Grab a cup of Joe and sit back and tour the world of the Chemnitzer Concertina and be sure to check out the links on the left.
The Chemnitzer Concertina is popular with Polka bands in the Midwest and Eastern United States. Brought to the United States by immigrating Germans, Poles, and Czechs, it is still very popular today and is the instrument of choice among Polka bands in the Midwestern and Eastern States.
The are two different ways people tune concertinas. In Chicago and east, players mostly prefer boxes with "waved" reeds that produce a warble like tremolo sound (also called Chicago tuned). West of Chicago, boxes are "straight" tuned (also called Minnesota tuned) in which there is no tremolo sound. Polish players prefer boxes with "waved" reeds and German/Czech players prefer "straight" tuned boxes.
Polish players also "hang" on to the base notes while German/Czech players play the base notes as quick and short as possible. There are also many regional playing techniques (e.g. New Ulm sound), but however they're played, the music is loved by the followers of Polka and Old Time Music.
1988 Star Beauty
1952 Star Streamline
1964 Hengel's
