Concertina
Encyclopedia
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument
, like the various accordion
s and the harmonica
. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it. Also, each button produces one note, while accordions typically can produce chords with a single button.
The concertina was developed in England and Germany, most likely independently. The English version was invented in 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone
and a patent for an improved version was filed by him in 1844. The German version was announced in 1834 by Carl Friedrich Uhlig.
The systems differ in:
Because the concertina was developed nearly contemporaneously in England and Germany, systems can be broadly divided into English, German, and Anglo-German types. To a player proficient in one of these systems, a concertina constructed according to a different system may be quite unfamiliar.
The most common concertina systems are listed below. The list is not exhaustive, as the concertina is not only a venerable and widespread instrument, but also an evolving instrument: modern experiments in concertina construction include chromatic scales offering more than 12 steps per octave
, and instruments which allow the pitch of the notes to be sharped or flatted by the performer.
. The two innermost rows of the layout constitute a diatonic C major scale
, distributed alternately between the two sides of the instrument. Thus in a given range, C-E-G-B-d is on one side, D-F-A-c-e on the other. The two outer rows consist of the sharps and flats required to complete the chromatic scale. This distribution of scale notes between sides facilitates rapid melodic play. (Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee
" was transcribed for English concertina early in the instrument's history.). But it also renders chords somewhat more difficult to learn than scales.
Giulio Regondi
was a virtuoso performer and composer on this instrument as well as the guitar, and helped to popularize the instrument during the 19th century. Allan Atlas, in his book "The Wheatstone Concertina in Victorian England" identifies six known concertos written for this instrument. There are still many sonatas and other pieces that survive.
The English concertina is typically held by placing the thumb
s through thumb straps and the little fingers on metal finger rests, leaving three fingers free for noting. Alternatively, both the fourth and little fingers support the metal finger rest, leaving two fingers for noting. In the classical style of Regondi, the little finger is used as well as the other three fingers and the metal finger rests are used only very occasionally. This allows all eight fingers to simultaneously play the instrument so large chords are possible. In pieces such as the Bernhard Molique "Concerto No 1 in G for concertina and orchestra", or Percy Grainger
's "Shepherd's Hey", four, five and six note chords are not uncommon, and would be difficult or impossible to play without using all the fingers.
Venezuelan composer, pianist and engineer Ricardo Teruel wrote between 2000 and 2005 fifteen works for this instrument, and two concerts for english concertina and orchestra. Teruel is also an excellent performer of his own works.
English-system treble and tenor-treble concertinas usually span 3 1/2 or 4 octaves. Baritones are similar but transpose down one octave. Bass concertinas transpose 2 octaves down, and Piccolo concertinas play one octave up. The keyboard stud-arrangement and spacing is the same throughout, so concertina band players can all play from music in treble clef, and it's straightforward to move from smaller to larger instruments.
under the name Triumph). Rarer are the Jeffries and Wheatstone duet systems. The newer Hayden System was conceived in the 1960s. In this layout, all scales have the same fingering. It was initially proposed and patented by Kaspar Wicki in Switzerland
in 1896, but no known instruments were constructed with the Wicki layout, and Hayden was unaware of Wicki's patent when developing his system. Most duet systems are held by placing the hands through a leather strap, with the thumbs outside of the strap and the palms resting on wooden bars, though some Wheatstone models use the thumb strap of the English concertina.
Frequently, German concertinas also use more than one reed for each note to produce a fuller sound. Depending on the manufacturer, each note may have up to five reeds spread across three octave
s. Sometimes these reeds may be slightly out of tune with each other in order to produce a vibrato
effect; this is called wet, musette, or Chicago tuning. With dry or Minnesota tuning the reeds are in tune with each other and do not produce this effect. There is also the traditional tuning of an octave spread as established by Herr Lange in the nineteenth century.
concertina systems which share common construction features and core button layout. In the United States, particularly in the Midwest, the term "concertina" often refers to the Chemnitzer concertina
. Chemnitzer Concertinas are bisonoric (see above) and are closely related to the bandoneón
, but with a somewhat different keyboard layout and decorative style, with some mechanical innovations pioneered by German-American instrument builder and inventor Otto Schlicht.
