Accordions (from 19th-century
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s of the
bellows-driven
free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a
reed in a frame), colloquially referred to as a
squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist. The
concertina ,
harmoneon and
bandoneón
The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held ...
are related. The
harmonium and
American reed organ are in the same family, but are typically larger than an accordion and sit on a surface or the floor.
The accordion is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or
keys
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (m ...
, causing ''pallets'' to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called ''
reeds''. These vibrate to produce sound inside the body. Valves on opposing reeds of each note are used to make the instrument's reeds sound louder without air leaking from each reed block.
[For the accordion's place among the families of musical instruments, see Henry Doktorski']
''Taxonomy of Musical Instruments'' (''The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.'')
Also on this page is Diarmuid Pigott's ''The Free-Reed Family of Aerophones'' The musician normally plays the
melody
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...
on buttons or keys on the right-hand side (referred to as the
''manual''), and the
accompaniment
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles o ...
on
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
or pre-set
chord buttons on the left-hand side.
The accordion is widely spread across the world because of the waves of immigration from Europe to the Americas and other regions. In some countries (for example: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama) it is used in popular music (for example:
chamamé in Argentina; gaucho,
forró
The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance type ...
, and
sertanejo in Brazil;
vallenato in Colombia;
merengue in the Dominican Republic; and
norteño in Mexico), whereas in other regions (such as Europe, North America, and other countries in South America) it tends to be more used for
dance-pop and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
.
In Europe and North America,
some popular music acts also make use of the instrument. Additionally, the accordion is used in
cajun,
zydeco,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, and
klezmer
Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...
music, and in both solo and orchestral performances of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...
. The
piano accordion is the official city instrument of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, California. Many conservatories in Europe have classical accordion departments. The oldest name for this group of instruments is ''harmonika'', from the Greek ''harmonikos'', meaning "harmonic, musical". Today, native versions of the name ''accordion'' are more common. These names refer to the type of accordion
patented by Cyrill Demian, which concerned "automatically coupled chords on the bass side".
Alphabetical musical instruments
History
The accordion's basic form is believed to have been invented in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, in 1822, by
Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann,
[There is not a single document to back up this belief. Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann was 16 years old at that time; handwritten evidence of C.F. Buschschmann and his father exists, but without any related notice within. The first mention of an aeoline was in a text dated 1829.] although one instrument has been recently discovered that appears to have been built earlier.
[This is the accordion owned by Fredrik Dillner of Sweden, which has the name F. Löhner ]Nürnberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
engraved (stamped) on it. The instrument was given to Johannes Dillner in 1830 or earlier
The earliest history of the accordion in Russia is poorly documented. Nevertheless, according to Russian researchers, the earliest known simple accordions were made in
Tula, Russia, by
Ivan Sizov and
Timofey Vorontsov around 1830, after they received an early accordion from Germany. By the late 1840s, the instrument was already very widespread; together the factories of the two masters were producing 10,000 instruments a year. By 1866, over 50,000 instruments were being produced yearly by Tula and neighbouring villages, and by 1874 the yearly production was over 700,000. By the 1860s,
Novgorod,
Vyatka and
Saratov
Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901, ...
governorates also had significant accordion production. By the 1880s, the list included
Oryol,
Ryazan,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Tver
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russi ...
,
Vologda,
Kostroma,
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
and
Simbirsk
Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population:
The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin ( ...
, and many of these places created their own varieties of the instrument.
The accordion is one of several European inventions of the early 19th century that use free reeds driven by a bellows. An instrument called ''accordion'' was first patented in 1829 by
Cyrill Demian, of
Armenian origin, in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
[A summary and pictures of this patent can be found a]
www.ksanti.net/free-reed/history/demian.html
(Version of 20 Okt 4 – 19 Jun 9 Using Way Back Machine to Display: The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.) Demian's instrument bore little resemblance to modern instruments. It only had a left hand buttonboard, with the right hand simply operating the bellows. One key feature for which Demian sought the patent was the sounding of an entire chord by depressing one key. His instrument also could sound two different chords with the same key, one for each bellows direction (a ''bisonoric'' action). At that time in Vienna, mouth
harmonicas with ''Kanzellen'' (chambers) had already been available for many years, along with bigger instruments driven by hand bellows. The
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
key arrangement was also already in use on mouth-blown instruments. Demian's patent thus covered an accompanying instrument: an accordion played with the left hand, opposite to the way that contemporary chromatic hand harmonicas were played, small and light enough for travelers to take with them and used to accompany singing. The patent also described instruments with both
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
and
treble sections, although Demian preferred the bass-only instrument owing to its cost and weight advantages.
[German Text: "Mit den Dekel des Balges, läßt sich das ganze Instrument verdoppeln, so daß man dadurch die Accorde vermehrt, oder auch mit einzelne Töne spielen kann, in diesem Fall, muß ein zweyter Einsatz mit Federn, und auch eine 2te Claviatur dazu kommen, der Blasebalg bleibt in der Mitte, jede Hand dirigirt abwechselnd, entweder die Claves, oder den Balg. Durch eine obengenannte Verdoplung des Instruments oder durch Vermehrung der Accorde, würde niemand etwas verbessern, oder was neues liefern, weil nur die Bestandtheile dadurch vermehrt, das Instrument theurer und schwerer wird."
