What do I look for in buying an accordion?
If you are looking for a
button accordion, obviously you are going to get the accordion with
buttons on both sides. For a keyboard accordion, get the one with
the keyboard on the right side of the accordion.
Accordions tend to be
pricey. If you are not sure you are going to commit, get a
student-sized 120-bass accordion. This is smaller than professional
accordions, but at least you aren't going to spend $10,000 on
something you'll be playing for a few months.
If you are a TRUE beginner (as in you've never ever
ever ever
played before) we recommend that you get a 12-bass accordion. It's
very tiny, yes, especially for an adult, but it's not going to
cost you as much and it's an easier instrument to learn with. If you
are definitely going to commit to the accordion I strongly recommend
getting a professional-size accordion with 120 basses.
Types
of Accordions
Accordions come
in many different styles and
key-note
systems. We have listed the main generic types of 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 accordions, and how they work.
Piano Accordions
The piano accordion is the most popular as we
described it on our home page.
Piano accordions
usually range from 12 bass, 20 key up to 160 bass, 45 key, but there
are smaller and larger designs also.
Piano accordions
are essentially the same as a chromatic accordion, except for a
different shape to the keyboard notes and piano keyboard layout.
Because of its universal note system the production of piano
accordions has far exceeded that of any kind of button accordion
from the 1920's until today.
Diatonic or Button Accordions
The first
diatonic accordions were made early in the 1800's.
They
had one row of ten buttons in the right hand. 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.
Concertinas
Concertinas have
a unique shape, ranging from four to twelve sides (in
cross-section). Concertinas have two keyboards, one at each end of
the instruments bellows. There are no fixed chords on a concertina;
all of the buttons are individual notes.
The number of
notes and systems vary so greatly that a player of one system will
almost certainly not be able to pick up a concertina of a different
system and play it without having to almost learn it from scratch.
Each side of the instrument has its own finger, thumb or wrist strap
and when in use it is usually supported on the knee. With compact
size and light weight, the concertina can be visually entertaining,
as players are able to move around with ease. This is one of the
things that has made it very popular.
Chromatic
Accordions
The chromatic
accordion was created in the 1850's by F. Walter, when he rearranged
the reeds of a Three Row Diatonic. It could play a 46 note chromatic
scale. The Chromatic Button Accordion is not diatonic, and probably
has the greatest range of treble notes of any accordion available
today. Their size ranges from an accordion with 20 treble keys and
12 bass buttons, to the modern Chromatic Button Accordions which
have up to 6 rows of treble buttons and 160 bass buttons.
The chromatic
keyboard has more than one system. It can have anywhere between
three and six rows of small round (and sometimes rectangular) keys.
The fourth, fifth and sixth rows are repeats of the first three
rows, to increase fingering possibilities. The two most common
layouts are the B and C systems. The B system is better for
technically challenging works, whereas the C system is easier to
play chords and play melodic music. The six row chromatic is used
almost exclusively by Yugoslav players and is also known as the
Serbian accordion.
The bass system
can be stradella, free bass or convertible between the two, the free
bass facility giving an overall range of up to 11 octaves. This
makes it possible to perform serious classical or contemporary
works.
The chromatic
accordion is probably most widely used in Russia. There it is called
the Bayan, and the Piano Accordion is called just the Accordion.
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