A diatonic accordion, commonly referred to as a German style melodeon or accordion with diatonic scales is made up of one row of ten buttons that play diatonic scales; an additional partial row includes additional buttons with relevant accidentals (flats and sharps).
These buttons produce different notes depending on how far or in what direction you pull or push on the bellows, making them distinct from piano or chromatic accordions.
What is a Diatonic Accordion?
An accordion without two rows of buttons and only one key can be considered an accordion without strings, used mainly in folk and traditional music. This instrument can play various musical scales and come in various sizes: children-oriented Pigini Peter Pan accordions may occasionally be found in good condition for sale, larger instruments with several more buttons as well as special models called club accordions are all viable choices for playing music on this instrument.
This model has a diatonic second row that’s one-half tone above the first, meaning that both bellows directions can play the same note, unlike most two-row accordions which use bisonoric reeds that vary depending on which way the bellows are pulled.
Diatonic accordions typically feature only 1-3 keys but still offer plenty of charm if you prefer lighter, more portable instruments. You have the freedom to select either wet or dry tuning – each option changes the sound and feel of the instrument overall.
Diatonic Accordions are Bisonoric
Diatonic accordions are often thought of as being used for playing polka music, with three to five rows of treble buttons and a Stradella bass similar to what piano accordion owners are used to seeing. Because diatonic accordions are bisonoric – meaning each button produces two different notes depending on whether you push or pull on its bellows – these instruments make this style of instrumentation highly sought after for performing this music genre.
Russian garmon accordions are popularly used as examples of this type of accordion, featuring both melodic and bisonoric parts to allow musicians to create complex chords with one button press.
A Schwyzerorgeli accordion is another popular bisonoric diatonic accordion used in Alpine music, featuring three rows of diatonic buttons on its treble side and 18 unisonoric bass buttons on the other. Due to this combination of both bisonoric and chromatic traits, this instrument can be difficult to find outside Switzerland.
Diatonic Accordions are Single Action
Diatonic accordions feature a diatonic scale and only play notes within a specific key, making them popular choices in Irish/Celtic music and Conjunto/Tex-Mex styles. They typically contain two rows of buttons but there may also be three row versions available.
Piano and Chromatic Accordions As opposed to its diatonic counterpart, piano or chromatic accordions use keys spaced half tones apart and cover the full chromatic scale – meaning each button changes pitch when pumping the bellows in different directions.
The two most prevalent chromatic accordions are the Finnish C-System and Russian Garmon (also referred to as Garmoshka). Both models feature three rows of treble buttons and either one or two rows of bass buttons that produce bass notes or chords depending on their layout, typically equipped with both standard Stradella bass and Free Bass configurations – making them great instruments for Classical music as well as Eastern European/Balkan folk music performances.
Diatonic Accordions are Double Action
Diatonic accordions consist of up to three treble rows and up to eight bass buttons; they’re used in traditional Irish music, country western, as well as modern offshoots such as Cajun Zydeco or Norteno folk styles.
Diatonic accordions differ from piano or chromatic button accordions in that their buttons do not play all 12 notes in an entire chromatic scale, instead only producing specific chords when the bellows is pushed and pulled in certain directions, providing for faster playing styles suitable for traditional dance music rhythmic effects.
There are various variations of diatonic accordions available worldwide. Examples of this instrument type include the Russian garmon, Steirische Harmonika[note 1] which is popular in Alpine regions of Europe, Swiss Schwyzerorgeli and Basque trikitixa which combine single and double action features; most popular among these three instruments in Ireland being the Melodeon with between one to three treble rows and eight bass buttons.