, a German concertina system the original bisonoric layout of which was devised by Heinrich Band
. This type of concertina is traditionally featured in Tango music
due to the instrument's popularity in Argentina
in the late 19th century when Tango developed from the various dance styles in Argentina
and Uruguay
. When Tango spread as a fashionable dance to Paris
in the early 20 century, the Bandonion was adapted with a new unisonoric fingering option known as the French or Piguri system. The bisonoric layout is often preferred as the more 'traditional' option. Bandonions with more than one reed for each note are typically dry-tuned. One of the most famous exponents of this instrument was Ástor Piazzolla
.
The Anglo or Anglo-German concertina is historically a hybrid between the English and German types of concertinas. The button layouts are generally the same as the original 20-button German concertinas designed by Uhlig in 1834. Within a few years of that date, the German concertina was a popular import in England, Ireland and North America, due to its ease of use and relatively low price. Due to this popularity, English manufacturers began offering their own versions built using traditional English methods: concertina reeds instead of long-plate reeds, independent pivots for each button, and hexagon-shaped ends. Initially the term Anglo-German only applied to the concertinas of this type built in England. But as German manufacturers adopted some of these techniques, the term came to apply to all concertinas that used the 20-button system patented by Uhlig. Use of the "German" part of the title Anglo-German ceased in the UK during World War I
.
The heart of the Anglo system consists of two 10-button rows, each of which produces a diatonic major scale in a pattern devised around 1826 by a Bohemian
called Richter for use in a harmonica. Five buttons of each row are on each side. The two rows are musically a fifth apart; for example, if the row closest to the player's wrist is in the key of G, the next outer row is in the key of C below. An advantage of the Richter scale is that pressing three adjacent notes in one row produces a major triad. Also, because the travel direction inverts as you progress up the scale, at the point where the scale crosses from one side of the concertina to the other octaves can be played in the home keys.
A third row of extra notes was eventually added, loosely derived from the C scale, consisting of accidentals and notes which already existed in the diatonic rows but in opposite bisonoric orientation to make additional chords possible and certain melodic passages easier. At this point the instrument was "chromatic" over two octaves, but not every chord or other note combination was available in either push or draw. There is little variation between makers and models in the layout of the notes in the core diatonic rows, but somewhat more variation in the number and layout of the 'helper' notes. The two most common layouts of this 30-button variety are the Jeffries and Lachenal systems. Layouts with 36, 38 and 40 buttons are not uncommon, and a few anglos have as many as 55 keys (such as the one John Spiers
plays). Instruments in the key of C/G are most typical; other key combinations are also available, the keys of G/D and B/F being the most common alternatives. B/F and A/E were popular with the Salvation Army.
The Anglo concertina is typically held by placing the hands through a leather strap, with the thumbs outside the strap and the palms resting on wooden bars. This arrangement leaves four fingers of each hand free for noting and the thumbs free to operate an air valve (for expanding or contracting the bellows without sounding a note) or a drone. Anglo concertinas are often associated with the music of Ireland
, although they are also used in other musical contexts, particularly in music for the English Morris dance
and Boeremusiek. Famous English players of the Anglo include Scan Tester
, John Spiers
, William Kimber
, and John Kirkpatrick.
George Jones is often credited as the first English maker of the chromatic Anglo concertina. British firms active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries include those founded by Charles Wheatstone, Charles Jeffries (who built primarily Anglo-style concertinas), Louis Lachenal (who built concertinas in both English and Anglo styles and was the most prolific manufacturer of the period), and John Crabb.
In the mid 1830s concertinas were manufactured and sold in Germany and England, in two types specific to the country. Both systems continued to evolve into the current forms as the popularity of the instrument increased. The difference in prices and the common uses of the English and German systems led to something of a class distinction between the two types of the instrument. German or Anglo-German concertinas were regarded as a lower-class instrument and English concertina had an air of bourgeois respectability. English concertinas were most popular as parlour instruments for classical music, while the German concertinas were more associated with the popular dance music of the day.
In the 1850s, Anglo-German concertina's ability to play both melody and accompaniment led English manufacturers to start developing the various Duet systems, and the popular Maccann system were developed towards the end of the century. Meanwhile, German manufacturers were producing concertinas with more than 20 buttons for local sale. Three keyboard systems for German Concertinas eventually became popular: Uhlig's Chemnitzer system, Carl Zimmerman's Carlsfeld system, and the Bandonion's Reinische system. Several efforts were made by the various German manufacturers to develop a single unified keyboard system for all German concertinas; but this was only partially accomplished at the end of the 19th century when the Chemnitzer and Carlsfelder systems were merged into the unified concertina system and a unified bandonion system was created. Despite the new standards, the older systems remained popular into the 20th century.
