Accordion: construction and playing

In short: The accordion is a bellows-driven instrument: the bellows create a stream of air that makes metal reeds vibrate. The right hand plays the melody, the left the bass and accompanying chords.

In more detail: It belongs to the free-reed instruments, like the harmonica and the bandoneon. Instruments of this kind appeared in the early 19th century, and an early patent for an “Accordion” was granted in Vienna in 1829.

In detail

• Bellows: Opening and closing the bellows moves air past the reeds; bellows pressure controls volume and expression.
• Treble side: On a piano accordion the right side has a piano-style keyboard, on a button accordion rows of buttons.
• Bass side: In the widespread Stradella bass system, each button produces either a bass note or a ready-made chord such as major, minor or seventh.
• Registers: Switches combine different sets of reeds and thus change the tone colour, for example brighter or fuller.
• Chromatic and diatonic: Chromatic accordions give the same note on push and pull, while diatonic instruments such as the Styrian harmonica give different notes depending on the direction of the bellows.
• Related instruments: The bandoneon and the concertina work on the same principle; the bandoneon is especially associated with Argentine tango.
• Musical styles: The accordion can be heard in folk music, French musette, polka and pop music as well as in classical concert works.
• Size and weight: Smaller instruments with fewer basses are available for children and beginners, as large accordions can be heavy.
• Learning: At first you practise the right-hand melody, the left-hand bass-and-chord accompaniment and changing the bellows direction smoothly, each separately (musikinstrumente-familien, akkorde-grundlagen, instrument-effektiv-ueben).