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Accordions |
Button Accordion
Accordions generally come in different style and forms. There are the Piano accordions, diatonic, chromatic, and a lot more. And, one of the families of accordions which developed in the late nineteenth century is the button accordion.
The button accordion is actually an adaptation of the older and more basic melodeon. Physically, it is noted for having an extra row of buttons, pitched a semi-tone above or below those of the melodeon. It is also noted that two notes can be sounded on one button by way of manipulating the bellows, and this is what gives the accordion greater articulation as well as economy of fingering.
Button accordions come in variation. There actually exists a wide variation on keyboard systems, tuning, action as well as construction of these instruments. One of the most notable types of button accordion is the Diatonic button accordion which has a melody-sized keyboard that is limited to the notes of diatonic scales in a small number of keys, which is sometimes only one. It is worthy to note that the bass side of this instrument usually contains the principal chords of the instrument’s key, including the root notes of those chords.
The diatonic button accordions are generally bisonoric. This means that every button produces a couple of note: one is produced when the bellows are compressed, while the other is produced when the bellows are expanded. However, there are few diatonic button accordions that are unisonoric, like the garmon for instance, with every button producing the same note regardless of the direction of the bellows. Others also have combination of two types.
Another well-known variation of button accordion is the chromatic. This is a type where the melody-sized keyboard is composed of uniform rows of buttons arranged so that the pitch increases chromatically along diagonals. Note that the bass-side keyboard of this instrument is typically the Stradella system, which is one of the many free-bass systems, or a converter system.
One of the very well-known forms included among the chromatic button accordions is the Russian Bayan. It is noted that sometimes an instrument of this class is simply known as “chromatic accordion”, even though the other types, such as the piano accordion, are fully chromatic as well. The chromatic buttons actually are highly preferred by a number of classical music performers since its introduction. This is mainly for the reason that the treble keyboard of this instrument is denser than that of a piano accordion, allowing a much greater range.
Today, various cultures have made their own versions of button accordions, and all of their inventions are adapted to suit their own music. Russia alone has a number of accordions, such as the Bayan, Garmon, Saratovskaya Garmonica, and Livenka.
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Accordion Music Memories
It's every kid's dream to play the accordion in a local talent show, right? OK, well, maybe not so much a dream as something that seems like fun at the time, but a memory that will make you cringe in horror years later when you look back at the pictures.
This story is a memory and tip / warning for accordion players everywhere. Actually, it is a valuable tip for anyone playing a musical instrument on stage where a spotlight will be in use during the show.
We started having meetings and rehearsals for the local talent show about a month and a half before the scheduled date of the show. The organization putting on the talent show had to rent the spotlight so they planned to only get it in time for the dress rehearsal, which was the day before the actual show. Therefore, during all the other rehearsals, we only had the regular fluorscent lighting in the room and the general stage lighting.
On the night of the final dress rehearsal, the person in charge of operating the spotlight could not get it to work so we went through the rehearsal without it. I had been practicing my accordion faithfully and played a medley of several songs flawlessly during the rehearsal.
The next day, on the night of the actual talent show, the spotlight was working properly. When it was my turn to perform, the audience applauded as I walked out on to the stage with my accordion strapped to my chest carrying my accordion sheet music. I sat down and placed the sheet music on the stand. The general house lights dimmed and the spotlight came on.
That's when I realized it was time to panic. Stagefright, you think? Not at all, I loved being on the stage with an audience of hundreds. The reason for panic was because the spotlight was so strong that it shone right through the sheet music! I couldn't see any of the notes on the pages.
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