the.com/concertina
an accordion that did pushups, squeezing melodies out of pure hexagonal stubbornness
means A small, hexagonal bellows-driven instrument played by squeezing and pulling, with buttons on each end—essentially a compact cousin of the accordion.
from Coined in 1830s England by physicist Charles Wheatstone, who patented the instrument and named it from 'concert' plus the Italian diminutive suffix '-ina,' so the word literally suggests a 'little concert' you hold in your hands. The barbed 'concertina wire' borrows the name from the way the coiled steel expands and contracts like the instrument's bellows.
- invented
- England, 1829, by physicist Charles Wheatstone
- each button
- plays two notes, one per bellows direction
- razor wire
- named concertina for its accordion-like coils
- sailor staple
- compact size made it the seafarer's instrument
- Wheatstone also
- co-invented the telegraph and stereoscope
bandoneon — argentine tango instrument with buttons and bellows, standard since 1870s buenos aires
english concertina — 6-sided button accordion played in victorian england, popular 1830s-1900s
anglo concertina — 30-button hybrid instrument developed in linwood, germany around 1850 for folk music