Accordion

	Sounds of a accordion Several sounds of a accordion next to their chords.
Problems when playing this file?

The accordion is a harmonic wind musical instrument, made up of a bellows, a fingerboard and two wooden harmonic boxes.

The bellows are closed at both ends by wooden boxes. The right hand part of the accordion also has a "diapason" with an arrangement of keys that can be like that of a piano (piano accordion) or round keys (also called buttons) (chromatic accordion. Although this denomination may not be correct) depending on the type of accordion; the part of the left hand has buttons on both types of accordion to play the basses and accompanying chords, also by operating a lever the bass system is changed, passing to the BASSETI system, which places the first 4 rows from the outside with chromatic notes and by octaves, while the last two are left as basses and double basses without octaves. It is very popular in Argentina, Asturias, Bulgaria, Cantabria, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Central Europe (Germany, Austria), Eastern Europe ((Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Romania), France (Paris), Galicia, La Rioja, Mexico (north), Navarra, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, southern Italy, Switzerland, Uruguay (northeast), Venezuela (in the case of the typical polka from the Tovar neighborhood, due to its links with the folklore). For the similar instrument used in Argentina, Uruguay and Peru (to a lesser extent), see: bandoneón. The accordion is also widely used throughout Brazil, both with keys and with buttons from north to south of the country in various styles and musical rhythms. It is also very popular in the folk music of the Circassian people.

This instrument may seem to have a struck string when you see the keys like those of a piano, but even so the accordion is mechanical wind, since it does not work through human breath, but through a mechanism.

Accordion operation

Parts of a accordion.

These wooden boxes contain, in turn, other smaller wooden boxes in which the “voices” are found. These are metal reeds that vibrate with the air and generate the sound of the accordion. For each wooden box they play a certain number of keys or keys, to select the sounds to emit. These wooden boxes contain ducts through which air passes directly to the musical boxes through the voices emitted by the different musical notes. In their normal state, all these conduits are kept blocked by a wooden lid with the force of the springs corresponding to each key. These springs are supported by a cross rod. The keys communicate respectively with "levers" that move the wooden lids. By pressing a key, the wooden lid opens for the desired time and will later return to its initial position through the action of the springs.

To sound a musical note, all you have to do is let the air pass by opening or closing the accordion while pressing one or more keys. Depending on the type of accordion, the sound emitted may or may not vary by opening and closing the accordion while pressing the same key.

When playing the accordion, the right hand side corresponds to scales (sounds are high), and the left hand side corresponds to basses and chords.

Construction

Accordions have many configurations and types. What may be easy to do with one type of accordion may be technically difficult or impossible with another, and mastery of one setup may not translate to another.

The most obvious difference between the accordions is their right-hand manual. Piano accordions use a piano-like musical keyboard, while button accordions use a keypad. Button accordions are further differentiated by the use of a chromatic or diatonic keypad for the right-hand manual.

Accordions can be bisonoric, producing different pitches depending on the direction of movement of the bellows, or unisonoric, producing the same pitch in both directions. Piano accordions are unisonoric. Chromatic button accordions also tend to be unisonoric, while diatonic button accordions tend to be bisonoric, though there are notable exceptions.

The size of the accordion is not standardized, and can vary significantly from one model to another. Accordions vary not only in their dimensions and weight, but also in the number of buttons or keys present on the left and right hand manuals. For example, piano accordions can have as few as 8 bass buttons (two rows of four notes), or as many as 120 (six rows of twenty notes) or more. Accordions also vary based on their ranges of reeds and switching registers and their specific tuning and voicing.

Despite these differences, all accordions share a number of common components.

Universal Components

Bellows

	Sounds controlled by accordion fuels A sample of the effects that can be achieved with the 949 KB bellow
Problems when playing this file?

