The accordion is an instrument found across many cultures around the globe and makes an ideal choice for musicians wanting to perform both traditional and modern styles of music.
A diatonic accordion, or melodeon as it’s more commonly referred to, contains one 10-button row. Each button plays two notes depending on whether or not you push or pull on its bellows.
Keys
When it comes to accordions, there is an impressive array of keys. Some models are diatonic with three keys with bass notes/chords attached while others can play every note of the scale simultaneously.
Melodeons are accordions with piano keys on the treble side that are commonly known as melodeons in England, Ireland and Scotland; this term more specifically refers to one row 10 keyed models. A basic melodeon offers an affordable way to begin playing music but may lack some of the notes available on a bass accordion.
There are also double-action keyboards like the garmon that prioritize bass chords like a single-action bandoneon; and Chiovarelli jazz systems featuring triads on one hand but bichords on melody row for faster music performance.
Reeds
An accordion’s reeds produce various notes depending on whether its bellows are closed (pushed) or opened (pulled), making it diatonic compared to instruments like bandoneon or mouth harmonica which produce chords with more than two notes at once.
Diatonic accordions feature up to ten buttons on their right-hand keyboard, each connected by two (or up to 10) metal free reeds tuned specifically to either melody row or bass row keys – so each button produces the appropriate tone when played either melody-side or accompaniment side.
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Bellows
The bellows of an accordion act as the instrument’s heart; they push and pull air to produce its notes, as well as determine its dynamic range – when squeezed hard enough they allow loud playing of the accordion.
Bellows movement is tightly coupled to finger button motion; some of the best accordion licks require swift changes of bellows direction that require both finger and thumb action to execute successfully.
Some accordions feature “couplers”, which activate extra sets of reeds octave below the main set and another off-tuned from it to produce a tremulant tone. Other models have differing bellow arrangements; for instance some may be bisonoric while others unisonoric; unisonoric models often provide less musical notes available and can sound very bland.
Mechanisms
The bellows serve as the heart and lungs of an accordion, creating air pressure which causes vibrating reeds to vibrate and produce sound. Compressing or pushing on them creates air pressure which in turn stimulates vibrating reeds to produce sound; controlling dynamics and articulation through compressed/expanded bellows plays an integral part in playing an accordion.
Pressing any button on a diatonic or chromatic accordion activates its keyboard system, lifting a pallet and allowing airflow into its voice chamber corresponding to the key being pressed. This movement can be seen when taking out its grill.
Diatonic accordions differ from their chromatic counterparts by featuring push-pull action that makes playing quick rhythms possible; such as those associated with polka and zydeco music styles. Furthermore, this push-pull mechanism gives accordionists greater versatility when it comes to certain genres like polka or zydeco music styles that would not otherwise be possible on a chromatic instrument.
Maintenance
Once musette reeds have been tuned dry, they should typically stay in their reed block. However, if some outliers require additional adjustments through filing or diagonal filing to achieve harmony with one another, you may need to take them out and spot tune them instead.
This process can be more involved than changing dry reeds as disassembly of the instrument is likely necessary, bellows repairs may need to be performed, and new “accordion wax” (not candle wax) poured around reed plates and leathers poured as required – although still less labor-intensive than retuning an instrument altogether; for optimal results we advise seeking professional assistance for such maintenance tasks.