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Accordion Types

To many of us, an accordion is an accordion. The seasoned player, however, knows that there is much more to this age-old instrument.

Also known as squeezeboxes, accordions belong to the handheld bellows-driven free reed aerophone family. When an accordion is played, the compression and expansion of the bellows generates airflow across the reed. The air causes the reed to vibrate, and creates a musical tone. Accordions also feature keyboards, which control the airflow to the reeds, and produce a greater variety of tones.

Physical Features of the Accordion

Today's modern accordions consist of a two-part body. Bellows separates these two rectangular halves. On each half of the body there is a keyboard with piano style keys, buttons or levers. When pressed, these buttons travel in a direction perpendicular to the movement of the bellows, or toward the performer. Most modern accordions have buttons that are capable of producing entire chords, while traditional concertinas have buttons that only produce single notes.

Accordion Styles

The various types of accordions are differentiated by the styles and key note systems. These styles include the Piano, Chromatic, Concertina and Diatonic accordions.

Chromatic: Playing this instrument will produce a full 46-note chromatic scale. The buttons are not diatonic, so it has the greatest treble range of today's accordion styles. Chromatic accordions can range in size from the humble version with 20 treble keys and 12 bass buttons, to modern chromatic models boasting rows of treble buttons and 160 bass buttons. The chromatic style is quite popular in Russia.

Concertina: Known for its unique shape, the concertina can be made with four to twelve sides. There is a keyboard at each end of the instrument, with bellows in between. Each button produces an individual note, and the concertina provides no fixed chords. In fact, there is such a wide variety of systems and notes that it can be almost impossible for the performer of one concertina to successfully play another. The second instrument will be unique, and must be relearned.

There are other unique qualities that set this particular instrument apart from the rest. The concertina's buttons, unlike modern accordions, will not produce chords. The buttons also travel parallel to the motion of the bellows, or toward the opposite end of the instrument. Virtually every element, from the internal materials and mechanics to the construction and tone color, are all unique from other styles of accordions. In general, however, the basic standards of sound production are identical.

Diatonic: This style of accordion is often the instrument of choice of folk and dance groups. The great sound output, light weight, low cost and playing simplicity make the diatonic one of the world's most popular accordions. Players find it easy to perform on the diatonic, as the note pattern on the keyboard is similar to that of the mouth harmonica.

Piano: The piano accordion has become the first truly standardized style, ever since the development of the Stradella bass system. On this style of accordion, the performer can play a number of different styles without changing the system.

Call it what you like, but there's a lot more to the accordion than a simple "squeezebox". If you're interested in playing the accordion, try out a few different types to find the one that suits your style. And, let the party begin!

Article Source: http://www.inpop.net

Essayist Darnell Istead enjoys writing articles for a variety of web magazines, on my family and healthy family issues.

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