Concertina

What it is

A small hexagonal or square bellows-driven free-reed instrument with buttons on both ends. English, Anglo and duet systems are the main families; the bandoneon and Chemnitzer are related larger instruments. Covers the English (treble) and Anglo here; the bandoneon has its own entry.⁷

Range

G3 to C7^7,8196 Hz – 2.09 kHz

Standard 48-key English (treble) concertina: 'from G below middle C to C 3 octaves above middle C' (concertina FAQ); note names are my conversion. 56-key models add 8 keys at the top. (earlier: English treble concertina; the top is 'two octaves or more above the treble clef')

• English baritone: plays one full octave below the treble (FAQ); notes are my conversion, assuming the 48-key layout⁸
• English piccolo: 'very occasionally' found, one octave above the treble (FAQ); notes are my conversion⁸
• Anglo, 30 buttons: Wikipedia: at the 30-button stage 'the instrument was chromatic over two octaves'; 36-40 button layouts are common, a few have 55 keys. No note names given.⁹

The sound

Air from the bellows crosses reeds; the English and duet are unisonoric (a button gives the same note pulling or pushing), the Anglo is bisonoric (two notes per button).⁷

Where the sound goes

Sound leaves from both ends, and the ends move. Stamler adds that the melody may jump from one end to the other (Anglo and duet layouts put higher notes on the right and lower on the left). Kaufman: point a cardioid dynamic at the middle from about 8 in for live dance sound.^1,3,7,6

About the range

The standard English (treble) concertina is similar to a violin: from the G below the treble clef (G3) to two octaves or more above the clef. The Anglo of about 20 keys is two rows pitched a fifth apart (C/G or G/D) and is not fully chromatic, with notes missing especially at the low end; no figure for a 30-key range was found in a page I opened. Baritone (one octave lower), bass (two lower) and piccolo (one higher) versions exist.⁷

Recording it

• A pair in front: Stamler's best results were a pair of KM 84s or MK-012s, ideally crossed a couple of feet away; Alistair Anderson favours two mics about 9 in apart, both pointing forward, which breaks the rule of three but gives no serious phase trouble. Hard panning makes the sound leap about; pan less.
• A single condenser (SM81 or U 87) about 10 in in front of the centre works for accompaniment, as enough sound leaks around the sides.
• The concertina FAQ's author likes a Rode NT4 stereo condenser "some way back" in the studio, so the moving ends do not matter, and says cheap mics defeat the timbre. Bartlett: one or two flat condensers about 12-18 in out front.^3,1,2

Mics i

No mic is named by more than one source yet: each names its own.

On stage

One mic at the middle of the bellows is the usual and weak method; two mics, one per end, are better but feel limiting. Microvox sells a pair of small mics that stick on each end with Velcro and join into one belt box and DI. Bartlett: mini omnis taped to the tone-hole areas on each side, or on each wrist. Internal mics fitted by a player to an Anglo are said to work, but one maker (Colin Dipper) thought permanent internal mics would harm the sound. Consider no mic at all in small venues. On The Session, one player found the MicroVox stick-on pads awkward live and changed to built-in mics, one per end; for recording he uses a condenser in front, and others two dynamics left and right or one condenser 1-2 ft away. Neumann's MCM KK 14 clip mic was tried on a concertina at the 2022 FolkBaltica festival (a manufacturer's test report, no detail on the concertina).^1,2,4,5

Problems to watch

The moving ends change the level and pan position; a close pair makes the image dart; leakage and a singing player make a crossed pair at two feet difficult.³