Throughout the 19th century, the concertina was a popular instrument. The Salvation Army
in England, America, Australia
and New Zealand
commonly used concertinas in their bands, and other concertina bands and musicians performed in all parts of the English speaking world. German emigrants carried their Chemnizters and bandonions with them to the United States and Argentina
, respectively, where they were regionally popular. In England, America and Australia the concertina became nearly ubiquitous.
In early 20th century, this popularity started to rapidly decline. Reasons included the growing relative popularity of the accordion, the mass production of other instruments such as the piano, increasingly chromatic and less tonal forms of music such as blues
and jazz
, and the overall decline of amateur musical performance due to radio
and the phonograph
. By the middle of the century, very few concertina makers remained, and most of those used accordion reeds and inexpensive, unreliable button mechanisms. Yet the various forms of concertina survived in some areas: Anglo concertinas in Irish traditional music, the English and the Anglo in English Morris dancing, the Anglo in Africa
, among Afrikaaners (see Boer music
) and Zulus (who call it a "squashbox"), the Chemnitzer in the United States as a polka
instrument, and the "bandoneón" in Argentina as a prominent part of the Tango tradition. During the period between World War I
and World War II
there were many concertina and bandonion bands in Germany; but with the rise of the Nazi regime these musical clubs disappeared.
The folk revival movements of the 1960s led to a modest resurgence in the popularity of the concertina particularly the Anglo. More recently the popularity of the concertina again seems to be experiencing a resurgence, particularly the Anglo in the traditional music of Ireland. Renewed interest in tango since the 1980s has also seen interest in the "Bandoneón" increase.
Traditional music continues in many parts of the UK in the 21st century, often using English and Anglo-system concertinas. The Concertina Band Revival is stimulated by regular weekends and meetings for players to make music together and get tuition, folk festival workshops and enthusiastic groups meeting monthly.
Currently there are at least eleven makers of traditional hand-made concertinas, in Europe, South Africa, Australia and North America. They use mainly traditional construction techniques and hand-made reeds, and generally offer many options for the type of concertina, materials, decoration, button layouts, tuning, and other customizations. Quality traditional concertinas require labour and high skill to produce, so prices can be high and waiting lists measured in years. Cheap mass-produced accordion-reeded instruments are less reliable. Since the mid-1970s, hand-made accordion-reeded concertinas have become a high-quality cheaper alternative. They are mainly made using traditional building techniques, and some are built customized to order, but the traditional design is adapted to use mass-produced accordion reeds to significantly reduce production cost and time. They are commonly called "hybrids", although some manufacturers object to this term.
:Category:Composers for concertina
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
, like the various accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
s and the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it. Also, each button produces one note, while accordions typically can produce chords with a single button.
The concertina was developed in England and Germany, most likely independently. The English version was invented in 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone
Charles Wheatstone
Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS , was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope , and the Playfair cipher...
and a patent for an improved version was filed by him in 1844. The German version was announced in 1834 by Carl Friedrich Uhlig.
Types (Systems)
The word concertina refers to a family of hand-held bellows-driven free reed instruments constructed according to various systems. Strictly speaking: Concertinas are six sided, Aeolas are eight sided and Edeophones are twelve sided.The systems differ in:
- the notes and ranges available;
- the positioning of the keys (buttons);
- the sonoricity (American jargon expression) of the notes provided by the keys:
- the keys of the bisonoric (American Jargon) instruments produce differing notes on the push and on the draw;
- the keys of the unisonoric (American Jargon) instruments produce the same note on the push and on the draw;
- the ability to produce sound in both bellows directions:
- single action, producing sound only in one bellows direction (usually found only on English System bass instruments and some baritone Instruments);
- double action, producing sound in both bellows directions;
- size and shape of the instrument and the technique required to hold the instrument;
- the types of reeds that are used Steel; Brass or nickel silver tongued, brass or aluminium framed traditional reeds or Accordion plate reed instruments;
- the mechanical action that is used to open and close the valves to the reed chambers.
Because the concertina was developed nearly contemporaneously in England and Germany, systems can be broadly divided into English, German, and Anglo-German types. To a player proficient in one of these systems, a concertina constructed according to a different system may be quite unfamiliar.
The most common concertina systems are listed below. The list is not exhaustive, as the concertina is not only a venerable and widespread instrument, but also an evolving instrument: modern experiments in concertina construction include chromatic scales offering more than 12 steps per octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
, and instruments which allow the pitch of the notes to be sharped or flatted by the performer.
