influence on my playing today, along with a whole host of other players.

Interestingly, I never saw the melodeon as a contender for my first instrument. Before picking up the box, I'd learnt to play the recorder, Irish whistle, piano, mandolin, fiddle (badly), trombone and guitar. Mandolin was my main thing, with piano being second as I was having formal lessons. I can't quite remember when it tipped into becoming my first instrument; possibly A level when I chose it as my main performance instrument. Now it's my first study on my degree course, and I'm going to get lessons with a hero of mine. Funny how life pans out, isn't it?

[Chris Ryall]

Funny how life pans out, isn't it?

You ain't seen nothing yet! 

[Steve_freereeder]

What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?
My background since the age of 10 has always been playing classical music - mostly orchestral clarinet, which I still do today 50 years later. I became interested in the melodeon around the same time as my work (coal mining) took to me to west Wales for a few years in the 1980s. There were very few opportunities for an orchestral player there, and learning/playing the melodeon and taking part in ceilidh bands and sessions was a real eye-opening experience. It was so irreverent and liberating compared with the precise rigours of orchestral playing. I loved the sound of the melodeon and the fact that it was complete in its own right - a real 'band in a box'.

Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason, which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).
Anglo concertina - no question about it.

Did you start playing in your childhood or later?
When I was about 11, a school friend loaned me a battered old German two-row F/C anglo. I found my way around it reasonably quickly and discovered that I could play simple tunes, mostly hymns and carols, by ear. I didn't get my first melodeon until I was in my 20s.

If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you or was it your own choice?
It was always my choice. My parents are not particularly musical but have always supported me. 

If it was your own choice, can you remember why?
See above.

Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or by someone playing an instrument other than the box?
My melodeon playing was really kick-started by listening to a chap* busking in Llanelli market square. I've told the story elsewhere, but briefly he was playing standard ceilidh band polkas and jigs on a Hohner 1-row 2-stop in C, the identical instrument to one I'd bought a few months previously. We got talking and swapped contact details. He became a friend and taught me a good number of tunes, and we eventually formed a rough-and-ready ceilidh band 'Rattlin' Bog' which I believe is still going to this day, although with a different line-up. Once I got properly started on melodeon, I heard recordings of John Kirkpatrick's playing of English/Morris music which just made complete and utter sense to me and I knew then that was the sort and style of music I wanted to play myself.

That was all in the 1980s and I've come a long way since, but those 'formative years' still influence my playing to this day.

*His name was Terry and was a friend of our Rees Wesson of this forum.

[jonm]

> What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?

Started on piano box at age 15ish - the garage was full of them. Other morris musicians around managed to look much cooler with the melodeon slung over one shoulder and managing the "bounce" require for morris seemingly effortlessly, while on PA it's more of a struggle. Smaller, lighter, compact but still able to play all the tunes etc.

> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).

I've been playing guitar for 30 years as well, and I'm probably a better guitarist than anything else; then again, I've been plaing English concertina for half that time and I'd tell a guitar forum I'm a better EC player!

> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?

About three years ago; finally decided to bite the push/pull bullet. I had a few months in prospect between jobs when I could devote some quality time to practice.

> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice?

N/A

> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?

Borrowed a Hohner Erica, couldn't get on with the  air button (playing left handed), went shopping and a Lilly just fitted right.

> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?

Initial memories of melodeon playing come from JK and Morris On, plus other morris musicians, later expanded into Old Swan, Wood/Cutting, cajun stuff, squeezy and assorted others.

[brianread]

> What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?

I saw one in a junk shop in Portsmouth in about 1972, and bought it. No idea what - lost in the mists of time.

> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason, which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).

Recorder/Whistle, Anglo Concertina?

> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?

Recorder @ 6 yrs, Guitar @ 18, Melodeon @ 22, Concertina @ 23/24 (i am 63 now!).

> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice?

Did Recorder at Primary school, tried Violin latter, but family pressure stopped it (too much horrible noise).

> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?

The violin was.  I wanted to learn something, and failed to do so.

> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?

JK and also Morris On and later Nigel Churchill (of Portsmouth), once I started to dance Morris.

