Scan 88
Musical instruments in the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851, 1851
4 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1are also one or two chord keys, by opening which, the instrument will sound certain chords, giving a rude kind of accompaniment to the melody; and there is also a wind-valve, managed by the left-hand, by the aid of which the bellows may draw in or expel air when required, without causing the reeds to sound. It may be gathered, however, from this description, that the accordion is a most defective instrument, little better indeed than a toy; it will play in only the key it is constructed for, and even in this its capabilities are very limited; and though its tones are pleasing, its effects soon become monotonous and disagreeable to the educated ear.
3A far more successful instrument of this kind is the concertina, the invention of Messrs. Wheatstone. Shortly after the introduction of the Æolina by this firm, as noticed above, they effected a considerable improvement upon it, by enclosing the reeds and plate in a small box, and adding valves to open any of the notes at pleasure: this was called the symphonion; the wind was supplied to the interior of the box by the mouth, and the valves were acted upon by studs projecting from the two sides, conveniently for the fingers of the right and left hand. The substitution of bellows for the action of the mouth, and certain other improvements consequent thereupon, transformed this instrument into the concertina. It consists, as now made, of a hand-bellows, with reeds and keys, something like the accordion in its general principle, but differing essentially from that instrument in the arrangement of its details. The bellows are of an octagonal shape, and the reeds and keys are contained in both boards, so as to be played on by the fingers of both hands. The keys consist of small cylindrical studs, projecting from the middle of the bellows boards, and are ingeniously arranged for facility of performance. The bellows boards are held by straps passing round the back of the hands, so that the fingers are left at liberty to act on the keys without impediment. All the reeds are in duplicate, so that, whether the bellows be expanded or compressed, the same note is sounded, and each note has a separate key. Any degree of piano or forte may be produced by using more or less force with the bellows, and the instrument thus gives great facility for expression. The concertina, though merely a hand instrument, has a compass of 3 or 3 1/2 octaves, with a complete chromatic scale; so that melodies can be played in any key, and can be accompanied, to a certain extent (limited only by convenience of fingering) with harmonies also. The kind most used is a treble instrument, corresponding in compass with a violin; but varieties are also made to correspond
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