Decide who carries the tune

Before you play a note together, agree on roles. The most common mistake in a fiddle-and-concertina duet is both players hammering away at the melody at full volume, which quickly sounds like an argument rather than a conversation. Pick a default: the fiddle or flute takes the tune, the Anglo accompanies. Then break that default deliberately — swap over for the second half of a set, or let the concertina take the melody on a slow air while the fiddle drops to a drone underneath.

The Anglo is wonderfully suited to the accompanying role because it can do three things at once: a bass note on the left hand, a chord stab on the right, and a rhythmic push that gives the tune lift. Think of yourself as the rhythm section of a very small band.

Arrangement ideas that suit the Anglo

Keep your harmonic language simple and rhythmically confident. In a duet, clarity beats cleverness every time.

• One chord to the bar. Two at most in a reel. Choose G or Em for a G tune, D or Bm for a D tune, and let the melody imply the rest.
• Off-beat chording. For jigs and polkas, put a short, clipped chord on beats two and three. It gives the tune a bounce without getting in the way.
• Octave doubling. Play the melody an octave below the flute for a warm, hollow texture. Keep it staccato and quiet so the flute still sings on top.
• Thirds and sixths. For slow airs and waltzes, a simple harmony line a third below the fiddle is deeply satisfying and easy to hear your way into.
• Drones. In modal tunes — E Dorian, A minor, D Mixolydian — hold a single bass note and let it ring. Less is genuinely more here.

If your Anglo has thirty buttons in C/G, you have most of what you need. Don't chase exotic chords; the ones already under your fingers are the ones that will sound idiomatic.

Listening skills: matching breath, bow and bellows

The flute breathes in phrases. The fiddle phrases with the bow. Your Anglo phrases with the bellows, and that is your greatest advantage — you can shape a line exactly as they do, or deliberately contrast with them.

Play quieter than feels natural. Beginners push hard because they can't hear themselves, then wonder why the flute player looks strained. On an Anglo, bellows pressure is your volume control, not how firmly you press the buttons. Practise a tune at half your normal pressure until soft playing feels normal.

Tuning matters more than usual in a duo, because there's nowhere to hide. Fiddles drift in cold halls; flutes warm up and sharpen. Check open strings and long notes against each other before you start, and again halfway through a session. Warm the concertina in your hands first — reeds change pitch with temperature, and a cold instrument will sit flat.

Match ornaments, or consciously avoid them. If the fiddle plays a roll at the end of a phrase, don't fill the same gap with a chord. Two players decorating the same beat sounds busy; one decorating while the other holds steady sounds like arrangement.

Breathing spaces and the air button

A duet breathes or it suffocates. Plan your bellows so you never run out mid-phrase, and use the air button silently between phrases rather than in the middle of one.

• Leave the last beat of a four-bar phrase empty so the flute can take breath.
• Drop out entirely for the second time through a tune, then come back in. The return feels enormous.
• Watch the bow and the player's shoulders — you'll see a breath coming before you hear it.
• Agree your ending. A held chord while the fiddle and flute drop out one by one is far more satisfying than everyone stopping at once.

Keeping the concertina duet-ready

Small ensembles expose instrument problems that a noisy session hides. A slow reed makes you push harder, which throws the balance out completely, so a little maintenance goes a long way.

• Check for leaks. With the instrument closed, gently press and listen. Worn bellows gussets and tired pads mean you're working harder than you should.
• Listen for valve chatter. Rattling or buzzing on individual notes usually means a valve or pad needs attention, not that the reed is failing.
• Keep straps and hand bars comfortable. If your hands are braced, you can't play softly or control the bellows with any subtlety.
• Leave tuning to a specialist. Filing reeds at home risks ruining them. If pitch drifts, rule out temperature, leaks and sticking valves first.
• Play it in. New bellows are stiff; quiet, controlled playing only becomes possible once they've loosened up.

Get these habits right and the duet becomes the most rewarding playing you'll do. Two or three players, well matched, listening hard, leaving each other room — that's where English folk music sounds at its most joyful.