Button accordions can be intimidating instruments to play. Finding all of their scale tones at once may prove challenging, but this shouldn’t be a major problem when playing two-steps, waltzes, polkas and reels on them – they were designed for these!
At first, focus on learning how to pull back your bellows before pressing keys; that is how 80% of all mistakes occur.
Chromatic System
Button accordions produce various pitches or groups of pitches by drawing and squeezing the bellows, using right hand button keyboard to produce melodies while left hand bass side keyboard is used for chords.
The most frequently seen button accordion type is the chromatic or diatonic instrument. This includes buttons on both melody and bass sides which produce diatonic scale sounds while another set produces major or minor triad chords.
This allows the accordion to provide maximum possibilities for melody and harmony playing, but requires you to know more about scales than previously required due to diagonal rows being necessary in this system. These rows produce scales composed only of tones and semitones which makes tracking fingerings and notes a little harder; hopefully this guide can assist with that task!
Free Bass System
An accordion with a free bass system enables the left hand to play standard bass notes as well as chords on its bass side without needing to go through register changes (button combinations that move you between different octaves). This gives approximately five octaves of range without going through register changes (button combinations which change register).
Most free bass systems, often referred to as converter basses, feature a large switch that enables quick switching between an ordinary stradella bass and free bass system – perfect for musicians wanting to explore both styles of music.
Some accordions feature even more comprehensive free bass systems, like the quint bass system – an accordion featuring an extensive free bass arrangement similar to that found on a stradella but featuring over four octaves’ worth of bass notes – that allows extended arpeggios on chord buttons starting with discordant notes that transition smoothly onto conventional notes later. This type of arrangement makes improvisation much simpler by offering access to more unconventional notes which resolve into conventional ones later.
C Griff
Certified Used Accordions come with an industry-leading warranty backed by petosa’s team of artisans from four generations, which conduct a thorough inspection, refurbishment and certification process to ensure each instrument performs at its peak performance.
Although its packaging might seem misleading, this collection of four Francy Boland sessions from the mid-’60s is a brilliant release. Produced by Gigi Campi – who was one of the pioneers in his genre – this album showcases an impressive roster of musicians such as Johnny (“Griff”) Griffin on tenor sax, Chicago saxophonist Milt Jackson and more.
Griff’s bold yet elegantly voiced anthems echo of wise maturity, her soaring Taylor Swift-like vocals being supported by taut compositional skills and emotional literacy that defy description. Her debut album Black Hole stands as an unapologetic testament to righting yourself after life-altering events occur; her lustrous hair, sparkling eyes and body that fits through tight jeans are testaments of poise and charisma – she truly is an inspiring musical force!
B Griff
Griff, the Brits’ rising star award winner for 2020, has quickly emerged from buzzy obscurity to global fame in just months. Starting off as an innocent resident in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire and later featuring in a TikTok campaign featuring her wearing an elaborate ponytail and silver kneepads; it is evident her perseverance has paid off!
Chromatic accordions feature a right side keyboard with rows of buttons arranged chromatically (also referred to as the “reed layout”) on it, creating three to five diagonal rows each playing different notes when bellows open or close. They can be easily tuned to play any key, playing arpeggios, chords and scales – they even adapt well for bass playing!
One Foot In Front Of The Other is Griff’s debut full-length album and her pop talents shine throughout it. She excels at crafting songs of self-doubt as well as upbeat love anthems; its short release shows an artist already secure in their craft.