Translation of this snip: With the Cover of the bellows the instrument can be duplicated, so the amount of Chords or single notes can be enlarged, or one can sound single notes, in this case, a second part with springs (free reeds) and also a second keyboard must be added, the bellows are in between these two parts, both hands push buttons and push and pull the bellows at the same time or alternatively. Through this doubling or increasing of chords within the instrument nothing new is invented or improved by someone else, because only the amount of similar parts is increased and the Instrument is heavier and more expensiv]
German full text
The accordion was introduced from Germany into Britain in about the year 1828. The instrument was noted in ''The Times'' in 1831 as one new to British audiences and was not favourably reviewed, but nevertheless it soon became popular. It had also become popular with New Yorkers by the mid-1840s.
After Demian's invention, other accordions appeared, some featuring only the right-handed keyboard for playing melodies. It took English inventor Charles Wheatstone to bring both chords and keyboard together in one squeezebox. His 1844 patent for what he called a ''
concertina'' also featured the ability to easily tune the reeds from the outside with a simple tool.
The Austrian musician
Adolf Müller described a great variety of instruments in his 1854 book ''Schule für Accordion''. At the time, Vienna and London had a close musical relationship, with musicians often performing in both cities in the same year, so it is possible that Wheatstone was aware of this type of instrument and may have used them to put his key-arrangement ideas into practice.
Jeune's ''
flutina'' resembles Wheatstone's concertina in internal construction and
tone colour
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musical ...
, but it appears to complement Demian's accordion functionally. The flutina is a one-sided bisonoric melody-only instrument whose keys are operated with the right hand while the bellows is operated with the left. When the two instruments are combined, the result is quite similar to diatonic button accordions still manufactured today.
Further innovations followed and continue to the present. Various buttonboard and keyboard systems have been developed, as well as voicings (the combination of multiple tones at different octaves), with mechanisms to switch between different voices during performance, and different methods of internal construction to improve tone, stability and durability. Modern accordions may incorporate electronics such as condenser microphones and tone and volume controls, so that the accordion can be plugged into a
PA system or
keyboard amplifier for live shows. Some 2010s-era accordions may incorporate
MIDI sensors and circuitry, enabling the accordion to be plugged into a
synth module and produce accordion sounds or other synthesized instrument sounds, such as piano or organ.
Construction
Accordions have many configurations and types. What may be easy to do with one type of accordion could be technically challenging or impossible with another, and proficiency with one layout may not translate to another.
The most obvious difference between accordions is their right-hand sides.
Piano accordions use a piano-style
musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, s ...
; button accordions use a buttonboard. Button accordions are furthermore differentiated by their usage of a
chromatic or
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
buttonboard for the right-hand side.
Accordions may be either bisonoric, producing different
pitches depending on the direction of bellows movement, or unisonoric, producing the same pitch in both directions. Piano accordions are unisonoric.
Chromatic button accordions also tend to be unisonoric, while
diatonic button accordions tend to be bisonoric, though notable exceptions exist.
Accordion size is not standardized, and may vary significantly from model to model. Accordions vary not only in their dimensions and weight, but also in number of buttons or keys present in the right- and left-hand manuals. For example, piano accordions may have as few as 8 bass buttons (two rows of four notes), or up to 120 (six rows of twenty notes) or beyond. Accordions also vary by their
available registers and by their specific tuning and voicing.
Despite these differences, all accordions share a number of common components.
Universal components
Bellows
The
bellows is the most recognizable part of the instrument, and the primary means of
articulation. The production of sound in an accordion is in direct proportion to the motion of the bellows by the player. In a sense, the role of the bellows can be compared to the role of moving a
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
's bow on bowed strings. For a more direct analogy, the bellows can be compared to the role of breathing for a singer. The bellows is located between the right- and left-hand manuals, and is made from
pleated layers of cloth and cardboard, with added leather and metal. It is used to create pressure and vacuum, driving air across the internal
reeds and producing sound by their vibrations, applied pressure increases the volume.
The keyboard touch is not
expressive and does not affect
dynamics: all expression is effected through the bellows. Bellows effects include:
* Volume control, including swells and fades
* Repeated short, rapid changes of direction ("bellows shake"), which has been popularized by musicians such as
Renato Borghetti
Renato Borghetti (born July 23, 1963 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian folk musician and composer.
He works in many genres including traditional styles from his home state of Rio Grande do Sul, other styles of Brazilian music like samba, and inter ...
(
gaucho music) and
Luiz Gonzaga, and extensively used in
Forró
The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance type ...
, called ''resfulego'' in Brazil
* Constant bellows motion while applying pressure at intervals
* Constant bellows motion to produce clear tones with no resonance
* Subtly changing the intonation to mimic the expressiveness of a singer
* Using the bellows with the silent air button gives the sound of air moving ("whooshing"), which is sometimes used in contemporary compositions for this instrument
Body
The accordion's body consists of two wooden boxes joined by the bellows. These boxes house reed chambers for the right- and left-hand manuals. Each side has
grilles in order to facilitate the transmission of air in and out of the instrument, and to allow the sound to project better. The grille for the right-hand manual is usually larger and is often shaped for decorative purposes. The right-hand manual is normally used for playing the melody and the left-hand manual for playing the accompaniment; however, skilled players can reverse these roles and play melodies with the left hand.
