Chromatic accordions: More common in Europe than in North America, the chromatic accordion is a larger-sized instrument featuring a unisonic buttonboard or piano keys.You'll typically hear diatonic accordions in rock, pop and folk music styles. Pushing or pulling the bellows allows you to access both pitches. Diatonic accordions: This small accordion instrument assigns two notes to every button.Types of AccordionsĪlthough all accordions operate in a similar fashion, multiple types are available across the globe: Diatonic button accordions offer bisonoric capabilities, while piano and chromatic button accordions are nearly always unisonic. A unisonic accordion, meanwhile, generates the same pitch in both directions. Within this arrangement, an accordion instrument may be bisonoric, in which the pitches change when the bellows move. Using the keys or buttons causes air to flow across and vibrate the reeds, which then create the notes as the player moves the bellows. The right-hand side is usually reserved for the melody, while the harmony or accompanying bassline is played on the left. Keys or buttons exist on each side of the wooden boxes. On both sides of the bellows are wooden boxes, which house the reed chambers and vents or grills needed to transmit the sound and control airflow. At the same time, pressing the buttons or keys generates individual notes, but unlike with a piano, the player can't use these features to control the dynamics. To make a sound, the player compresses or widens the bellows, and the loudness and timbre come from this movement. The pace at which the player moves the bellows controls the sound, with buttons or a keyboard on the sides for creating pitches.

When you hear the vibrating, humming strains of an accordion, you know exactly which instrument you're listening to, no matter where in the world you are.Īlthough the concertina and bandoneon are similar, accordion instruments all feature a relatively identical setup, with a box-shaped design and a bellows or squeezebox in between.

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