Work out what kind of session you're walking into

A folk session can look like a conversation everyone already knows the rules of, and from the edge of the room it can feel impossible to step into. Most sessions in pubs and folk clubs around the UK are far more welcoming than they appear, especially to a concertina player who has done a bit of homework. The trick isn't playing brilliantly. It's knowing when to play, what to play, and how quietly to do it.

Sessions vary enormously. A slow session in a back room with a dozen learners is a different animal from a packed Saturday-night pub where the tunes are fast, the room is loud and everyone has played together for years. Before you take the box out of its case, sit and listen for a full set. Ask yourself a few questions.

• Is it a tune session, a song session, or a mixture? If singers are waiting their turn, launching into a reel mid-ballad will not win friends.
• Who is leading? Some sessions have a natural host who starts most sets; others pass the lead around the room clockwise.
• Which keys are coming up? Count the Gs and Ds. A C/G Anglo sits beautifully in G, Em and Am, but a room full of D tunes will test you.
• How loud and how crowded is it? A quiet corner session forgives a great deal. A session with four fiddles already competing does not.

If you can, message the organiser beforehand or turn up with a friend who already plays. One familiar face turns a daunting room into a manageable one.

Listen first, play second

For your first few visits, treat the session as a listening gig with your instrument on your knee, bellows closed, hands resting on the straps. Aim for roughly two-thirds listening and one-third playing. You are learning the room's tempo, its repertoire and its habits, and none of that happens while you are concentrating on your own fingers.

When you do join in, join a tune you genuinely know from start to finish. Playing three well-known tunes all evening is worth far more than fumbling through fifteen. Nobody minds a player who sits out; everybody notices a player who charges in on the wrong tune and drags the tempo.

Choose tunes that suit an Anglo in C/G

Your instrument's natural strengths should shape your choices. On a standard C/G Anglo, tunes in G, E minor and A minor fall comfortably under the fingers, often on one row. Tunes in D are very playable with a little cross-row work, particularly on a thirty-button. Keys such as A major and E major need the accidental row and plenty of practice, so save them for home.

Pick a small, solid repertoire and polish it:

• Learn the bare melody first, with no ornaments, at a steady tempo.
• Add a simple bass note or a light chord in the left hand only once the melody is automatic.
• Practise counting in two bars aloud, so you can start a tune cleanly when invited.
• Note the key of every tune you learn, ideally in a little notebook kept in the case.

If your local session leans heavily on D tunes, borrowing or saving for a G/D Anglo is a genuine pleasure rather than a luxury. In the meantime, don't be shy about playing in the keys you have.

Blend in rather than stand out

The Anglo has no volume knob, so your bellows are your dynamics. A light, even pressure keeps you audible without swamping the melody instruments. Here is what works in a crowded pub:

• Play the melody alone for the first time through a tune, and add chords only on later repeats.
• Leave space. One chord per bar, softly placed, is usually plenty on an Anglo.
• Sit slightly outside the main circle or a little back from the table, so your sound travels towards the group rather than into someone's ear.
• Use the air button for quick bellows reversals, but ease it in gently; a loud hiss is far more noticeable than a wrong note.
• If you cannot hear the fiddle or the flute beside you, you are too loud. Ease off until they return.

When someone else starts a set, wait until they have played the tune through once before joining. It gives you time to find the key and gives them the courtesy of leading.

Keep the instrument session-ready

Most session problems are maintenance problems in disguise. A concertina that is leaking air, out of tune or fighting your hands will undermine your confidence long before the tunes do.

• Bellows: with the instrument closed, press gently and listen for escaping air. A slow leak makes everything hard work and quietens your playing.
• Straps: thumb straps and wrist straps should be snug enough for control, loose enough for comfort. You want your fingers to move freely, not to wrestle the box.
• Reeds and valves: keep the instrument dry. Avoid leaving it in a cold car boot or a damp porch, and let it come slowly to room temperature before playing.
• Tuning: check it at home with a tuner, never at the session. Temperature changes shift pitch, and a squeeze box that has just come in from the cold will settle once it has warmed.

Carry a small cloth, a spare set of straps if you have them, and a note of any sticky reed or slow button so you can deal with it before the next outing.

Build confidence a few tunes at a time

Confidence comes from repetition, not from a single brave night. Set yourself one small goal per session: listen to the keys, join three tunes, and offer to start one. Say simply, "I'll start one in G, two bars in," then count clearly and keep a steady tempo. Thank the host on the way out, learn a name or two, and go back next month. The same tunes will come round again, and before long you will be the one nodding at a nervous newcomer with a concertina on their knee.