[ Guido Deiro claimed he was the first accordionist to play a solo with the left hand: ''Sharpshooter's March'' (1908) Guido Deiro, ''Guido Deiro's Own Story of Sharpshooters March'', ''The Pietro Musicordion'', Volume 6, Number 2 (May–June 1948)]
The size and weight of an accordion varies depending on its type, layout and playing range, which can be as small as to have only one or two rows of basses and a single
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
on the right-hand manual, to the standard 120-bass accordion and through to large and heavy 160-bass free-bass converter models.
Pallet mechanism
The accordion is an
aerophone. The manual mechanism of the instrument either enables the air flow, or disables it:
[Illustration made with reference from a similar illustration that can be found in both ''Det levende bælgspil'' (p. 9) by Jeanette & Lars Dyremose (2003), and ''Harmonikaens historie'' (p. 35a) by Bjarne Glenstrup (1972, The University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Music)]
Variable components
The term ''accordion'' covers a wide range of instruments, with varying components. All instruments have reed ranks of some format, apart from reedless
digital accordions. Not all have switches to change registers or ranks, as some have only one treble register and one bass register. The most typical accordion is the piano accordion, which is used for many musical genres. Another type of accordion is the button accordion, which is used in musical traditions including Cajun, Conjunto and
Tejano music, Swiss and Slovenian-Austro-German Alpine music, and Argentinian tango music. The
Helikon-style accordion has multiple flared horns projecting out of the left side to strengthen the bass tone. The word "
Helikon" refers to a deep-pitched tuba.
Right-hand manual systems
Different systems exist for the right-hand manual of an accordion, which is normally used for playing the melody (while it can also play chords). Some use a
button layout arranged in one way or another, while others use a
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
-style keyboard. Each system has different claimed benefits
by those who prefer it. They are also used to define one accordion or another as a different "type":
*
Chromatic button accordions and the
bayan
Bayan may refer to:
Eduational Institutions
* Bayan Islamic Graduate School, Chicago, IL
Places
*Bayan-Aul, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
*Bayan Mountain, an ancient mountain name for part of Tarbagatai Mountains at Kazakhstan in Qing Dynasty period
* ...
, a Russian variant, use a buttonboard where notes are arranged
chromatically. Two major systems exist, referred to as the B-system and the C-system (there are also regional variants). Rarely, some chromatic button accordions have a decorative right-hand keyboard in addition to the rows of buttons, an approach used by the virtuoso accordionist
Pietro Frosini.
*
Diatonic button accordions use a buttonboard designed around the notes of
diatonic scales
In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps, ...
in a small number of keys. The keys are often arranged in one row for each key available. Chromatic scales may be available by combining notes from different rows. The adjective "diatonic" is also commonly used to describe bisonic or bisonoric accordions—that is, instruments whose right-hand-manual (and in some instances even bass) keys each sound two different notes depending on the direction of the bellows (for instance, producing major triad sequences while closing the bellows and dominant seventh or 7–9 while opening). Such is the case, for instance, with the Argentinian
bandoneon, the Slovenian-Austro-German
Steirische Harmonika, the Czech Heligonka Harmonika, the Italian
organetto
The modern organetto is a small diatonic button accordion used in Italian folk music. It is often used to play the saltarello
The ''saltarello'' is a musical dance originally from Italy. The first mention of it is in Add MS 29987, a late- ...
, the Swiss
Schwyzerörgeli and the
Anglo concertina.
*
Piano accordions use a
musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, s ...
similar to a piano, at right angles to the cabinet, the tops of the keys inward toward the bellows.
**The rarely used bass accordion has only a right-hand keyboard, with ranks of 8', 16', and 32' reeds, with the lowest note being the deepest pitch on a pipe organ
pedal keyboard
A pedalboard (also called a pedal keyboard, pedal clavier, or, with electronic instruments, a bass pedalboard) is a keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A pedalboard has lo ...
(pedal C). It is intended for performing
bassline
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
s in accordion orchestras.
**The rarely used piccolo accordion also has only a right-hand keyboard.
*
6-plus-6 accordions use a buttonboard with three rows of buttons in a "uniform" or "whole-tone" arrangement, generally known as a
Jankó keyboard
The Jankó keyboard is a musical keyboard layout for a piano designed by Paul von Jankó, a Hungarian pianist and engineer, in 1882. It was designed to overcome two limitations on the traditional piano keyboard: the large-scale geometry of the k ...
. The chromatic scale consists of two rows. The third row is a repetition of the first row, so there is the same fingering in all twelve scales. These accordions are produced only in special editions e.g. the ''logicordion'' produced by
Harmona.
Italian Button Accordion QM r.jpg, A button key accordion made by the company Marrazza in Italy. It was brought by Italian immigrants to Australia as a reminder of their homeland.
PianoAccordeon.jpg, A ''Weltmeister'' piano accordion by VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke
VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke (KHW) was a state-owned company based in Klingenthal, Saxony, and was the main producer of accordions, harmonicas, and electronic instruments in East Germany.
History
VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke was establish ...
