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The button accordion is a time-honored instrument, but its popularity is as strong as ever.
Accordions come in a variety of forms and styles. Diatonic, chromatic and piano accordions are just a few of the most popular types. Another family of accordions, used since it was first created in the late nineteenth century, is the button accordion.
The button accordion is an adaptation of an older and more fundamental instrument called a melodeon. Physically, the button accordion is distinct in that it has an extra row of buttons that have been pitched a semi-tone above or below those of the melodeon. It’s possible for the musician to manipulate the bellows and actually produce two notes from one single button. In fact, this is what gives the button accordion greater articulation, and economy of fingering.
There are several variations within the family of button accordions. The widest variations can be seen on the fundamental construction, keyboard systems, action and tuning of the individual instruments. One of the most notable versions of button accordion is the diatonic. There is a melody-sized keyboard that is limited to the notes of diatonic scales on a diatonic accordion. These notes are offered through a small number of keys, or even just one key. It is worth noting that the bass side of the diatonic normally contains the principal chords of the instrument’s key, including the root notes of those chords.
In general, diatonic button accordions are bisonoric. This means that every button creates a couple of notes. One note is produced when the bellows are expanded, while the other is produced when the bellows are compressed. There are, however, few diatonic button accordions that are unisonoric. For example, each button on the garmon produces the same note, regardless of the direction of the bellows. Still others have a combination of the two styles.
The chromatic is another famous variation of button accordion. The melody-sized keyboard is composed of uniform rows of buttons on this instrument. Accordingly, these buttons are arranged so that the pitch increases chromatically along diagonals. The bass side keyboard of this instrument is naturally the Stradella system, which is one of many converter or free-bass systems.
Some instruments of this class are simply named “chromatic” accordions, even though the other kinds, such as the piano accordion, are also fully chromatic. Since the launch of chromatic buttons, they have become the preference of many classical music performers. As a result, the treble keyboard of this instrument is denser than that of a piano accordion, giving a much greater musical range.
Different cultures have developed their own models of modern button accordions, and have adapted their inventions to suit their own traditional styles of music. Russia alone has a number of accordions, such as the Garmonica, Livenka, Garmon, Saratovskaya and the very popular Bayan.
If you love the unique sound that an accordion can bring to traditional and well-known music, pick up a button accordion and try your hand at playing this age-old and ever-popular instrument.
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Filed under: Accordion