Q&A for How to Play the Concertina

Find the notes that correspond with the chords you want to play. Once you do, press them all down at the same time while opening or closing the bellows.

The concertina is good, but the tin whistle helps you to branch out to other instruments similar to it, like flutes.

Hal Leonard publishes The Big Fake Book and The Hymn Fake Book; both have the melodies and the words with chord symbols. You can either play the notes and have someone on a piano, guitar, etc. play the chords; or, you can have someone sing the melody and you play the chords. Or, if you are good enough, you can sing and play at the same time.

Each instrument is shaped differently. Accordions are rectangular, while concertinas are hexagonal. Accordions usually have piano keys on one side and buttons on the other, and concertinas only have buttons on both sides. There are some accordions that have buttons on both sides, in a similar way to the concertina. They also sound different: The accordion sound is usually more smoother and "faded" in effect and is similar to a violin or an air-based machine such as an electric fan. The concertina has a fuller, brighter sound like an oboe despite its smaller size.

Generally, a concerto can be composed/arranged to feature any solo instrument (accompanied by an orchestra or concert band). However, it may be rare to find a concerto arranged for a concertina.