Instruments with bellows

• Piano Accordions: 1, 2, 13
• Diatonic button accordion: 3
• Chrome buttons: 11, 12, 14
• Digital Accordions (V-Accordions, Roland Corporation): 11, 12, 13, 14
• Bandoneon: 4
• English concertina: 5
• Anglo-German Concertins (Anglo Concerines): 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The bellows is the most recognizable part of the instrument, and the main means of articulation. The sound production in an accordion is in direct proportion to the movement of the bellows by the player. In a sense, the function of the bellows can be compared to the function of moving a violin bow on the bowed strings. For a more direct analogy, the bellows can be compared to a singer's breathing function. The bellows is situated between the right and left hand manuals, and is made of pleated layers of cloth and cardboard, with added leather and metal. It is used to create pressure and vacuum, forcing air through the inner reeds. and producing the sound by its vibrations, the applied pressure increases the volume.

Keyboard playing is not expressive and does not affect dynamics: all expression is through the bellows. The effects of the bellows include:

• Volume control, including waves and fading
• Repeated short and fast direction changes ("wallows injury"), which has been popularized^{[chuckles]required]} by musicians like Renato Borghete (music gaucha) and Luiz Gonzaga, and very used in the forró, called ♪♪ in Brazil
• Constant movement of the bellow while pressure is applied at intervals.
• Constant movement of the bellows to produce clear tones without resonance
• Subtly change the intonation to imitate the expressivity of a singer
• The use of the bellow with the silent air button produces the sound of the air in motion ("whooshing"), which is sometimes used in contemporary compositions for this instrument.

Body

accordion exhibition hall (Petosa Accordions, Seattle, Washington).

The body of the accordion consists of two wooden boxes joined by the bellows. These boxes house reed chambers for the right and left manuals. Each side has a grill to facilitate the transmission of air in and out of the instrument, and to allow the sound to be better projected. The right manual grille is usually larger and often has a decorative shape. The right hand manual is normally used to play the melody and the left hand manual to play the accompaniment; however, skilled musicians can reverse these roles and play the melodies with the left hand.

The size and weight of an accordion varies depending on its type, arrangement, and playing range, which can be as small as having only one or two rows of basses and a single octave in the right manual, up to the standard 120 bass accordion and up to the big heavy 160 free bass converter models.

Paddle mechanism

The accordion is an aerophone. The manual mechanism of the instrument turns the airflow on or off:

A side view of the pallet mechanism in a piano accordion. By pressing the key, the palette rises, allowing the air to enter in the tonal chamber in any direction and excite the tongues; the direction of the air flow depends on the direction of the movement of the bellow. A similar mechanical movement of the pallet is used in the button accordions, as well as in the mechanisms of the bass, such as the Low machine Stradella, which translates the single button pulse into multiple palette openings for the notes of a chord.

Variable Components

The term accordion encompasses a wide range of instruments, with variable components. All instruments have rows of reeds of some format, apart from reedless digital accordions. Not all of them have switches to change the register or range, since some only have a treble register and a bass register. The most typical accordion is the piano accordion, which is used for many genres of music. Another type of accordion is the button accordion, which is used in musical traditions such as Cajun music, conjunto and Tejano music, Swiss and Slovene-Austrian Alpine music, and Argentine tango music. The Helikon-style accordion has multiple flared horns that protrude from the left side to reinforce the low tone. The word "Helikon" refers to a low-pitched tuba.

Right hand systems

There are different systems for the right-hand manual of an accordion, which is typically used to play melody (although it can play chords as well). Some use a button layout arranged one way or another, while others use a piano-style keyboard. Each system has different benefits claimed by those who prefer it. They are also used to define one accordion or another as a "type" different:

