Accordions are complex instruments, requiring much time, dedication and discipline from beginners. Therefore, it is crucial for beginning accordionists to have ample motivation and dedication in their daily practice sessions.
Children delight in the feeling of accomplishment that comes from progressing steadily on an instrument like the piano accordion. It provides new musical horizons while stimulating personal creativity.
Accordion History
The accordion belongs to a group of free-reed aerophone instruments known as free reed aerophone instruments that also includes harmonicas and concertinas. Early accordions were single-action models where each melody button controlled two reeds which produced adjacent diatonic notes from press/draw of bellows press.
Demian del Castello was an Italian accordionist who, during the late 19th century, enhanced Viennese accordions. Later at Castelfidardo, Mariano Dallape introduced his Stradella bass system that enabled left-hand accompaniment.
Piano accordions, so-called for their similarity to standard piano keys on their treble side, are immensely popular across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Although these instruments tend to offer a smaller range of notes (usually 41 on 120-bass models) compared to B-system accordions, they generally feature more chromaticism due to Felt being placed under piano keys to control touch noise as well as on pallets to muffle notes that were not pressed down during performances; over time these materials wear out and should be periodically replaced so as to prevent excessive clacking or loss in sound quality from affecting performance quality or impact on sound quality from occurring during performances.
Accordion Construction
Accordions are composed of various materials, including wood, leather and metal. Their plastic components – buttons and keys – are produced through injection molding processes which involve turning raw plastic material into liquid form that can then be forcibly injected into preformed molds before hardening to retain their shape.
The accordion’s treble side features buttons or keys for producing different notes, typically organized in piano-style layout and offering from single chords up to six chords major, minor, dominant and diminished chords.
The bass side of an accordion usually follows a predetermined pattern to produce three-note chords, while free bass models overcome melodic restrictions by offering extra buttons or converter switches that produce different combinations. Sized accordingly with their number of bass buttons (12, 48 or 120), accordions come in various sizes that best suit different scenarios.
Accordion Sounds
An accordion’s buttons open a valve, releasing compressed air onto vibrating reeds that produce its characteristic sound – with different tones at different octaves depending on bellows direction.
Accordions can contain up to 41 trebles and 120 basses. Their size depends heavily upon the range of notes represented on a right-hand piano keyboard; as more keys become available, so too grows an accordion’s capacity.
Felt is used on piano keys to control touch and noise levels, and on pallets to silence notes that are not being played (preventing bellows from making clacking noises). While accordions continue to evolve with new advances such as digital keyboard systems that replicate accordion sounds while offering more flexibility than their predecessors, many musicians prefer traditional accordions due to their authentic sound and physical experience – this being evidenced by their inclusion on many world-renowned conservatoires’ syllabuses.
Accordion Styles
The piano accordion features a musical keyboard similar to that of a piano attached at right angles to its bellows, designed specifically to play melodies for accordion orchestras. Additionally, this instrument often finds use in folk music styles and offers limited bass buttons on its left side.
Piano accordions tend to be lighter and easier to play than button accordions, offering greater portability with their smaller number of bass keys (41 or 48 on 120 bass accordion models) which limits chord selection; this may be seen as an advantage as many people appreciate its lighter feel.
Certain models feature additional sets of reeds, typically an octave lower or off-tuned for a tremulant effect, controlled using special coupler switches to give an enhanced variety of tones and timbres to their instrument.