Concertina
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The Concertina is a small wind instrument powered by bellows. You alternately squeeze and draw out the bellows, which pushes or pulls air past a series of reeds to make them vibrate. Although the concertina occasionally appears in chamber and orchestral music, it often accompanies folk dancing and traditional songs.
| Family |
| Woodwinds |
| Pitch range |
| About four octaves. |
| Material |
| Steel reeds, cardboard bellows, and a wooden frame. |
| Size |
| Variable. This example is 7 in (17 cm) long when closed. |
| Origins |
| The concertina first appeared in 1829 when the English scientist, Charles Wheatstone added keys and bellows to his mouth-blown symphonium, which was an ancestor of the harmonica. |
| Classification |
| Aerophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of a column of air. |
| And also... |
| One of the concertina's nicknames is "the leather ferret" because its bellows resemble leather, and twist and turn like a ferret. |
