The music for the Mirkmere dances was played on a fairly eclectic range of instruments. The predominant ones in the last hundred years or so have been various free-reed instruments, especially the assorted varieties of concertina and melodeons. English and Duet system concertinas have been generally favoured, there being almost a superfluity of players available due to the presence in the community of the (now defunct) Mirkmere Prize Concertina Band. Brass instruments, in particular the tuba and trombone, have also appeared and the members of the Wagtail family have ensured that the fiddle has its place.
The musical notation came to us from Jemimah Nipperkin who played concertina for the old team and taught her tunes to her nephews and nieces and also to Fred's son Albert. She is believed to be the lady in the picture below, standing to the right ... it is unlikely that this was quite the costume the musicians wore when playing for the dances.
The actual dance musicians looked rather more like this when performing in public and ooutside of the parlour:
