The English concertina is a free-reed instrument invented by Charles Wheatstone in 1829. It is fully chromatic, and plays the same tones whether contracting or expanding the bellows.
Keys are arranged in four horizontal rows on each side. The natural notes are in the middle two rows; low notes are closest to the player, and alternate between the left and right side as they ascend (e.g., C may be on the left, then D on the right). Any two notes ne...
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The English concertina is a free-reed instrument invented by Charles Wheatstone in 1829. It is fully chromatic, and plays the same tones whether contracting or expanding the bellows.
Keys are arranged in four horizontal rows on each side. The natural notes are in the middle two rows; low notes are closest to the player, and alternate between the left and right side as they ascend (e.g., C may be on the left, then D on the right). Any two notes next to each other in the middle two rows form a perfect or minor fifth; any three keys in a triangle in the middle two rows form a triad. The outer two rows are the most common accidentals for their nearest natural key; e.g., F♯ is next to F, and B♭ is next to B.
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