• chromatic buttons and bayan, a Russian variant, use a button in which the notes are chromaticly arranged. There are two main systems, called system B and system C (there are also regional variants). On rare occasions, some chromatic button chords have a decorative keyboard on the right hand in addition to the button rows, an approach used by the virtuous accordionist Pietro Frosini.
• Diatonic buttons match use a button set designed around diatonic scale notes in a small number of keys. The keys are usually arranged in a row for each available key. There can be chromatic scales combining notes from different rows. The adjective "diatonic" is also commonly used to describe the bisonical accordions, that is, those instruments whose manual keys of the right hand (and in some cases even the bass) sound every two different notes depending on the direction of the bellow (e.g., producing sequences of larger triads while closing the bellow and seventh dominant or 7-9 as it opens). This is the case, for example, of the Argentine bandoneon, the Slovenian-Austrian-German Steirische Harmonika, the Czech organetto, the Swiss Schwyzerörgeli and the Anglo concertina.
• The piano accordions use a musical keyboard similar to that of a piano, in a straight angle regarding the box, with the top of the keys to the inside of the bellow.
  • The bass accordion, rarely used, has only one right hand keyboard, with rows of tongues of 8', 16' and 32', being the lowest note the most serious tone of a tube organ pedal keyboard (pedal C). It is intended for the execution of low lines in accordion orchestras.
  • The piccolo accordion, unused, also has only one right hand keyboard.
• The 6-plus-6 accordions use a button set with three rows of buttons in a "uniform" or "integer" layout, usually known as Jankó keyboard. The chromatic scale consists of two rows. The third row is a repetition of the first, so there is the same digitation on the twelve scales. These accordions are produced only in special editions, for example, logicordion produced by Harmona.

• 

  A key accordion manufactured by the company Marrazza in Italy. He was brought by Italian immigrants to Australia from his homeland.

• 

  A piano accordion Weltmeister of VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke

Left-hand manual systems

Typical 120 button Stradella bass system. This is the manual left hand system found in most of the current unisonric accordions

Different systems are also used for the manual of the left hand, which is normally used to play the accompaniment. They often use separate bass buttons and often have buttons that are recessed or studded to help the player navigate the layout despite not being able to see the buttons while playing. There are three general categories:

The bass buttons activate a complex mechanism of cables, rods and levers, which is normally hidden inside the instrument

• The Stradella bass system, also called Standard, is arranged in a circle of fifths and uses individual buttons for the bass notes and additional rows of individual buttons for the major, minor, seventh dominant and preset diminished chords. The seventh dominant and diminished chords are three-note chord voicings that omit the fifths of the chords.
• The Belgian bass system is a variation used in Belgian chromatic accordions. It is also organized in a circle of fifths but in reverse order. This system has three rows of bass, three rows of chord buttons that allow for easier fingering to touch melodies, combined chords, better use of fingers one and five, and more space between buttons. This system was rarely used outside of their native Belgium.
• Several free bass system for greater access to touch melodies and low complex lines in the left hand manual and to form the own accords note to note. They usually choose to play jazz and classical music. Some models can convert between low free and low Stradella; this is called under converter. The notes on the left hand of the free bass are arranged in three rows with an additional duplicate row of buttons.
• The Luttbeg double keyboard piano chords have a piano keyboard layout both in the treble and in the bass. This allows pianists, especially Duke Ellington, to bend the accordion without difficulty. The bercandeon is an improved version of that instrument, which also makes it a "keyboard belt".

Reed Grooves and Switches

Acordeón: sets of tongues with a foreground of tongues.

Inside the accordion are the reeds that generate the tones of the instrument. They are organized in different "banks" of sound, which can be combined into "registers" that produce different "timbres". All but the smallest accordions are equipped with switches that control the combination of banks of reeds, arranged from highest to lowest registers. Each register stop produces a separate sounding timbre, many of which also differ in octaves or how the different octaves are combined. All but the smallest accordions usually have treble switches. Larger and more expensive accordions often have bass switches as well to give options to the reed bank on the bass side.

Classification of chromatic and piano type accordions

When describing or pricing an accordion, the first factor is the size, expressed in number of keys on each side. For one type of piano, it could be, for example, 37/96, which means 37 treble keys (three octaves plus one note) on the treble side, and 96 bass keys. A second aspect of size is the width of the white keys, which means that even accordions with the same number of keys have keyboards of different lengths, ranging from 14 inches (35.6 cm) for a children's accordion to 19 inches. (48.3 cm) for an adult-sized instrument. After the size, price and weight of an accordion depends largely on the number of rows of reeds on each side, whether in a cassotto or not, and to a lesser degree on the number of combinations available via the toggle switches. record.

The price is also affected by the use of expensive woods, fancy decorations, and features like a palm switch, grille mute, etc. Some accordion manufacturers sell a range of different models, from a less expensive basic model to a more expensive deluxe model. Register switches are typically described as Reeds: 5 + 3, which means five reeds on the treble side and three on the bass side, and Registers: 13 + M, 7, which means 13 register buttons on the treble side plus a "master" switch that activates all ranges, such as the "tutti" or "whole organ" on an organ, and seven register switches on the bass side. Another factor that influences the price is the presence of electronic components, such as condenser microphones, volume and tone controls, or MIDI sensors and connections.