English type
English style concertinas traditionally share several features:- Unisonoric (push and draw on each button yield the same note);
- Fully chromatic;
- Reeds individually mounted on a frame, laid flat on a chambered reedpan with a pair of reeds in each chamber;
- Each button has a pivot;
- Hexagon shaped ends (though octagons and other shapes were produced as well)).
English concertina
The eponymous English concertina is a fully chromatic instrument having buttons in a rectangular arrangement of four staggered rows, with the short side of the rectangle addressing the wrist. The invention of the instrument is credited to Sir Charles Wheatstone; his earliest patent of a like instrument was granted 19 December 1829, No 5803 in Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The two innermost rows of the layout constitute a diatonic C major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
, distributed alternately between the two sides of the instrument. Thus in a given range, C-E-G-B-d is on one side, D-F-A-c-e on the other. The two outer rows consist of the sharps and flats required to complete the chromatic scale. This distribution of scale notes between sides facilitates rapid melodic play. (Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee
Flight of the Bumblebee
"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich into an insect so that he can fly away to...
" was transcribed for English concertina early in the instrument's history.). But it also renders chords somewhat more difficult to learn than scales.
Giulio Regondi
Giulio Regondi
Giulio Regondi was an Italian classical guitarist, concertinist and composer.Regondi was a child prodigy. Fernando Sor dedicated his Souvenir d'amitié, op. 46 to Regondi in 1831, when the boy was just nine.There is a reference to his appearing in London in 1831, presented as a child prodigy of the...
was a virtuoso performer and composer on this instrument as well as the guitar, and helped to popularize the instrument during the 19th century. Allan Atlas, in his book "The Wheatstone Concertina in Victorian England" identifies six known concertos written for this instrument. There are still many sonatas and other pieces that survive.
The English concertina is typically held by placing the thumb
Thumb
The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...
s through thumb straps and the little fingers on metal finger rests, leaving three fingers free for noting. Alternatively, both the fourth and little fingers support the metal finger rest, leaving two fingers for noting. In the classical style of Regondi, the little finger is used as well as the other three fingers and the metal finger rests are used only very occasionally. This allows all eight fingers to simultaneously play the instrument so large chords are possible. In pieces such as the Bernhard Molique "Concerto No 1 in G for concertina and orchestra", or Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
's "Shepherd's Hey", four, five and six note chords are not uncommon, and would be difficult or impossible to play without using all the fingers.
Venezuelan composer, pianist and engineer Ricardo Teruel wrote between 2000 and 2005 fifteen works for this instrument, and two concerts for english concertina and orchestra. Teruel is also an excellent performer of his own works.
English-system treble and tenor-treble concertinas usually span 3 1/2 or 4 octaves. Baritones are similar but transpose down one octave. Bass concertinas transpose 2 octaves down, and Piccolo concertinas play one octave up. The keyboard stud-arrangement and spacing is the same throughout, so concertina band players can all play from music in treble clef, and it's straightforward to move from smaller to larger instruments.
Duet concertina
Instruments built according to various duet systems are less common than other concertinas. Duet concertina systems were developed in order to simplify playing a melody with an accompaniment. To this end the various duet systems feature button layouts that provide the lower (bass) notes in the left hand and the higher (treble) notes in the right, with some overlap (like a two-manual organ). The most common duet systems for concertina are the Maccann System and the Crane system (also adopted by the Salvation ArmySalvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
under the name Triumph). Rarer are the Jeffries and Wheatstone duet systems. The newer Hayden System was conceived in the 1960s. In this layout, all scales have the same fingering. It was initially proposed and patented by Kaspar Wicki in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 1896, but no known instruments were constructed with the Wicki layout, and Hayden was unaware of Wicki's patent when developing his system. Most duet systems are held by placing the hands through a leather strap, with the thumbs outside of the strap and the palms resting on wooden bars, though some Wheatstone models use the thumb strap of the English concertina.
German type
German style concertinas traditionally share several features:- Bisonoric (each button produces a different note on the push and the draw of the bellows);
- Diatonic or semi-chromatic;
- Reeds are mounted on a long plate, with separate chambers for each set of reeds;
- The buttons in each row pivot on a shared pivot arm;
- Square shaped ends.
Frequently, German concertinas also use more than one reed for each note to produce a fuller sound. Depending on the manufacturer, each note may have up to five reeds spread across three octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s. Sometimes these reeds may be slightly out of tune with each other in order to produce a vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
effect; this is called wet, musette, or Chicago tuning. With dry or Minnesota tuning the reeds are in tune with each other and do not produce this effect. There is also the traditional tuning of an octave spread as established by Herr Lange in the nineteenth century.