Left-hand manual systems
Different systems are also in use for the left-hand manual, which is normally used for playing the accompaniment. These usually use distinct bass buttons and often have buttons with concavities or studs to help the player navigate the layout despite not being able to see the buttons while playing. There are three general categories:
* The
Stradella bass system, also called ''standard bass'', is arranged in a
circle of fifths and uses single buttons for bass notes and additional rows of single buttons for preset major, minor, dominant seventh, and diminished
chords. The dominant seventh and diminished chords are three-note chord voicings that omit the fifths of the chords.
* The Belgian bass system is a variation used in Belgian chromatic accordions. It is also arranged in a circle of fifths but in reverse order. This system has three rows of basses, three rows of chord buttons allowing easier fingering for playing melodies, combined chords, better use of fingers one and five, and more space between the buttons. This system was rarely used outside of its native Belgium.
* Various
free-bass systems for greater access to playing melodies and complex
bassline
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
s on the left-hand manual and to forming one's own chords note-by-note. These are often chosen for playing
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...
. Some models can convert between free-bass and Stradella bass; this is called ''converter bass''. The free-bass left hand notes are arranged chromatically in three rows with one additional duplicate row of buttons.
* Luttbeg double-keyboard piano accordions have a piano keyboard layout on both the treble and bass sides. This allows
pianists, most notably
Duke Ellington, to double up on the accordion without difficulty. The
Bercandeon is an improved version of that instrument, also making it a "keyboard bandoneon".
Reed ranks and switches
Inside the accordion are the reeds that generate the instrument tones. These are organized in different sounding ''banks'', which can be further combined into ''registers'' producing differing ''
timbres''. All but the smaller accordions are equipped with switches that control which combination of reed banks operate, organized from high to low
registers. Each register stop produces a separate sound timbre, many of which also differ in octaves or in how different octaves are combined. See the
accordion reed ranks and switches article for further explanation and audio samples. All but the smaller accordions usually have treble switches. The larger and more expensive accordions often also have bass switches to give options for the reed bank on the bass side.
Classification of chromatic and piano type accordions
In describing or pricing an accordion, the first factor is size, expressed in number of keys on either side. For a piano type, this could for one example be 37/96, meaning 37 treble keys (three octaves plus one note) on the treble side and 96 bass keys. A second aspect of size is the width of the white keys, which means that even accordions with the same number of keys have keyboards of different lengths, ranging from for a child's accordion to for an adult-sized instrument. After size, the price and weight of an accordion is largely dependent on the number of reed ranks on either side, either on a
cassotto or not, and to a lesser degree on the number of combinations available through register switches.
Price is also affected by the use of costly woods, luxury decorations, and features such as a palm switch, grille mute, and so on. Some accordion makers sell a range of different models, from a less-expensive base model to a more costly luxury model. Typically, the register switches are described as ''Reeds: 5 + 3'', meaning five reeds on the treble side and three on the bass, and ''Registers: 13 + M, 7'', meaning 13 register buttons on the treble side plus a special "master" that activates all ranks, like the "tutti" or "full organ" switch on an organ, and seven register switches on the bass side. Another factor affecting the price is the presence of electronics, such as condenser microphones, volume and tone controls, or MIDI sensors and connections.
Straps
The larger piano and chromatic button accordions are usually heavier than other smaller
squeezeboxes, and are equipped with two shoulder straps to make it easier to balance the weight and increase bellows control while sitting, and avoid dropping the instrument while standing. Other accordions, such as the
diatonic button accordion, have only a single shoulder strap and a right hand thumb strap. All accordions have a (mostly adjustable) leather strap on the left-hand manual to keep the player's hand in position while drawing the bellows. There are also straps above and below the bellows to keep it securely closed when the instrument is not playing.
Electronic and digital
In the 2010s, a range of electronic and digital accordions were introduced. They have an electronic
sound module
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which ...
which creates the accordion sound, and most use
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
systems to encode the keypresses and transmit them to the sound module. A digital accordion can have hundreds of sounds, which can include different types of accordions and even non-accordion sounds, such as pipe organ, piano, or guitar. Sensors are used on the buttons and keys, such as magnetic reed switches. Sensors are also used on the bellows to transmit the pushing and pulling of the bellows to the sound module. Digital accordions may have features not found in acoustic instruments, such as a piano-style
sustain pedal, a modulation control for changing keys, and a
portamento effect.
As an electronic instrument, these types of accordions are plugged into a
PA system or
keyboard amplifier to produce sound. Some digital accordions have a small internal speaker and amplifier, so they can be used without a PA system or keyboard amplifier, at least for practicing and small venues like
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
s. One benefit of electronic accordions is that they can be practiced with headphones, making them inaudible to other people nearby. On a digital accordion, the volume of the right-hand keyboard and the left-hand buttons can be independently adjusted.
Acoustic-digital hybrid accordions also exist. They are acoustic accordions (with reeds, bellows, and so on), but they also contain sensors, electronics, and MIDI connections, which provides a wider range of sound options. An acoustic-digital hybrid may be manufactured in this form, or it may be an acoustic accordion which has had aftermarket electronics sensors and connections added. Several companies sell aftermarket electronics kits, but they are typically installed by professional accordion technicians, because of the complex and delicate nature of the internal parts of an accordion.
Unusual accordions
Various hybrid accordions have been created between instruments of different buttonboards and actions. Many remain curiosities – only a few have remained in use:
* The
Schrammel accordion, used in
Viennese Viennese may refer to:
* Vienna, the capital of Austria
* Viennese people, List of people from Vienna
* Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna
* Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city
* Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance
* ...