Chopper in a street in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador

Straps

Larger piano and chromatic button accordions are typically heavier than smaller squeezeboxes, and are equipped with two shoulder straps to help balance the weight and increase control of the bellows while seated, and prevent the instrument from falling when standing. Other accordions, such as the diatonic button accordion, only have a shoulder strap and a right-hand thumb strap. All accordions have a (mostly adjustable) leather strap on the left hand manual to hold the player's hand in position while he pulls on the bellows. There are also straps above and below the bellows to keep it closed when the instrument is not playing.

Types

Músico blind playing the accordion, in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico.

Diathonic accordion to buttons.

A accordionist.

There are several types of accordion. To play the chromatic button accordion and the key accordion are identical for the left hand, but for the right hand they vary enormously.

The chromatic accordion, or Bayan, is distinguished from the key accordion at first glance because the chromatic accordion has buttons on the right hand side, while the key accordion has a "piano".

A chromatic button accordion is distinguished by the fact that its buttons are white (for natural notes) and black (for altered notes) and are arranged in slightly downward-sloping rows of three keys in purely chromatic order, that is, starting from C, this column has C, C sharp (black button) and D; the next (immediately below) row of three keys has D sharp (black button), E and F, and so on. Generally, these accordions have more than three columns: the most normal thing is that they have 5 columns of buttons, the two upper ones being replicas of the first two. This serves to increase the fingering possibilities when playing, as well as allowing you to transpose a melody without having to change the fingering you are playing.

In the case of the Bayan, the left manual has 2 manuals, unlike conventional chromatic accordions, which only have one called stradella (bass and chord system). The second manual is accessed by means of a lever or bar near the left button panel that, when activated, has 58 notes ordered chromatically, with which the interpreter can make melody and play a wider range of notes.

The "whistles" or accordion reeds wear out and can become out of tune, dirty or split.

To tune them, the musical boxes are extracted and the "whistles out of tune" are looked for. Then the "whistles" until the right note is achieved.

The filing is done by the tip to sharpen or raise the tone or by the back of the rivet to lower it; For this you can also add a metallic body on the reed, so that it lowers the frequency.

This artisan work requires a lot of practice and experience, as well as a very good musical ear. The latter is due to the fact that electronic accessories are not used for the accordion in its tuning, since the way the whistles vibrate (in music: color of the note) makes it difficult to read them on electronic devices. Even reading the frequency of the note with electronic devices, the brightness of the note alone that is graduated to taste may not match the others.

This technique is also used on diatonic accordions to "transport"; that is, change their tonalities. In Colombia, for example, where diatonic accordions are mostly used, we find an empirical profession called accordion technician, dedicated to these procedures as well as accordion maintenance in general.

Electronic and digital

Rainer von Vielen-Heimatsound playing a Roland V-Accordion digital accordion. The electronic switch bank can change the sound, tone and volume of the accordion

.

In the 2010s, a range of electronic and digital accordions were introduced. They have an electronic sound module that creates the accordion sound, and most use MIDI systems to encode the keystrokes and transmit them to the sound module. A digital accordion can have hundreds of sounds, which can include different types of accordions and even non-accordion sounds like pipe organ, piano, or guitar. Sensors are used on buttons and keys, such as magnetic reed switches. Sensors in the bellows are also used to transmit push and pull from the bellows to the sound module. Digital accordions may have features not found on acoustic instruments, such as a piano-style sustain pedal, a modulation control for changing keys, and a portamento effect.

As an electronic instrument, these types of accordions are connected to a PA system or keyboard amplifier to produce sound. Some digital accordions have a small internal speaker and amplifier, so they can be used without a PA system or keyboard amplifier, at least for practice and in small venues like coffee shops. One of the advantages of electronic accordions is that they can be practiced with headphones, making them inaudible to others nearby. On a digital accordion, the volume of the keyboard on the right and the buttons on the left can be adjusted independently.

