The original question concerns the system a beginner starts with. The different systems are so different, it's best to start with the one you want to play. Starting with an Anglo, for example, won't make it any easier to learn English. You'll still have to start from the basics.

I had the great good fortune to pick up a Crane duet as my first concertina - I had no idea what it was, and had to work out what went where for myself, but I've stayed with it. Since then, I have owned Anglo, English and McCann duet concertinas, but I've sold them all because I can play anything I want to play better and easier on the Crane.

My advice for a beginner? Try as many different types as you can, and see what suits you. Get the best quality instrument you can possibly afford (I paid the equivalent of 5 weeks rent for mine, back in 1971). The hardest part of learning to play concertina, of any system, is finding a really good one. After that, it's just practice, practice, practice.

Andrew