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...
and
klezmer
Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...
, which has the treble buttonboard of a chromatic button accordion and a bisonoric bass buttonboard, similar to an expanded diatonic button accordion
* The
Steirische Harmonika, a type of bisonoric diatonic button accordion particular to the Alpine folk music of Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, the German state of Bavaria, and the Italian South Tyrol
* The
schwyzerörgeli or Swiss organ, which usually has a three-row diatonic treble and 18 unisonoric bass buttons in a bass/chord arrangement – a subset of the Stradella system in reverse order like the Belgian bass – that travel parallel to the bellows motion
* The
trikitixa of the
Basque people, which has a two-row diatonic, bisonoric treble and a 12-button diatonic unisonoric bass
* The British chromatic accordion, the favoured diatonic accordion in Scotland. While the right hand is bisonoric, the left hand follows the Stradella system. The elite form of this instrument is generally considered the German manufactured Shand Morino, produced by
Hohner with the input of
Sir Jimmy Shand
* ''Pedal harmony'', a type of accordion used sometimes in Polish folk music, which has a pair of
pump organ-like bellows attached.
* The
Finnish composer and accordionist Veli Kujala developed a ''
quarter tone
A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each ...
accordion'' together with the
Italian accordion manufacturer Pigini in
2005, and has written works for it. It deploys the same system as the concert accordion, with a scale of five octaves, each divided into 24 quarter tones. Other notable composers who have written
concertos for the quarter tone accordion include
Jukka Tiensuu and
Sampo Haapamäki
Sampo Haapamäki (born 3 February 1979) is a Finnish composer. He has won several international composition competitions.
Education
Haapamäki studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Tapio Nevanlinna and Veli-Matti Puumala. He has also ...
.
Manufacturing process
The most expensive accordions are typically fully hand-made, particularly the reeds; completely hand-made reeds have a better tonal quality than even the best automatically manufactured ones. Some accordions have been modified by individuals striving to bring a more pure sound out of low-end instruments, such as the ones improved by Yutaka Usui, a Japanese craftsman.
The manufacture of an accordion is only a partly automated process. In a sense, all accordions are handmade, since there is always some hand assembly of the small parts required. The general process involves making the individual parts, assembling the subsections, assembling the entire instrument, and final decorating and packaging.
Famous centres of production are the Italian cities of
Stradella and
Castelfidardo, with many small and medium size manufacturers especially at the latter. Castelfidardo honours the memory of Paolo Soprani who was one of the first large-scale producers.
Maugein Freres has built accordions in the French town of
Tulle since 1919, and the company is now the last complete-process manufacturer of accordions in France. German companies such as
Hohner and
Weltmeister made large numbers of accordions, but production diminished by the end of the 20th century. Hohner still manufactures its top-end models in Germany, and ''Weltmeister'' instruments are still handmade by
HARMONA Akkordeon GmbH in
Klingenthal.
Use in various music genres
The accordion has traditionally been used to perform folk or
ethnic music, popular music, and transcriptions from the operatic and light-classical music repertoire. It was also used by the
Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language.
It may also refer to:
*Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya
*Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people
*Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Centr ...
tribe in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
and is the main instrument in the traditional Mwomboko
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
. Today the instrument is sometimes heard in contemporary pop styles, such as rock and pop-rock, and occasionally even in serious classical music concerts, as well as advertisements.
Use in traditional music
The accordion's popularity spread rapidly: it has mostly been associated with the common people, and was propagated by Europeans who emigrated around the world. The accordion in both button and piano forms became a favorite of folk musicians and has been integrated into
traditional music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
styles all over the world: see the
list of music styles that incorporate the accordion.
Use in jazz
Early jazz accordionists include Charles Melrose, who recorded ''Wailing Blues/Barrel House Stomp'' (1930, Voc. 1503) with the Cellar Boys; Buster Moten, who played second piano and accordion in the Bennie Moten orchestra; and Jack Cornell, who did recordings with Irving Mills. Later jazz accordionists from the United States include
Steve Bach,
Milton DeLugg,
Orlando DiGirolamo
Orlando DiGirolamo (April 20, 1924 – January 26, 1998) was an American jazz accordionist, pianist, composer, and teacher. He is sometimes credited as "Lanny DiJay" on jazz recordings. DiGirolamo collaborated frequently with legendary jazz p ...
,
Dominic Frontiere,
Guy Klucevsek,
Yuri Lemeshev,
Frank Marocco
Frank L. Marocco (January 2, 1931 – March 3, 2012) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger and composer. He was recognized as one of the most recorded accordionists in the world.
Background
Born in Joliet, Illinois Frank Marocco grew up ...
,
John Serry Sr.,
Lee Tomboulian, and
Art Van Damme
Art Van Damme (April 9, 1920February 15, 2010) was an American jazz accordionist.
Van Damme toured Europe and was popular with jazz enthusiasts in Japan.
Van Damme was married, and had three children. After he retired to Roseville, California, ...
. French jazz accordionists include
Richard Galliano,
Bernard Lubat
Bernard Lubat (born July 12, 1945, Uzeste) is a French jazz drummer, pianist, singer, percussionist, vibraphonist, and accordionist.
Lubat grew up in a musical family (his father played trumpet) and he received formal training at the Bordeaux C ...