There are also hybrid acoustic-digital accordions. They are acoustic accordions (with reeds, bellows, etc.), but they also contain sensors, electronics, and MIDI connections, providing a wider range of sound options. An acoustic-digital hybrid can be made this way, or it can be an acoustic accordion with aftermarket sensors and electronic connections added. Replacement electronics kits are sold by several companies, but these are often installed by professional accordion technicians, due to the complex and delicate nature of an accordion's internal parts.

Unusual chords

Garmon player

Several hybrid accordions have been created between instruments with different keypads and actions. Many remain curiosities, only a few have remained in use:

• The Schrammel accordion, used in Vienna chamber music and klezmer, which has the sharp button button of a chromatic button and a low-beam button, similar to an expanded diatonic button accordion.
• The Steirische Harmonika, a type of accordion of diatonic bisonical buttons typical of the alpine folk music of Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, the German state of Bavaria and the Italian South Tyrol.
• The schwyzerörgeli or Swiss organ, which usually has a three row diatonic treble and 18 unisonric bass buttons in a low/acorde layout - a subset of the Stradella system in reverse order to the Belgian bass - that move parallel to the movement of the belle
• The trikitixa of the Basque people, which has a row of diatonic bisonoric sharps and a low diatonic unisonric of 12 buttons
• The British chromatic accordion, the preferred diatonic accordion in Scotland. While the right hand is bisonical, the left follows the Stradella system. The elite form of this instrument is generally considered the German-made Shand Morino, produced by Hohner with the contribution of Sir Jimmy Shand
• Pedal Harmony, a type of accordion used sometimes in Polish folk music, which has a pair of bellows similar to those of a pumping organ.
• The Finnish composer and accordionist Veli Kujala developed a accordion of "tone quartz" together with the Italian chord manufacturer Pigini in 2005, and has written works for him. It employs the same system as the concert accordion, with a scale of five octaves, each divided into 24 rooms of tone. Other notable composers who have written concerts for the tone room accordion are Jukka Tiensuu and Sampo Haapamäki.

History

The history of the accordion is short, fast and intense, in such a way that Cyrill Demian registered the invention as accordion in 1829, the Austrian himself had to relinquish his rights to the invention in 1835, due to to the remarkable advances to which he had been subjected. It seems that the European origin of the free reed instruments is in the oriental blown organs, which had spread in Russia in the 18th century, although not as a popular instrument.

The invention is attributed to the Chinese emperor Nyu-Kwa, 3000 years before Christ (the Sheng), although the replacement of reed reeds with metal ones is somewhat later. Based on the simple tongue, numerous inventors made different elements. From the Parisian Pinsonnat, who invented the typóphone, which gave a single fixed note, to Eschembach, who joined several.

In 1810 different western blown organs appeared, and Buschman, in Berlin, manufactured the mundarmónika in 1821, from which the well-known harmonica derives, placing a series of reeds in a row, each of which produces a different note.

His son, by incorporating a small bellows, creates the Andaolina. But it was Cyrill Demian who took over the patent, building an instrument equipped with a bellows and five buttons, each of which, when pressed, produced two chords, one when opening and a different one when closing the bellows. These ten chords were enough to accompany numerous songs, being very easy to use and learn in popular music, especially when in 1831 Isoard Mathieu replaced the chords of each button with two individual notes that occurred one when opening and another when closing the bellows., is thus endowed with two diatonic scales, which gives rise to the diatonic accordion.

In 1834, Foulón added the accidentals, creating the first chromatic accordion. The evolution of the instrument continued and in 1854 Malhaús Bauer replaced the buttons with keys, creating the "piano accordion", which they called the "poor mans piano".

Around 1880 a second keyboard was added, on the right side, made up of four buttons that allowed two chords each to be played as an accompaniment to the melody. This is how the diatonic accordion is constituted, which has reached today in the musical tradition of almost all peoples.

There are new technical modifications, such as putting two identical reeds on each note, so that it gives the same note when opening and closing the bellows, which are the basis of modern concert accordions today.

Musical genres that use the instrument as a base

Fefita La Grande, accordionist and Dominican singer of merengue typical