Chemnitzer concertina
There are various GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
concertina systems which share common construction features and core button layout. In the United States, particularly in the Midwest, the term "concertina" often refers to the Chemnitzer concertina
Chemnitzer concertina
A Chemnitzer concertina is a musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed category, sometimes called squeezeboxes. The Chemnitzer concertina is most closely related to the Bandoneón , more distantly to the other concertinas, and accordions.- Physical description :It is roughly...
. Chemnitzer Concertinas are bisonoric (see above) and are closely related to the bandoneón
Bandoneón
The bandoneón is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the orquesta típica, the tango orchestra...
, but with a somewhat different keyboard layout and decorative style, with some mechanical innovations pioneered by German-American instrument builder and inventor Otto Schlicht.
Bandonion or bandoneón
Of special note is the bandonion or (Spanish) bandoneónBandoneón
The bandoneón is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the orquesta típica, the tango orchestra...
, a German concertina system the original bisonoric layout of which was devised by Heinrich Band
Heinrich Band
Heinrich Band , born in Krefeld, Germany, in 1821, was the inventor of the Bandoneón; this 'hand-organ-like' instrument is a reed instrument in the Concertina family of instruments....
. This type of concertina is traditionally featured in Tango music
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
due to the instrument's popularity in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the late 19th century when Tango developed from the various dance styles in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. When Tango spread as a fashionable dance to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the early 20 century, the Bandonion was adapted with a new unisonoric fingering option known as the French or Piguri system. The bisonoric layout is often preferred as the more 'traditional' option. Bandonions with more than one reed for each note are typically dry-tuned. One of the most famous exponents of this instrument was Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
.
Anglo concertina
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The heart of the Anglo system consists of two 10-button rows, each of which produces a diatonic major scale in a pattern devised around 1826 by a Bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
called Richter for use in a harmonica. Five buttons of each row are on each side. The two rows are musically a fifth apart; for example, if the row closest to the player's wrist is in the key of G, the next outer row is in the key of C below. An advantage of the Richter scale is that pressing three adjacent notes in one row produces a major triad. Also, because the travel direction inverts as you progress up the scale, at the point where the scale crosses from one side of the concertina to the other octaves can be played in the home keys.
A third row of extra notes was eventually added, loosely derived from the C scale, consisting of accidentals and notes which already existed in the diatonic rows but in opposite bisonoric orientation to make additional chords possible and certain melodic passages easier. At this point the instrument was "chromatic" over two octaves, but not every chord or other note combination was available in either push or draw. There is little variation between makers and models in the layout of the notes in the core diatonic rows, but somewhat more variation in the number and layout of the 'helper' notes. The two most common layouts of this 30-button variety are the Jeffries and Lachenal systems. Layouts with 36, 38 and 40 buttons are not uncommon, and a few anglos have as many as 55 keys (such as the one John Spiers
John Spiers
John Spiers is an English melodeon, concertina and bandonion player.-Career:He plays with the duo Spiers and Boden and the band Bellowhead, and used to be a part of Eliza Carthy's old band The Ratcatchers.-Personal life:...
plays). Instruments in the key of C/G are most typical; other key combinations are also available, the keys of G/D and B/F being the most common alternatives. B/F and A/E were popular with the Salvation Army.
The Anglo concertina is typically held by placing the hands through a leather strap, with the thumbs outside the strap and the palms resting on wooden bars. This arrangement leaves four fingers of each hand free for noting and the thumbs free to operate an air valve (for expanding or contracting the bellows without sounding a note) or a drone. Anglo concertinas are often associated with the music of Ireland
Music of Ireland
Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...
, although they are also used in other musical contexts, particularly in music for the English Morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
and Boeremusiek. Famous English players of the Anglo include Scan Tester
Scan Tester
Scan Tester was an English folk and English country musician.-Overview:Lewis "Scan" Tester was born in Chelwood Gate, near Horsted Keynes, Sussex. At about the age of five he acquired the nickname "scantelope"...
, John Spiers
John Spiers
John Spiers is an English melodeon, concertina and bandonion player.-Career:He plays with the duo Spiers and Boden and the band Bellowhead, and used to be a part of Eliza Carthy's old band The Ratcatchers.-Personal life:...