, and
Vincent Peirani
Vincent Peirani (born 24 April 1980) is a French jazz accordionist, vocalist and composer who has played internationally, collaborating with Denis Colin, François Jeanneau, Youn Sun Nah, Émile Parisien, Michel Portal, Louis Sclavis, and Micha ...
. Norwegian jazz accordionists include
Asmund Bjørken
Asmund Bjørken (19 August 1933 – 29 January 2018) was a Norwegian musician who played the accordion and saxophone in the genres of jazz and folk. He was self-taught.
Career
Bjørken was part of ''Harry Waagens Orchestra'', a central band o ...
,
Stian Carstensen
Stian Carstensen (born 5 January 1971) is a multi-instrument Norwegian musician, entertainer and with Jarle Vespestad (drums) and Nils-Olav Johansen (vocal and guitar), central members of the Balkan-jazz orchestra Farmers market.
Biography
C ...
,
Gabriel Fliflet
Gabriel Fliflet (born 18 July 1958 in Åland, Finland) is a Norwegian accordion player and vocalist, known for his multicultural musical expressions and numerous recordings. He is the brother of bass player and sagspiller Andreas Fliflet, and the ...
,
Frode Haltli
Frode Haltli (born 15 May 1975 in Levanger), is a Norwegian accordion player.
Biography
Haltli started to play the accordion at the age of seven and over the following few years he won several national competitions and scholarships and was awa ...
, and
Eivin One Pedersen
Eivin One Pedersen (8 September 1956 – 22 February 2012) was a Norwegian jazz musician (accordion and piano) from Stavanger, Norway.
Career
One Pedersen played in the trio Detail, together with Frode Gjerstad (saxophone) and John Stevens (d ...
.
While the accordion's left hand preset chord buttons are limited to triads and seventh chords (for the dominant seventh chord and the diminished seventh chord), jazz accordionists expand the range of chord possibilities by using more than one chord button simultaneously, or by using combinations of a chord button and a bass note other than the typical root of the chord. An example of the former technique is used to play a
minor seventh chord. To play an "a minor" seventh chord (with an added ninth), the "a minor" and "e minor" preset buttons are pressed simultaneously, along with an "A" bassnote. An example of the latter technique is used to play the
half-diminished chord
In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord (also known as a half-diminished chord or a minor seventh flat five chord) is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a minor seventh (1,  ...
. To play an "e" half-diminished seventh chord, a "g minor" preset button is pressed along with an "E" bassnote.
Use in popular music
The accordion appeared in
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
from the 1900s to the 1960s. This half-century is often called the "golden age of the accordion".
Five players,
Pietro Frosini, the two brothers Count
Guido Deiro and
Pietro Deiro and Slovenian brothers Vilko Ovsenik and
Slavko Avsenik, Charles Magnante were major influences at this time.
Most
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
theaters closed during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, but accordionists during the 1930s–1950s taught and performed for radio. Included among this group was the concert virtuoso
John Serry, Sr. During the 1950s through the 1980s the accordion received significant exposure on television with performances by
Myron Floren
Myron Floren (November 5, 1919 – July 23, 2005) was an American musician best known as the accordionist on ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' between 1950 and 1980. Floren came to prominence primarily from his regular appearances on the weekly televis ...
on ''
The Lawrence Welk Show''. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the accordion declined in popularity because of the rise of rock and roll. The first accordionist to appear and perform at the Newport Jazz Festival was Angelo DiPippo. He can be seen playing his accordion in the motion picture ''The Godfather''. He also composed and performed with his accordion on part of the soundtrack of Woody Allen's movie ''To Rome With Love''. He was featured twice on ''The Tonight Show'' with Johnny Carson.
Richard Galliano is an internationally known accordionist whose repertoire covers jazz, tango nuevo, Latin, and classical. Some popular bands use the instrument to create distinctive sounds. A notable example is
Grammy Award-winning parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic, who plays the accordion on many of his musical tracks, particularly his
polka
Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas.
History
Etymology
The te ...
s. Yankovic was trained in the accordion as a child.
The accordion has also been used in the rock genre, most notably by
John Linnell of
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a dr ...
, featuring more prominently in the band's earlier works. The instrument is still frequently used during live performances, and continues to make appearances in their studio albums. Accordion is also used in the music of the
Dropkick Murphys and
Gogol Bordello.
Accordionists in
heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands develope ...
make their most extensive appearances in the
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exam ...
subgenre, and are otherwise generally rare. Full-time accordionists in folk metal seem even rarer, but they are still utilized for studio work, as flexible keyboardists are usually more accessible for live performances. The Finnish symphonic folk-metal band
Turisas
Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war.
Turisas are a folk metal band, incorporating elements of power metal and s ...
used to have a full-time accordionist, employing classical and polka sensibilities alongside a violinist. One of their accordionists, Netta Skog, is now a member of
Ensiferum, another folk-metal band. Another Finnish metal band,
Korpiklaani, invokes a type of Finnish polka called
humppa, and also has a full-time accordionist. Sarah Kiener, the former
hurdy-gurdy player for the Swiss melodic-death-folk metal band
Eluveitie, played a
Helvetic accordion known as a ''zugerörgeli''.
