One question I always get asked about accordions is: “What is up with all those buttons?!?” While they look über complicated at first glance, they actually compact the piano (well, originally organ) to a simplified little squeezebox. On that note, pun fully intended, I just want to explain what all the buttons are for so that next time you see an accordion, you have an idea of what is going on behind the scenes. And hey, maybe it’ll come in handy for an Oktoberfest trivia round or if you ever find one in your attic and want to give it a go.
The right hand on an accordion is for the melody. On a piano accordion, this is the side with the piano-looking keys. These follow the same order as a regular piano. If it has buttons instead, it typically follows a diatonic keyboard layout. Some of these accordions have a different note for the push and pull of the same button, some don’t. These layouts vary greatly, but thankfully you can google it and/or test it out with a tuner to check. Since I play a piano accordion, though, I don’t have enough expertise on the matter to write much more.
Now, onto the left hand, which is the bass side. This side is not visible to the player and relies completely on muscle memory. It is this fact that scares most first-timers away, but it is easy to learn and overcome this. How one learns, though, will again depend on what type of bass system the individual’s instrument has. The two most common are the Stradella bass and Free bass. Although there are more out there, as well as interchangeable options, these are really the only ones to focus on. The Free bass is typically found in classical accordionist’s instruments, as it is more flexible to all the accidentals and variants classical music is known for. Accordions with this type of bass are typically more expensive and less common, seeing as they were first made around the 1940’s and, again, are specifically for the classical repertoire.
The Stradella bass, on the other hand, is arguably the most common bass system and is much easier to learn and use. This system focuses on the circle of 5ths/4ths and major, minor, 7th, diminished, and (sometimes) augmented scales. Usually the center C button will have an indent or marking to give the player a sense of orientation on the board. This is typically on the second row from the bellows (the part that opens and folds back up). Going up or down will change the note, following the circle of 5ths/4ths, respectively. Cool, now what do all the other rows of buttons do? Well, the first row next to the bellows is called the free/standing bass line or the major 3rd note. I like to think that the button one over and up is a half lower than the starting button. So if you start at G, that would be a Gb/F#. As for the other rows, “behind” the root/main bass row, those are all just chords. The types of chords vary depending on the size of the accordion, but typically go in order of major, minor, 7th, diminished, then augmented. As a 120 bass accordion, my instrument doesn’t have an augmented line (I believe only 140+ do).
I got this picture of it off of Wikipedia, but it does a good job demonstrating what I mean. Also side note, they show the pink buttons as ones with a depression/marking for orientation on the board, but most accordions I’ve ever played only had one on the main C.
The main reason I love the accordion’s bass system, well the Stradella bass, at least, is because it takes the guesswork out of chords. That was always something tricky for me when playing a guitar or piano, so being able to play an *insert chord here* chord really just meant pressing one button versus having to think about what goes into it. A little bit lazy? Sure. But will any onlooker ever think that? Nope, to them it is a sea of confusing buttons.
Another thing to note is what would be expected for a beginner to start playing. Assuming you have level-appropriate music, like that from a beginner’s book, you would be expected to start with songs that use F, C, and G bass buttons and their major/minor chords. If you’re unfamiliar with the circle of 5ths/4ths, take a look at the image above again. As you can see, they’re the buttons directly next to C. This really keeps your beginnings simple and keeps the focus on coordination. Same with rhythms, you’ll probably start with whole note chords and gradually work towards simple ba-dum-dum waltz rhythms after mastery. Being able to jump around the board seamlessly is still challenging for even advanced players, but overall comes with time. I’m going to end this here, but I’ll probably write more on the subject of accordions in the future given how little information/resources exist for it.
Happy reading,
-Beppa
*This is a republished post due to a domain change.*