Learn to Play the Concertina in 5 Easy Steps

Is the Concertina Hard to Play?

The concertina can be played quite easily due to its small size and button layout, making it a great option for beginner musicians of all ages.

Once you have a fingering chart for navigation it’s quite easy to find and play the notes on the concertina.

Learning the push pull technique for the bellows can take a bit of practice, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it. Once you do however, you’ll find yourself up and running fairly quickly. In fact, depending on how quickly you pick things up, you could have your first simple tune learned in just 30 minutes.

What is a Free Reed Musical Instrument?

The concertina, like the accordion and melodeon, is a free reed instrument. This means the sound is produced by metal reeds, mounted inside the concertina, that vibrate when air moves around them. This airflow causes the steel reeds to vibrate, and this vibration causes the reeds to produce a sound.

You can easily tell the difference between the concertina and similar instruments such as the accordion due to its hexagonal shape.

How to Play the Concertina

How you play your instrument will depend on which type of concertina you have – an Anglo Concertina or an English concertina. Each has a different playing style and method.

The notes you can play on your instrument – and where you find them – will also depend on the type of concertina you are playing.

Make sure to note these important differences below…

How to Play the Anglo Concertina

The Anglo Concertina is a bisonoric instrument. That means each button produces two different notes depending on whether you push or pull the bellows.

Despite its name, the Anglo German Concertina (Anglo for short) is the most popular style of concertina played in traditional Irish music. Most Irish concertina players play a 30 button Anglo concertina in the key of C/G.

The Anglo concertina is a diatonic instrument. This means the concertina contains all the notes required to play in the key of C or the key of G. A three row or 30 key concertina also contains all of the accidentals (additional notes) required to make the instrument fully chromatic.

While it can take a little while to memorise the button layout, Anglo concertinas allow the player to quickly switch between notes with limited finger movement. Perfect for keeping up with the speeds required for traditional Irish music! This is one of the many reasons for its popularity in Irish music and all over the world.

To learn more about the Anglo German concertina check out my handy Concertina FAQ.

Step 1 – How to Hold The Concertina

• Hold the concertina on your lap, supporting its weight by resting just one end on top of your leg, above your knee. This leaves the other side free to move.

• Place your fingers through the hand straps on both sides of the concertina, keeping your thumbs outside.

• NB: Make sure to hold the concertina the right way up! Your right thumb should be next to the air button.

Step 2 – Hand Position & Finger Placement

• On an Anglo concertina you use four fingers on each hand (including your pinky) to play the concertina.

• Place your four fingers on the top four buttons/keys of the middle row of the concertina. This is your starting position.

• Remember, your thumb is only used to press the air button.

Step 3 – Playing Your First Notes

• Press down on the air button with your right thumb and draw or expand the bellows slightly.

• Place the first finger or pointer finger of your left hand, on the top button (the one closest to the top of the concertina – not your leg) of the middle row.

• Press and hold the button while pushing the bellows inward. Congratulations, you’ve just played your first note. This is a G!

• Next, keeping your finger on the same button, pull the bellows in the opposite direction. This note is an A.

• Alternate between the two notes to get a feel for the push/pull movement of the bellows.

How to Play the English Concertina

The English concertina is a unisonoric instrument. That means each button produces the same note on both the push and the pull (like a piano accordion).

English concertinas are more commonly used to play English folk music.

Like the Anglo style concertina, English concertinas are also fully chromatic. The two centre rows on each side are in the key of C and the accidentals (sharps and flats) are distributed between the outside rows.

To learn more about the English concertina check out my handy Concertina FAQ.

Step 1 – How to Hold The Concertina

• Hold the concertina on your lap, supporting its weight by resting just one side on top of your leg, above your knee. Only one end of the concertina needs to move.

• Place your thumbs through the thumb straps on both sides of the concertina

• Place your little fingers under the pinky rests

• NB: Make sure to hold the concertina the right way up! The thumb straps go at the top of the instrument.

Step 2 – Hand Position & Finger Placement

• On an English concertina your little fingers are used to support the instrument, leaving your remaining fingers free to play the concertina.

• Place your three fingers on the top three buttons/keys of the middle row of the concertina. This is your starting position.

• On an English concertina you most commonly use the first finger or index finger of your right hand to press the air button.

Step 3 – Playing Your First Notes

• Press the air button with your right index finger and draw or expand the bellows slightly so they are not tightly pressed together.

• Find the G button on the left side of the concertina and press it. Remember, you can play this note by either pushing or pulling the bellows.

• Next, find and play G on the other side of the instrument.

• Alternate between the two notes to get a feel for the push/pull movement of the bellows.

Step 4 – Explore The Concertina

• Using a fingering chart for guidance, you can now begin to explore all the notes on the concertina.

Step 5 – Mastering the Concertina

• Find a concertina teacher or online lessons and practise, practise, practise while listening to as much music as possible for inspiration!

How Much Does a Concertina Cost?

Concertinas, like all musical instruments, can vary hugely in price. When buying a concertina, don’t be fooled by overly cheap instruments. Often, low prices are a reflection of the poor quality of the concertina. Paying more initially will save you money long term.

Concertina Price Guide

• Beginner concertina prices can start at around €200, but a good quality student concertina will cost upwards of €400.

• A good quality intermediate concertina will cost over €1,000.

• Concertinas for advanced musicians, or professional standard concertinas will continue to grow in price from there. Some premium vintage concertinas can reach prices of over €7,000.

You can search our full range of concertinas on our music site or browse our Irish Music Blog for all things concertina related.