Listen to the concertina
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the concertina makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the concertina belongs to the free reeds and interruptive aerophones: air is periodically interrupted by a vibrating reed or blade – the accordion, harmonica, sheng and bullroarer.
More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front.
The concertina was developed independently in both England and Germany. The English concertina was invented in 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, while Carl Friedrich Uhlig introduced the German concertina five years later, in 1834. Various forms of concertina are used for classical music; for the traditional music of Ireland, England, and South Africa; and for tango and polka music.
Other free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Accordion
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Harmonica
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Pump organ
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Siren
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Bandoneon
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Sheng
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Melodica
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Bullroarer
Free reeds and interruptive aerophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a concertina sound like?
Listen to 1 recording on this page. As one of the free reeds and interruptive aerophones, its sound comes from the way air is periodically interrupted by a vibrating reed or blade.
What type of instrument is the concertina?
It is classified as free reeds and interruptive aerophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 412.132).
Sources & credits
- Scotch reels (Prince, 1909) by Alexander Prince – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q593050 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Concertina – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by The original uploader was DannyChapman at English Wikipedia . – CC BY-SA 3.0