, William Kimber
William Kimber
William "Merry" Kimber , was an English concertina player and Morris dancer who played a key role in the twentieth century revival of Morris Dancing, the traditional English folk dancing...
, and John Kirkpatrick.
George Jones is often credited as the first English maker of the chromatic Anglo concertina. British firms active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries include those founded by Charles Wheatstone, Charles Jeffries (who built primarily Anglo-style concertinas), Louis Lachenal (who built concertinas in both English and Anglo styles and was the most prolific manufacturer of the period), and John Crabb.
Franglo
The Franglo system concertina was developed by the widely respected luthiers C & R Dipper, in co-operation with Emmanuel Pariselle, renowned for his expertise as a professional player of the two and a half row diatonic melodeon. The system has the construction and reedwork of a concertina but with the button layout of a melodeon. The name Franglo is derived from the words French and Anglo.History
In the 1850s, Anglo-German concertina's ability to play both melody and accompaniment led English manufacturers to start developing the various Duet systems, and the popular Maccann system were developed towards the end of the century. Meanwhile, German manufacturers were producing concertinas with more than 20 buttons for local sale. Three keyboard systems for German Concertinas eventually became popular: Uhlig's Chemnitzer system, Carl Zimmerman's Carlsfeld system, and the Bandonion's Reinische system. Several efforts were made by the various German manufacturers to develop a single unified keyboard system for all German concertinas; but this was only partially accomplished at the end of the 19th century when the Chemnitzer and Carlsfelder systems were merged into the unified concertina system and a unified bandonion system was created. Despite the new standards, the older systems remained popular into the 20th century.
Throughout the 19th century, the concertina was a popular instrument. The Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
in England, America, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
commonly used concertinas in their bands, and other concertina bands and musicians performed in all parts of the English speaking world. German emigrants carried their Chemnizters and bandonions with them to the United States and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, respectively, where they were regionally popular. In England, America and Australia the concertina became nearly ubiquitous.
In early 20th century, this popularity started to rapidly decline. Reasons included the growing relative popularity of the accordion, the mass production of other instruments such as the piano, increasingly chromatic and less tonal forms of music such as blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and the overall decline of amateur musical performance due to radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and the phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
. By the middle of the century, very few concertina makers remained, and most of those used accordion reeds and inexpensive, unreliable button mechanisms. Yet the various forms of concertina survived in some areas: Anglo concertinas in Irish traditional music, the English and the Anglo in English Morris dancing, the Anglo in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, among Afrikaaners (see Boer music
Boer music
Boeremusiek is a type of South African instrumental folk music. Its original intent was to be an accompaniment to social dancing at parties and festivals.-History:...
) and Zulus (who call it a "squashbox"), the Chemnitzer in the United States as a polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
instrument, and the "bandoneón" in Argentina as a prominent part of the Tango tradition. During the period between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
there were many concertina and bandonion bands in Germany; but with the rise of the Nazi regime these musical clubs disappeared.
The folk revival movements of the 1960s led to a modest resurgence in the popularity of the concertina particularly the Anglo. More recently the popularity of the concertina again seems to be experiencing a resurgence, particularly the Anglo in the traditional music of Ireland. Renewed interest in tango since the 1980s has also seen interest in the "Bandoneón" increase.
Traditional music continues in many parts of the UK in the 21st century, often using English and Anglo-system concertinas. The Concertina Band Revival is stimulated by regular weekends and meetings for players to make music together and get tuition, folk festival workshops and enthusiastic groups meeting monthly.
Currently there are at least eleven makers of traditional hand-made concertinas, in Europe, South Africa, Australia and North America. They use mainly traditional construction techniques and hand-made reeds, and generally offer many options for the type of concertina, materials, decoration, button layouts, tuning, and other customizations. Quality traditional concertinas require labour and high skill to produce, so prices can be high and waiting lists measured in years. Cheap mass-produced accordion-reeded instruments are less reliable. Since the mid-1970s, hand-made accordion-reeded concertinas have become a high-quality cheaper alternative. They are mainly made using traditional building techniques, and some are built customized to order, but the traditional design is adapted to use mass-produced accordion reeds to significantly reduce production cost and time. They are commonly called "hybrids", although some manufacturers object to this term.
See also
- List of All Ireland Concertina champions
:Category:Composers for concertina
- Boer musicBoer musicBoeremusiek is a type of South African instrumental folk music. Its original intent was to be an accompaniment to social dancing at parties and festivals.-History:...
(in which concertinas have a major role)