Use in classical music
Although best known as a folk instrument, it has grown in popularity among classical composers. The earliest surviving concert piece is ', written in 1836 by Louise Reisner of Paris. Other composers, including the Russian
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
, the Italian
Umberto Giordano, and the American
Charles Ives, wrote works for the diatonic button accordion.
The first composer to write specifically for the
chromatic accordion was
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...
. In 1922, the Austrian
Alban Berg included an accordion in ''
Wozzeck'', Op. 7. In 1937, the first
accordion concerto An accordion concerto is a solo concerto for solo accordion and symphony orchestra or chamber orchestra.
History
The accordion concerto has its origin in the twentieth century, following examples as the much older piano concerto or the violin con ...
was composed in Russia. Other notable composers have written for the accordion during the first half of the 20th century. Included among this group was the Italian-American
John Serry Sr., whose ''
Concerto for Free Bass Accordion
''Concerto for Free Bass Accordion'' was written for the solo Free-bass system accordion by John Serry, Sr. in 1964 and was revised in 1966. A transcription for solo piano was completed in 1995 and revised in 2002. Written in the classical music c ...
'' was completed in 1964. In addition, the American accordionist
Robert Davine
Robert Davine (born Aubrey Robert Davine; April 5, 1924 – November 25, 2001) was an internationally recognized concert accordionist and Professor of Accordion and Music Theory at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music. As the chairman ...
composed his ''Divertimento for Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon and Accordion'' as a work for chamber orchestra. American composer
William P. Perry featured the accordion in his orchestral suite ''Six Title Themes in Search of a Movie'' (2008). The experimental composer
Howard Skempton began his musical career as an accordionist, and has written numerous solo works for it. In his work ''Drang'' (1999), British compose
John Palmer pushed the expressive possibilities of the accordion/bayan.
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...
wrote ''Sequenza XIII'' (1995) for accordionist Teodoro Anzellotti. Accordionists like
Mogens Ellegaard Mogens Ellegaard (4 March 1935 – 28 March 1995) was an accordion player from Denmark. He is regarded as the "father of the classical accordion."
Early life
Ellegaard was the son of a cabinet maker and began studying the instrument at the ...
,
Joseph Macerollo
Joseph Nicholas Anthony Macerollo, Officer of the Order of Canada, OC (born October 1, 1944) is a Canadian classical Accordion, accordionist and music teacher. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013.
References
Joseph Macero ...
,
Nick Ariondo
Nicholas Ariondo is an American accordionist, composer, pianist..."Ariondo's skills as a composer and arranger contribute enormously to the effectiveness of his performances" Keyboard Magazine/Titus Levi ...Throughout his career, the artistry of ...
, Friedrich Lips, Hugo Noth,
Stefan Hussong
Stefan Hussong (2 November 1962) is a German classical accordionist.
He has received numerous awards for his performances, including the Gaudeamus International Competition for Performers for contemporary music, and was named best instrumentalist ...
, Teodoro Anzellotti, and Geir Draugsvoll, encouraged composers to write new music for the accordion (solo and chamber music) and also started playing baroque music on the free bass accordion.
French composer
Henri Dutilleux used an accordion in both his late song cycles ''Correspondances'' (2003) and ''
Le Temps l'Horloge
''Le temps l'horloge'' (''Time and the Clock'') is a song cycle for soprano and orchestra, by the French composer Henri Dutilleux.
He wrote the original three-movement version between 2006 and 2007 based on two poems by Jean Tardieu ("Le tem ...
'' (2009). Russian-born composer
Sofia Gubaidulina has composed solos, concertos, and chamber works for accordion. Astor Piazzolla's concert tangos are performed widely. Piazzolla performed on the bandoneon, but his works are performed on either bandoneon or accordion.
Australia
The earliest mention of the novel accordion instrument in
Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...
occurs in the 1830s.
The accordion initially competed against cheaper and more convenient reed instruments such as mouth organ, concertina and melodeon.
Frank Fracchia was an Australian accordion composer and copies of his works "My dear, can you come out tonight" and "Dancing with you" are preserved in Australian libraries.
Other Australian composers who arranged music for accordion include
Reginald Stoneham
Reginald Alberto Agrati Stoneham (1879 – 11 March 1942) was an Australian composer and publisher of mostly topical songs, and a musical comedy ''F.F.F. (musical), F.F.F.'' He was perhaps Australia's leading exponent of jazz and ragtime piano s ...
.
The popularity of the accordion peaked in the late 1930s and continued until the 1950s.
The accordion was particularly favoured by buskers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The accordion is a traditional instrument in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
. It is the dominant instrument used in
sevdalinka, a traditional genre of folk music from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also considered a national instrument of the country.
Brazil
The accordion was brought to Brazil by settlers and immigrants from Europe, especially from Italy and Germany, who mainly settled in the south (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná). The first instrument brought was a "Concertina" (a 120 button chromatic accordion).
The instrument was popular in the 1950s, and it was common to find several accordions in the same house. There are many different configurations and tunes which were adapted from the cultures that came from Europe.
Accordion is the official symbol instrument of the Rio Grande do Sul state, where was voted by unanimity in the deputy chamber.
During the boom of accordions there were around 65 factories in Brazil, where most of them (52) in the south, in Rio Grande do Sul state, with only 7 outside the south. One of the most famous and genuinely Brazilian brands was Acordeões Todeschini from Bento Gonçalves-RS, closed in 1973. The Todeschini accordion is very appreciated today and survives with very few maintainers. The most notable musicians of button accordions are
Renato Borghetti
Renato Borghetti (born July 23, 1963 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian folk musician and composer.
