Accordions are an exciting instrument to learn. While some may view the accordion as difficult, with proper guidance anyone can learn how to play this wonderful instrument.
Diatonic accordions are ideal for beginning accordionists as they only feature one treble row and two basses, making it easy to learn many folk styles such as Cajun, Zydeco, Polka or Irish music.
What is a Diatonic Accordion?
Diatonic button accordions are free-reed aerophone musical instruments used for making diatonic scales. Their right keyboard contains notes for only some diatonic scales while their left keyboard usually contains primary chords that correspond with their key. Melodeons with two rows of buttons are often known by this name and used primarily to play popular and traditional folk music (and modern offshoots of these genres).
The accordion has long been seen as the instrument of poor people, but that perception is changing as more cultural elites take note of its expressive capabilities and beautiful melodies and chords.
Irish accordions typically use either B/C or C#/D tuning systems; each one offers its own special characteristics for playing traditional Irish music. No single tuning system is superior over another; ultimately it depends on what kind of playing style you prefer; for beginners interested in simply learning melodies it would be wiser to opt for B/C tuning as this allows easier melodies.
Keyboard
One-row diatonic accordions, more commonly referred to as melodeons, feature a keyboard equipped with twenty buttons (ten on either side of the instrument), providing access to twenty notes in their diatonic scale.
These instruments are particularly suited for playing quick folkdance tunes and flowing waltzes, mazurkas, or other forms of music that do not jar against each other. Their close arrangement of diatonic buttons makes playing them much simpler compared to more widely spread out keys found on chromatic accordions.
Henry Doktorski’s method book offers an accessible introduction to button accordion playing, having received many awards and accolades as an introductory text.
Reeds
Diatonic accordions create sound with metal reeds mounted to their treble side, when an instrument player depresses a key on their keyboard it covers up a small hole in its bellows which forces air through it into its interior through metal reeds mounted there causing vibration that causes their metal reeds to vibrate producing sounds from them.
Each metal reed on an accordion can play two distinct notes depending on which way the bellows is moving, creating complex sounds known as voices. The accordion can also be configured with various combinations of these metal reeds to produce more intricate soundscapes known as voices.
A four voice accordion is the norm and commonly known by that name. Each ‘voice’ is controlled by switches (also referred to as couplers, registers or stops) that when pressed allow different reed sets to activate producing different tonalities and octaves in sound production. By skillfully using these switches in conjunction with keystrokes, buttons and bellows movements the accordion can create intricate sounds impossible on other instruments.
Bellows
Button accordions employ a bellows to open and close keys that produce sound, similar to how organists open and close organ pipes. Most accordionists utilize unplanned movements of the bellows when opening and closing keys; with practice it’s possible to achieve balanced movements that produce the unique crisp sound associated with button accordion playing.
A diatonic one row melodeon features ten buttons on its “in” bellow and two notes for bass and chords on its “out” bellow; these bellows make up its two sections, thus creating a chromatic instrument capable of playing any note when adjusted correctly with respect to their reeds.
Other types of chromatic accordions feature a Bisonoric keyboard which produces various notes when the bellows is pushed and pulled, while unisonoric accordions such as the Oriental bayan and Vyatka garmon utilize piano keyboard layout on one side and Stradella bass system on the other. With such models, all notes remain constant regardless of bellows direction. A Pro Tip for accordionists: Pull your bellows prior to pressing any buttons or keys – similar to taking a deep breath before speaking out loud!