I've been singing unaccompanied for several years, & am now thinking about getting something that would let me play chords underneath what I'm singing. (A bit of decoration here and there, but mostly just chords.)

I want something acoustic and portable, which rules out most keyboards; I also want an instrument where simply hitting a chord and holding it for a couple of bars can sound good, which rules out guitars & similar (hitting a chord and letting it hang just makes you sound like you're pretending to be a medieval minstrel).

So I think I'm looking at free reed instruments. But what kind?

As an unaccompanied singer I'm used to singing what I like and pitching it where I like (usually at the top end of what I'm comfortable with). If the dots say Dm7 I'm going to want to play Dm7, unless my voice is happier a full tone higher, in which case I'll want to play Em7. Or whatever. Playing around with a B/C melodeon (thanks, Ged) I've found that some chords can only be played on the push (or pull), and some can't be played at all. A third row might make a lot more chords available - I don't know.

So that leaves
- English concertinas
- duet concertinas
- piano accordions
- three-row melodeons (possibly)
- harmoniums (if very small)

To narrow that lot down further, I'd prefer an instrument where notes stay in the same place; I want something reasonably affordable; and I've never really liked accordions (that's just an irrational prejudice). So that leaves

- English concertinas

If I am getting an English concertina, which one? Hobgoblin in Manchester are currently selling a couple of secondhand English concertinas fairly cheap (as well as several others fairly expensive). One's a Scarlatti - is that bad? The other's a 30-key box - is that bad? I'm not actually planning to rush out and buy either of them, I should say. I'll probably save up a bit more and get a Jack - as I said earlier on, I tend to pitch fairly high, so I think a baritone would make a better accompaniment than a treble.

Does this make sense? Any comments/suggestions/awful warnings/whatever would be welcome.