He works in many genres including traditional styles from his home state of Rio Grande do Sul, other styles of Brazilian music like samba, and inter ...
, Adelar Bertussi, Albino Manique and Edson Dutra.
Compared to many other countries, the instrument is very popular in mainstream pop music. In some parts of the country, such as the northeast it is the most popular melodic instrument. As opposed to most European folk accordions, a very dry tuning is usually used in Brazil. Outside the south, the accordion (predominantly the piano accordion) is used in almost all styles of
Forró
The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance type ...
(in particular in the subgenres of
Xote and
Baião) as the principal instrument,
Luiz Gonzaga (the "King of the Baião") and
Dominguinhos
José Domingos de Morais (12 February 1941 – 23 July 2013), better known as Dominguinhos, was a Brazilian composer, accordionist and singer. His principal musical influences were the music of Luiz Gonzaga, Forró and in general the music of the ...
being among the notable musicians in this style from the northeast. In this musical style the typical combination is a trio of accordion,
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
and
zabumba
A zabumba () is a type of bass drum used in Brazilian music. The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing.
The zabumba generally ranges in diameter from 16 to 22 inches, and is 5 to 8 inches tall. The shell is ma ...
(a type of drum).
This style has gained popularity recently, in particular among the student population of the southeast of the country (in the Forró Universitário genre, with important exponents today being Falamansa, and trios such as Trio Dona Zefa, Trio Virgulino and Trio Alvorada). Moreover, the accordion is the principal instrument in Junina music (music of the São João Festival), with Mario Zan having been a very important exponent of this music. It is an important instrument in
Sertanejo (and Caipira) music, which originated in the midwest and southeast of Brazil, and subsequently has gained popularity throughout the country.
Colombia
The accordion is also a traditional instrument in Colombia, commonly associated with the
vallenato and
cumbia genres. The accordion has been used by
tropipop
Tropipop (also known as Colombian pop and Trop-pop) is a music genre that developed in Colombia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is a blend of traditional musical forms of the Caribbean Region of Colombia, mainly vallenato, with foreign Lat ...
musicians such as
Carlos Vives
Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo (born 7 August 1961) is a Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his interpretation of traditional music styles of Colombia such as vallenato, cumbia, champeta, bambuco and porro as well as genres ...
,
Andrés Cabas,
Fonseca (singer)
Juan Fernando Fonseca (born 29 May 1979) is a Colombian singer.
Born in Bogotá, he chose music at an early age, studying music formally at institutions such as Javeriana University in Bogota and Berklee College of Music in Boston. Fonseca's ...
and
Bacilos
Bacilos is a music group based in Miami, Florida, US. A leading practitioner of latin pop, the band had several hits on the Billboard Latin charts and had considerable success in the Latin Grammies, most notably, their album '' Caraluna'' which w ...
, as well as rock musicians such as
Juanes and pop musicians as
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...
. Vallenato, who emerged in the early twentieth century in a city known as Valledupar, and have come to symbolize the folk music of Colombia.
Every year in April, Colombia holds one of the most important musical festivals in the country: the
Vallenato Legend Festival
The Vallenato Legend Festival ( es, Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata) is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The festival features a vallenato music contests for best performer of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca, ...
. The festival holds contests for best accordion player. Once every decade, the "King of Kings" accordion competition takes place, where winners of the previous festivals compete for the highest possible award for a vallenato accordion player: the ''Pilonera Mayor'' prize. This is the world's largest competitive accordion festival.
Czech Republic
Accordion is often played at traditional czech pubs, like U Flekú, Prague.
Mexico
Norteño heavily relies on the accordion; it is a genre related to polka.
Ramón Ayala
Ramón Covarrubias Garza (born December 8, 1945), known by his stage name Ramón Ayala, is a Mexican singer, composer and songwriter of Norteño music.
Discography
Studio albums (Ramón Ayala Y Sus Bravos Del Norte)
* ''La Pura Maña'' (1971 ...
, known in Mexico as the "King of the Accordion", is a norteño musician.
Cumbia, which features the accordion, is also popular with musicians such as
Celso Piña
Celso Piña Arvizu (April 6, 1953 – August 21, 2019) was a Mexicans, Mexican singer, composer and accordionist, mainly in the genre of cumbia, being one of the most important musicians in the style of "cumbia rebajada".
Piña was a pioneer in ...
, creating a more contemporary style. U.S.-born Mexican musician
Julieta Venegas
Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ve ...
incorporates the sound of the instrument into rock, pop and folk. She was influenced by her fellow Chicanos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cu ...
who also use the music of the accordion.
North Korea
According to
Barbara Demick in ''
Nothing to Envy'', the accordion is known as "the people's instrument" and all North Korean teachers were expected to learn the accordion.
China
The number of accordionists in China exceeds every other country in the world, and possibly every country combined. Introduced in 1926, the accordion has risen to popularity in China throughout the years, thanks to Russian teachers and its being a popular instrument in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
, and remains popular.
Other audio samples
See also
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List of accordionists
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Steirische Harmonika
Notes
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Folk music instruments
Articles containing video clips
German inventions
19th-century inventions