Introduction

1. The accordion is an extremely versatile instrument and can be used to create a very full sound.  The right hand plays the keys or buttons which sound various combinations of reeds to produce a variety of tones.  The left hand plays bass notes and chords giving in effect two further types of instrumental sounds.  Many accordions have couplers which vary the sounds on each of these three registers.  Additionally the sounds may be amplified with internal or external microphones and in turn fed into sound modifying amplifiers if required increasing the range of sounds.
2. Some accordions play electronic sounds on each of these three registers giving yet further combinations.  For example string bass, piano chords and violin treble.  When coupled with the sound of the accordion reeds a full band like sound can be obtained.  Thus a single instrument can be used for a dance hall or for personal practice or entertainment.  No other instrument can achieve these sounds readily.  Some accordions are electronic only without reeds.
3. The style of accordion may be a difficult choice because of the immense worldwide popularity of this instrument many different types have evolved with buttons or piano keys, several systems for button accordions, variation of note in some accordions depending upon whether the bellows are pushed or pulled, various bass systems including free bass (the ability to play complete tunes or accompaniments on the bass or left side).

You and the accordion

1. The accordion is delightful for young or old because of the full and varied sound and its ability to inspire musicianship.  The melody line is usually played by the right hand which reinforces the melody for the student.  The left hand plays bass notes rather like a bass guitar or double bass might reinforce the melody line.  Chords are played by pressing single buttons with the left and including different buttons for minor and other chords.  This reinforces the idea of musical structure for the student.  While this sounds very complicated, students tend to adapt quickly to the system and the single button approach for the bass and chords acts like a short-cut to complicated and interesting sounds.
2. The electronic type of instrument is especially interesting to younger people and can also be used for silent (through headphones) practice in addition.  An electronic accordion can be more versatile than a standard electronic keyboard and can be used in conjunction with an expander (sound module) or computer to generate almost infinite sounds in a very easy manner.
3. Students of the accordion can play folk or traditional music, modern and pop music or classical music.  Particularly interesting and full classical sounds can be made with an accordion and it is increasingly becoming adopted as a serious classical instrument for conservatory use.
4. The image of the accordion can now be varied to suit the modern idiom including deco styling, LED illumination or button age led readouts.

Systems for traditional accordions

1. Piano key accordions have keys which are arranged similarly to piano keys.  There are white keys with sharps or flats as black, but smaller, keys.  This kind of accordion is very popular because of the interchange ability with standard keyboard instruments in terms of fingering the keyboard.
2. Button key accordions frequently allow extreme expression and an economy of finger movement to play a tune.  There are many systems including –

Chromatic or continental accordions.  These are the ones with very large numbers of buttons e.g. 96.  They look very complication but are mastered much more easily than at first anticipated.  This is because many buttons repeat each other in a set layout which usually proceeds in sequence (note, its sharp, next note, its sharp etc).  Because buttons take less space than keys a wide range of notes can be played with minimal stretch (perhaps playing notes from two octaves with only one hand).  Furthermore, different keys present fewer problems for these instruments.  Once you have learned how to play a tune you can change key by using the same fingering but starting at a different point.  We can therefore view this instrument as a type of refinement on the piano key accordion.

Diatonic accordions.  These accordions play a different note depending upon whether you are pushing or pulling the bellows.  Therefore there is more economy of finger movement because one button produces two notes.  This kind of instrument is therefore used for ‘jerky’ style playing because of the discontinuity of bellows movement e.g. folk style music including Morris dance.  Frequently these instruments are played on one row only, each row being in one key.   Playing a different row or instrument with the same fingering might result in the tune being played in a different key without recourse to special measures.  Thus two row instruments tend to be played in 2 different keys.  An instrument with a C row and a C sharp row has all of the sharps and flats of the musical scale and could therefore be played in any key.

Other systems within each of these systems there may be variations.  These can include variations in keyboard lengths and thus buttons or keys.  Variations in keyboard layout (e.g. C or B layout on continental accordions or even completely different (but rare) keyboard layouts e.g. the uniform keyboard.

Bass layouts.  On the bass side the Stradella system is common for large accordions.  With this system there may be up to 120 buttons (occasionally more) but the layout is clear and easily understood.  Generally buttons close together are used for the key used on the right hand keyboard. Change the right hand key means a simple adjustment in starting position for the bass notes.  The same holds good for the chords.  In fact there are usually only 12 bass notes (one octave including all the sharps and flats) and yet this sounds marvellous when played.  Similarly there are usually only 12 notes on which all the chords are based with three notes sounding to produce a chord from a single button pressed.  Therefore the 120 buttons control 12 bass plus 12 chord notes so the system is simpler than it first seems.

Other bass layouts include systems similar to the continental chromatic described above but for the bass or left hand notes.  These are not very common and tend to be used by classical accordionists.

Some very simple bass systems exist.  For example on diatonic accordions. Especially where the instrument plays in only one or two treble or right hand keys, comparatively few notes are needed on the bass or left hand to produce suitable accompaniment for these keys.  There may not be a provision for left hand chords on some instruments with only bass notes thus reducing the number of buttons.

Systems for electronic accordions

1. Modern electronic accordions use the midi (musical instrument digital interface) system.   This system is used in many other instruments especially to control or interact with computers and various sound synthesisers or expanders.  The system has become standardised so that different combinations or systems can be put together.  The midi system encodes information about the key or button pressed including which button is pressed, how long it is pressed for etc.  The midi encoder may also modify the information to produce different effects e.g. play an octave higher or encode a signal to tell the sound generator that e.g. a violin is needed here.  Many thousands of combinations are possible and the quality and versatility of the expander can make a huge difference.
2. We manufacture our own midi conversions for accordions.  We studied models currently available and felt that we could produce our own unit with the ability to customise for customer needs and include many features not found on other units.  Furthermore, because of the complication of many midi systems we have built a system which is easy to use but very sophisticated.
3. We build and program these units using sophisticated methodology creating very compact and lightweight units with high reliability and easy upgrade paths.

Midi accordions

Midi accordion technology is easy to use once set up. However, it can be complicated selecting systems and obtaining correct control of the sounds.  We specialise in midi and can provide all you need in an easy to use package and save you time researching the subject yourself.