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us information on Diatonic Accordions
| Diatonics
in General
|
The first
diatonic accordions were made early in the 1800's. They had
one row of ten buttons in the right hand.
For
each note on the button board there are at least two reeds
(and can be up to ten) with different pitched reeds for the
"in" bellows and "out" bellows. The bass notes and relevant
chords are the root of the scale for the in bellows and the
fifth of the scale for the out bellows.
Diatonics
are frequently used by many folk and dance groups, because
of their great sound output, simplicity, light weight and
low cost. This makes them one of the most popular accordions
worldwide. The note pattern of the keyboard is usually identical
to the mouth harmonica.
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| One
row Diatonic
|
The one
row diatonic, melodeon or, as it is sometimes referred to "German
style accordion", has one ten button row as its keyboard.
As it is diatonic it has twenty notes available from them; ten
on the "in" bellows and ten on the "out" bellows. There are
two diatonic bass buttons, giving a total of two bass notes
and two chords. The bass notes and relevant chords are the root
(first note) of the scale for the "in" bellows and the fifth
of the scale for the "out" bellows.
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|
Organetto
|
Found
in Italy the Organetto has up to twenty-four treble buttons
and twelve bass buttons. The most popular type has two bass
buttons and one row of ten treble buttons. A second row with
three or four buttons enables different fingerings. It has up
to three reeds per note; the two in the middle set are tuned
with a tremolo the third is an octave lower.
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| Two
row Diatonic
|
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The origins
of two row diatonic accordions are unclear, as many versions
appeared around the world simultaneously. To increase its range
and compatibility with other instruments another row of buttons
was added to the keyboard. The second row is also diatonic and
can either be one half tone above the first row (eg. scales
of B and C) or a perfect fourth above the first row (eg. G and
C). These can be in different keys from the examples here. In
the case of the semitone diatonic, it can play every note in
the chromatic scale.
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|
Italian
Diatonic
|
The Italian
Diatonic has two rows, with the second row a perfect fourth
above the first row. An additional partial third row usually
consists of five or six buttons of accidentals (relevant sharps
or flats). Also one note in the second row is called the gleisch
tone. This means it plays the same tone regardless of bellows
direction. This note is always the perfect fifth (middle octave
only) of the relevant diatonic scale.
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| Three
row Diatonic |
Three
row diatonic accordions are similar to the two row diatonics
with the third row either a semi tone higher than the original
(now middle) row, or a fourth above the second row. It is possible
to have accordions with up to twelve bass notes. The bass notes
and relevant chords are the root of the scale for the in bellows
and fifth of the scale for the out bellows. There are also four
and five row diatonic accordions available, following the same
patterns.
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 |
| Helikon
Accordion |
 |
The Helikon
accordion is named after the Helicon "Tuba", which
evolved from ram horn trumpets, first used thousands of years
ago. It is the Helikon bass reeds which give it a distinctive
"Tuba" sound to the bass notes. This is because the
bass reeds are much longer and wider than "normal"
bass reeds. They reproduce low pitched tones like a Tuba. Quite
often the low Helikon reeds are fitted to a single duraluminium
plate. These reeds can be up to 1 inch longer than standard
bass reeds. First used in Styrian diatonic accordions, these
reeds are now found in piano accordions.
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|
Shand
Accordion
|
This was
developed by Scottish accordionist Jimmy Shand. There is a three
row semitone diatonic on the right hand keyboard and 96 bass
standard system for the left hand. The right hand rows change
notes with different bellows directions, the left hand bass
notes do not.
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