Welcome!
The Irish concertina is known for its rich, expressive sound that has become iconic in traditional Irish music. It is both bright and resonant, ideal for both melodies and ornamentations in Irish jigs, reels, and airs. Typically, Irish players use an Anglo concertina which creates a lively, rhythmic style well-suited to Irish dance tunes.
For beginners, the concertina is appealing because of its size, ease of use, and the immediate satisfaction of creating melodies early on. This website will give you an introduction to playing the concertina, providing basic playing advice, a number of introductory tunes and instruction on how to produce a number of musical ornamentations to enhance and add a personal touch to your playing.
Have fun getting to know your concertina!
Your Map of the Anglo Concertina
Each circle on the map represents a button on your concertina. The note on the top is what you will hear if you pull the button and the note on the bottom is what you will hear if you push the button.
There are some notes on your concertina that can be played on multiple buttons. This helps while playing some tunes when the notes you want to play are directly next to each other - which is not advised on the concertina. This is known as the ‘No Jumping Rule’. You can play notes directly above and below each other or diagonally but not to the immediate left or right of the previously played note.
Left Hand
Right Hand
In between the faces of your concertina are the ‘bellows’. These are the ‘lungs’ of your concertina and the air flows through them in order to play the notes. Try not to let them get too stretched out or tightly pushed in as you play or your concertina will ‘run out of air’. The air button will help with this.
The air button is played with your thumb on the right hand. Use this button to pull air in or push it out of your concertina when your bellows get too stretched out or too tight.
When playing the concertina you should use your index finger for the first rows, your middle finger for the second rows, ring finger for the third rows and pinky finger for the fourth and fifth rows. You only use your thumb on the right hand for the air button- other than this your thumbs remain above the straps of your concertina.
Tunes
Here are a list of tunes that you can begin to learn on the concertina. Use the map above to help you find the notes until you are familiar with them. You can click on the links to be listen to the tune being played at a slow pace. It is a good idea to listen to the tune being played at a regular pace. You can search for tunes on YouTube, Spotify, Apply Music or any other music source you use .
Polkas
Marches
Slipjigs
Jigs
Barndances
Ornamentation
Ornamentation can be used in tunes to allow players to express their individual style and flair to their music. Here’s a quick breakdown of some common ornamentations and how they’re used in Irish traditional music:
Rolls
Rolls are a distinctive and rhythmic embellishment used to decorate longer notes, usually in jigs and reels. There are several methods to create a roll but we will look specifically at a cran roll.
In playing a cran roll you take the main note eg D and you play two more grace notes in quick succession, lightly before returning to the main note.
For example: D Roll- DBD’D
In this example the B and D’ notes are played very quickly and lightly, they are barely audible while the main notes of D are heard more strongly. The middle two notes act as a percussive effect which break up the rolled note.
Cuts
Cuts are quick, single-note embellishments used to add separation and emphasis to certain notes within a tune. Played by briefly touching a higher note and immediately returning to the main note, cuts are fast and percussive, enhancing the pulse of the music without breaking the flow. They are commonly used in faster reels and jigs to add energy and highlight the main melody notes.
Lets try to play a cut on the note of B, by playing D’ quickly and lightly before playing B more strongly: D’B
Triplets
Triplets are used to add speed by dividing a single beat into three quick notes. Triplets often appear in place of a single note to add excitement, especially in dance tunes. They are played rapidly and smoothly, giving the melody a rolling feel and are especially effective in lively reels and hornpipes.
Let’s try to play a triplet using these 3 notes: F’G’F’
Play the three notes quickly together. It may take some practice to get the rhythm right. The notes should be played with equal emphasis.
Octaves
Octaves are when the same note is played simultaneously at two different pitches, an octave apart. Used sparingly, octaves create a fuller, richer sound, adding depth and strength to certain notes. They are often used in slower airs or to emphasise specific phrases in a tune, creating a resonant, harmonised effect.
Try playing D’ and D (both pull) at the same time. This is an octave.
Chords
Chords involve playing two or more notes at once and are often used to provide harmony and rhythmic support in traditional tunes. On instruments like the concertina, chords are usually used sparingly to emphasise key notes or phrases, especially in slower pieces or for a dramatic effect. They create a fuller, more layered sound, balancing melody with harmony. A simple way to introduce chords into your playing is on the last note of a tune.
For example, on the tune ‘Na Ceannabhain Bhana’, the last note is G. Try to play this note as a chord by playing G and D at the same time.