Anglo concertina
A small, hexagonal free-reed instrument with buttons on both sides, producing different notes on push and pull of the bellows, central to Irish and English traditional music.
In Depth
The Anglo concertina (short for "Anglo-German concertina") was developed in the early 19th century and uses a bisonoric system — each button produces a different note depending on whether the bellows are being pushed or pulled, similar to a harmonica. This diatonic arrangement means the instrument naturally favors certain keys, but skilled players can navigate chromatically through cross-fingering and bellows changes. The standard Anglo concertina has 20 or 30 buttons. The Anglo concertina became central to Irish traditional music in the 20th century, particularly in County Clare where the instrument developed a distinctive regional style. Noel Hill, Kitty Hayes, and Tim Collins are considered masters of the Irish Anglo concertina tradition. In England, the instrument was popular in music halls and Morris dancing accompaniment. The Anglo's characteristic breathy attack and its tendency to "bounce" rhythmically (from the bellows direction changes) give Irish dance music played on it a distinctive drive and lilt that other instruments struggle to replicate.
The Anglo concertina is so associated with County Clare in Ireland that the region is sometimes called "the home of the concertina" — the instrument and the local musical tradition have evolved together for over 150 years.