Hello everyone. I have no experience with concertinas whatsoever, so pardon me if some of my questions have obvious answers. I've been playing piano for most of my life, and recently finally started getting serious about picking up another instrument alongside it. I've long adored the bandoneon both for its sound and as a great lover of tango, Piazzolla in particular. However, I'm not sure I can justify jumping into such an expensive instrument at this time, especially since I'm only looking to learn it for my own (and hopefully my friends' and family's) enjoyment.
I have the opportunity of purchasing a recently restored 1930's chemnitzer for what I consider to be an inexpensive price. An additional advantage with this instrument is that I have the opportunity to test it myself instead of having to blind-buy online. Nearly all examples of chemnitzer playing I've found online are polka. Is the instrument uniquely suited for that type of music? Would for ex. playing in minor keys on the chemnitzer be a hassle? I'm looking into this first and foremost as a solo instrument, so how it meshes with others is not something that really needs to be taken into consideration. The types of pieces I'd be primarily interested in are on the melancholic and wistful side, such as tangos both argentinian and european, and nostalgic popular songs from my country. If I understand correctly, both the bandoneon and chemnitzer have a similar level of difficulty being both diatonic instruments. Apart from the difference in sound, how similarly do they play? If I ever decide to buy a premium instrument, would going from chemnitzer to bando require extensive relearning?
What would you advise me to do? Would a chemnitzer work for my purposes, or am I better off biting the bullet and trying to find myself a used bando someplace? I've also looked into the duet concertina, but apart from something like the Elise price is once again my main concern.
Thanks in advance!
