Instrumental Archaeology, Issue 4

The Accordion

A piano accordion. Photo: Accordion Chords.

The accordion, in its many forms, is recognized across the world and is central to many genres of music including polka, tango, and traditional folk music across Europe.

History

Early versions of the accordion were based on the sheng, a Chinese free-reed instrument sent to Europe from China by a Jesuit missionary named Père Amiot in 1777. There were a few different instruments created after the introduction of the sheng, but the earliest record of the word Akkord, the German word for chord, appears in a patent by Cyrill Demian in 1829. Demian’s invention was the first of these instruments to play whole chords on one side. Earlier versions, such as the concertina, have melody buttons on both sides and therefore don’t have the ability to play whole chords.

By the early 19th century, accordions spread throughout Europe, with each country and region having its own version. Belgium and France, specifically Paris, became centers of accordion production at this time. French accordions from this period even travelled all the way to Japan. German immigrants, not wanting to be outdone, brought accordions to South America around the same time, which were quickly incorporated into local traditions.

The Accordion

As the player presses a button or key while either pulling or pushing the accordion, air flows over sets of reeds to produce sound. Accordions are free-reed aerophones, meaning their reeds are attached to a metal plate and vibrate freely through a slot in that plate. Some accordions also have additional buttons that produce effects like octave doubling by engaging extra reeds.

As far as the playing of the accordion goes, there are a few different styles. Accordions are either diatonic or chromatic. Diatonic accordions, such as the Steirische, organetto, and garmon, vary widely in their characteristics, but chromatic accordions are either piano or button accordions. A chromatic accordion can play a complete chromatic scale (all 12 notes), while a diatonic accordion plays only those notes within a certain key.

Clockwise from top left: a Steirische accordion, an organetto, a garmon, and an Anglo concertina. All photos: Accordion Chords.

Another main distinction across accordions is whether they are unisonoric or bisonoric. Unisonoric refers to an accordion that has two reeds for each pitch and plays that same pitch whether the bellows are being pulled or pushed. A bisonoric accordion is one that plays one note when the bellows are pulled and a different note when they are pushed.

To complicate this more, it seems most types of accordions have different varieties. For example, the garmon is usually a diatonic, bisonoric instrument, but there are unisonoric and chromatic garmons as well.

Stradella Bass System

One of the unique features of chromatic accordions is their set of bass buttons played by the left hand. While it looks intimidating, it’s not as chaotic as it looks. This layout is called the Stradella Bass System and the number of buttons can range from a set of 8 buttons to a set of 120(!) buttons, arranged in six columns of 20 buttons. Each of the rows, which are on angles, correspond to one key and each column is either a bass note or a chord for that key. The two bass note columns are the counter bass and root note of the key and the four chords are the Major, minor, Dominant 7th, and diminished 7th. To help the player somewhat the rows follow the circle of fifths.

Layout of the Stradella Bass System for a 120 Bass Accordion. Credit: Accordion Chords.

The only clue given to the player as to which buttons are which is a dimple on the C Major chord’s button. Other than that, it’s muscle memory.

The Sound

Below is the João Frade Trio performing “Dança das Estevas.” João is playing a chromatic button accordion here.

Here is Claudio Constantini performing “Libertango” by a tango by Argentine composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. Claudio is playing his bandoneon, a type of concertina, in this video.

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If you enjoyed this look into the accordion, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Sources:

120 Bass Accordion Chart. Accordion Chords, https://accordionchords.com/stradella-bass-layouts/120-bass-accordion-chart/.

Accordions: How It’s Made. Tiranti Fisarmonica, https://www.tirantifisarmoniche.it/en/how-to-make-an-accordion.html.

Barradas, João. The History of the Accordion: Its Invention, Evolution and Famous Piano Accordion Makers. Classical Music, March 2024, https://www.classical-music.com/features/instruments/the-history-of-the-accordion-its-invention-evolution-and-famous-piano-accordion-makers.

Prichard, Laura Stanfield. According The Accordion Its Historical Due. Early Music America, October 2020, https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/web-articles/according-the-accordion-its-historical-due/.

Stradella Bass System Layouts. Accordion Chords, https://accordionchords.com/category/stradella-bass-layouts/.

Types of Accordion and Their Distinctive Features. Accordion Chords, https://accordionchords.com/tutorials/types-of-accordions-and-their-distinctive-features/.

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