[Tamba]

> What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?
Its joyful bouncy sound (as heard in Bob Cann and Jackie Daly).
> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).
Tenor saxophone
> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?
Mid 20's
> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice?
N/A
> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?
It looked and sounded like a fun instrument to play. I was right, it is!
> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?
Mostly Jackie Daly but Terry Teague (who also showed Steve Freereeder a thing or two) was the one who showed me what can be done on a D/G box.

[Steve_freereeder]

I would like to continue my (very unscientific) survey with a further question, if I may.
I am interested in getting an estimate of the ratio of male melodeon players to female melodeon players.

So, if you could count the number of melodeon players that you know or know of in your locality
and simply record how many there are of each sex.
If you are happy to name your locality in your reply, I think it would be useful (to avoid duplication?).

In my immediate circle of friends/acquaintances there are the following melodeon players:
Male: 10
Female: 11
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

[ladydetemps]

I am interested in getting an estimate of the ratio of male melodeon players to female melodeon players.

So, if you could count the number of melodeon players that you know or know of in your locality
and simply record how many there are of each sex.
If you are happy to name your locality in your reply, I think it would be useful (to avoid duplication?).
If, on the other hand, you would prefer not to include your location, that is ok too.
Don't forget to include yourself in the count of course!

p.s. I appreciate all the replies to date and of course if anyone else wants to respond to my first set
      of questions, they are more than welcome. I have really enjoyed reading them.

Question are we talking about those whom melodeon is the 'main' instrument or that my play it occasionally as a 2nd instrument?

[Lester]

Of the sessions I play in regularly it is 4 male, 4 female.

[Strigulino]

The only melodeon players I could name in my local vicinity are me and LDT, someone called Nell I think, and Martyn White.  So 3 female, one male. There must be more, I just don't know them yet.  I used to go to a session in Southend that had a few ladies but mainly men.  LDT goes more often so she'd be able to give you better info than I can.

[ladydetemps]

The only melodeon players I could name in my local vicinity are me and LDT, someone called Nell I think, and Martyn White.  So 3 female, one male. There must be more, I just don't know them yet.  I used to go to a session in Southend that had a few ladies but mainly men.  LDT goes more often so she'd be able to give you better info than I can.

Rough guess would be 14 males and 9 female. If I include the wider area of Essex people I have met. But I'm bound to have go it wrong.

This video from the last melodeons & more might give you an idea of the ratios in east anglia (although it includes international and those who travel from out of the area)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LgQz7SDWm0

[Marje]

> What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?

I like the fact that you have melody, rhythm and bass all in one instrument.
As soon as I tried it, the push/pull action  seemed very intuitive and I knew I could learn to play it (like a mouth organ).

> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).

Anglo concertina

> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?

Not until I was over 40.

> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice?
> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?

My choice, and it arose like this: I had always been a singer and had begun singing in folk clubs. I had a bad throat/chest infection that prevented me from singing for several months. This was deeply depressing, and I decided to buy and learn an instrument as an alternative muscial activity.

> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?

I knew someone who played one at a local club, and that interested me. He wasn't a particularly good or inspirational player, but it was the first melodeon I'd come across.

I'll also add my local numbers of M/F players: here in south Devon, I know two other female players, and can think of five males, although at the sessions I go to most often, I am often the only melodeon player.

[pikey]

What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?
    When I started going to folk clubs aged 16 there was a box player who played stuff in the interval (Jim Sharpe). I was already playing mouth organ/guitar/whistle, and it made such a good sound for dance music I wanted to join in.


> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).  Concertina . (I started on that before I got my first box)
> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?  Aged 17.
> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice? You could only get a Hohner Pokerwork in D/G locally back then, so they chose it for me.
> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?  N/A
> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?  Professor Jim Sharpe from York.

[malcolmbebb]

So, a few questions;
> What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?

Probably Morris, started with concertinas then lured to the dark side.

> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).

Anglo concertina, maybe keyboard

> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?

Much later 50+

> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice?
N/A

> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?

Initially tried a Pokerwork, then tried an Erica and liked the sound better.

> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?
Not sure. Tried a PA first but didn't get on with it. JK may have helped.

[CarolineC]

The question about the ratio of male to female melodeon players is interesting.  I did not really know what the melodeon looked like, sounded like or what it could do until my son started playing a couple of years ago.  However I grew up knowing that my grandmother who was born in around 1906 and died in the mid 1960's (when I was about 6)  had played the melodeon and that it was regarded then as a "lady's instrument". 

I took it up 18 months ago in my 50's and have found it really enjoyable and I love playing it - even though I am conscious of the gap between the way I play and how I would like to play (and how my son now plays)     I played classical before (oboe) and for any dancers out there the difference between that and the meolodeon is like that between ballet and tap!

I am in North East Essex - and if the local session is typical then male players far out number the female players - however, counting up there have been 3 female players plus me who have turned up at least once.  However, I suspect that there may be many more secret melodeonistas out there who are anxious about being good enough not to get it wrong before they play in a public setting - and the longer you leave it the better you think that you should be and the higher the expectations you place on yourself (I hasten to add that this is not specifically a female characteristic).  I turned up after three months of playing-and played appallingly badly and so anything better after that has to be progress.

[Andrew Shead]

Estimating the number of melodeon players is an interesting question that's been posed in another thread. I've been wondering how to do this. Breaking the problem down into small observations by region, as is being done in this thread, should be a good start. In his book Risk Intelligence, Dylan Evans recounts how the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi would challenge his students with similar questions, such as how many piano tuners there are in a city, then help them arrive at an estimation by breaking the problem into subproblems.

I suspect that the number of melodeonists depends on the popularity of the music in any area and the number of regular public events giving the instrument exposure. Of course, now the Internet is very influential. Annual sales of instruments and quantities manufactured would be good indicators, but these numbers are usually trade secrets. Another indicator would be the number of manufacturers actively trading in support of the marketplace.

[doktorfolkenstein]

> What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?

I've always liked the sound of accordions and other free reeds, and I began a serious English folk music kick (which shows no signs of waning) a few years ago. Having a rather insane desire to learn as many musical instruments as possible, I decided it made sense to acquire a Pokerwork.

> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).

The best substitute for the melodeon is either an Anglo or a harmonica.

> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?

32 technically isn't considered childhood in most societies, but as I have determined never to grow up there is room for interpretation.

> If you started in your childhood, did your parents choose the box for you
   or was it your own choice?

See above for the childhood question; and my own choice.

> If it was your own choice, can you remember why?

My main objective was getting a German-made Pokerwork, which I managed to find. (Key was secondary; in the States D/G isn't the default so I ended up with a G/C. As there are no other box players locally this is less of a problem than it would be otherwise.)

> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?

John Kirkpatrick was the first English folk free reed player I've heard, and thus bears most of the blame.

[Nick Hudis]

What is it about the box that attracted you in the first instance?

The sound, there is something so evocative about it, evocative of what I'm not sure...

> Imagine that you were denied access to your box for some reason,
   which instrument do you think might substitute to satisfy that
   inevitable yearning? (if indeed any).

I'd go back to my guitar which is now sadly neglected.

> Did you start playing in your childhood or later?

I started in my late 40s after playing many other instruments.


> Were you inspired to play the box by another box player or
   by someone playing an instrument other than the box?

It was hearing Andy Cutting at the Sage Gateshead accompanying June Tabor with Mark Emmerson (why is such a brilliant fiddler/pianist not better known?) and Tim Harries (best bass player since Danny Thompson).  I was smitten and had my own box within a month.

[Marje]

The male/female ratio thing is interesting. I'd be curious to know how it all adds up. And does anyone have the numbers of Melnetters of each gender?

I do notice that men normally outnumber women substantially at music sessions generally. In this area I'd say it was by at least 2:1, often 3:1. Classical orchestras are much the same, certainly at professional level, although more girls than boys take up an instrument at school, but choirs are the other way round.

[Chris Ryall]

The male/female ratio thing is interesting. I'd be curious to know how it all adds up.

.. I can assure you .. it'll add up to 1.000