Types of AccordionAccordions come in many different styles and key-note systems. We have listed the main generic types of diatonics accordions, along with their specifications. It must be noted, however, that there have been many custom-made accordions and innovations which are not listed in this section.These pages are for people wanting to learn more about the many different types of diatonic accordions. |
Diatonics in GeneralThe first diatonic accordions were made early in the 1800's. They had one row of ten buttons in the right hand.Article titled "The Diatonic Accordion". For each note on the button board there are at least two reeds (and can be up to ten) with different pitched reeds for the "in" bellows and "out" bellows. The bass notes and relevant chords are the root of the scale for the in bellows and the fifth of the scale for the out bellows. Diatonics are frequently used by many folk and dance groups, because of their great sound output, simplicity, light weight and low cost. This makes them one of the most popular accordions worldwide. The note pattern of the keyboard is usually identical to the mouth harmonica. The diatonic accordion (or melodeon) resembles a small piano accordion, except where the piano-accordion has piano-style keys, the diatonic has one or more vertical rows of buttons - hence the title "button box". Each of these rows of buttons plays a major scale in one key only - so to play in more than one key means that more than one row of buttons is required if all the notes of the scale are to be available. Another characteristic is that each button plays two different notes - one when the bellows are closed, and another, usually the next in the scale, when the bellows are opened. Similarly the bass buttons play one note or chord in one bellows direction and a different one in the other. This system may appear a little strange at first sight, but it is what gives the instrument its character and is actually extremely logical. It is the same system as used by the harmonica, Anglo system concertinas and other instruments such as the Bandoneon and Chemnitzer. Although it limits the keys the 'box can play in, it keeps the physical size of the instrument down, and allows for very fast playing of arpeggios and short scales - just the kind of thing found in a lot of traditional music. One-row instruments are the most basic, and probably easiest to learn for a beginner, yet in the hands of a skilled player they are capable of amazing things. They have one row of buttons on the treble side, which play a major scale in one key only. On the bass they have two buttons or levers. These play the fundamental bass note and chord of the tonic on the press, and the bass note and chord of the dominant (5th) of the draw - so if the treble (right hand) side is tuned to C the two chords available are C and G. More rarely there are 4 bass buttons which add the subdominant bass note and chord for the full "three chord trick" - which would be F on a C instrument. Although apparently very limited in potential at first sight they are the system preferred by Cajun players and are also used in Europe (especially England), Canada and Africa. For the pedantically minded, these are the only members of the family which are properly called a melodeon - although in common usage many players of 2-row instruments also call their boxes melodeons. There are two basic systems on instruments with two or more rows on the treble side. The first, and most common, has the outside row of buttons playing the major scale of one key and the inside row the major scale of the key a fourth higher - e.g. if the outside row is in G the inside is in C. Instruments in just about any key combination can be obtained but some are scarcer than others. Common combinations are G/C, Bb/Eb, C/F, D/A, and D/G. The G/C has the lowest overall pitch, the D/G the highest. Three- row boxes are similar, with rows G/C/F or D/G/A. There are also 2-and-a-half row (often called "Club" system after the Hohner originals) boxes which have 2 rows tunes a 5th apart and a short row nearest the grille, giving a variety of accidentals outside the main keys of the box. The bass usually has 8 buttons (on a 2 row), or 12 buttons (on a 3 row and some 2 rows) providing the most useful chords for the keys the instrument is in, plus at least one relative minor. This system, with rows tuned a fifth apart, is the most popular, and easiest to play. It's the system used for most traditional/folk styles, and is capable of surprising things despite it's apparent (and real) limitations in terms of available notes, especially accidentals outside the scales provided by the rows. The other system has two rows, the inside row being a semitone above the higher. Typically these will be in the keys of B and C, C#/D or D/D#. This results in a fully chromatic instrument which at first sight may seem an advantage. Although it is capable of playing other types of music, it is best known as the proper box for Irish dance music. There is also a three-row version with rows in B/C/C# and a piano- accordion (stradella) bass. This is the instrument played by Jimmy Shand and John Kirkpatrick amongst others. Apart from the stradella bass models, the bass on these again has 8 or 12 buttons. One row DiatonicThe one row diatonic, melodeon or, as it is sometimes referred to "German style accordion", has one ten button row as its keyboard. As it is diatonic it has twenty notes available from them; ten on the "in" bellows and ten on the "out" bellows. There are two diatonic bass buttons, giving a total of two bass notes and two chords. The bass notes and relevant chords are the root (first note) of the scale for the "in" bellows and the fifth of the scale for the "out" bellows.OrganettoFound in Italy the Organetto has up to twenty-four treble buttons and twelve bass buttons. The most popular type has two bass buttons and one row of ten treble buttons. A second row with three or four buttons enables different fingerings. It has up to three reeds per note; the two in the middle set are tuned with a tremolo the third is an octave lower.Two row DiatonicThe origins of two row diatonic accordions are unclear, as many versions appeared around the world simultaneously. To increase its range and compatibility with other instruments another row of buttons was added to the keyboard.The second row is also diatonic and can either be one half tone above the first row (eg. scales of B and C) or a perfect fourth above the first row (eg. G and C). These can be in different keys from the examples here. In the case of the semitone diatonic, it can play every note in the chromatic scale. Italian DiatonicThe Italian Diatonic has two rows, with the second row a perfect fourth above the first row. An additional partial third row usually consists of five or six buttons of accidentals (relevant sharps or flats). Also one note in the second row is called the gleisch tone. This means it plays the same tone regardless of bellows direction. This note is always the perfect fifth (middle octave only) of the relevant diatonic scale.Three row DiatonicThree row diatonic accordions are similar to the two row diatonics with the third row either a semi tone higher than the original (now middle) row, or a fourth above the second row. It is possible to have accordions with up to twelve bass notes. The bass notes and relevant chords are the root of the scale for the in bellows and fifth of the scale for the out bellows. There are also four and five row diatonic accordions available, following the same patterns.Helikon AccordionThe Helikon accordion is named after the Helicon "Tuba", which evolved from ram horn trumpets, first used thousands of years ago. It is the Helikon bass reeds which give it a distinctive "Tuba" sound to the bass notes. This is because the bass reeds are much longer and wider than "normal" bass reeds. They reproduce low pitched tones like a Tuba. Quite often the low Helikon reeds are fitted to a single duraluminium plate.These reeds can be up to 1 inch longer than standard bass reeds. First used in Styrian diatonic accordions, these reeds are now found in piano accordions. Shand AccordionThis was developed by Scottish accordionist Jimmy Shand. There is a three row semitone diatonic on the right hand keyboard and 96 bass standard system for the left hand. The right hand rows change notes with different bellows directions, the left hand bass notes do not."Stops"Stops are knobs on the top of the instrument, and "couplers" or "registers" (switches on the grille - common on piano accordions, rare on button-boxes) are found on some instruments. These are used to bring extra banks of reeds into play to alter the basic sound of the instrument - e.g. a 1-row 4-stop has 4 reeds available for each note. One plays the main note at the concert-pitch (sometimes called the "datum" reed), another adds a second note at the same pitch, which may or may not be tuned to give a tremolo, another adds a note an octave below concert pitch and the fourth adds a note an octave above. This gives a very "fat" and powerful sound. Stops are less common on two and three row boxes, but are becoming increasingly common on more expensive instruments. Bass couplers are much rarer than treble stops, but are becoming more common. They usually remove the third (middle) note from the chords, so they sound neither major nor minor, allowing a more useful range of bass accompaniment. A second coupler adding or removing a low-octave bass note can sometimes be fitted as well. |