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When you hear those first notes squeezed from the old accordion, you know the party's getting started! For generations, those lively notes have provided the soundtracks to celebrations around the world. Call it a squeezebox, an accordion or any other name, and it sounds just as sweet, right? Maybe not. The accordion is a member of the handheld bellows-driven free reed aerophone family. When played, the compression and expansion of the bellows generates airflow across the reed. This movement of air causes the reed to vibrate, and a musical tone is created. The many forms of the accordion also feature keyboards to control the flow of air to the reeds and produce a greater variety of tones. Physical Features Today's modern accordions consist of a two-part body. Bellows separates these two rectangular halves. On each half of the body there is a keyboard with piano style keys, buttons or levers. When pressed, these buttons travel in a direction perpendicular to the movement of the bellows, or toward the performer. Most modern accordions have buttons that are capable of producing entire chords, while traditional concertinas have buttons that only produce single notes. Accordion Styles The various types of accordions are differentiated by the styles and key note systems. These styles include the Piano, Chromatic, Concertina and Diatonic accordions. Chromatic: When played, this instrument can produce a full 46-note chromatic scale. It has the greatest treble range of today's accordion styles, because the buttons are not diatonic. Chromatic accordions can range in size from the humble 20 treble key, 12 bass button version, to the modern chromatic model with rows of treble buttons and 160 bass buttons. This type of accordion is quite popular in Russia. Concertina Accordion: Known for its unique shape, the concertina may have anywhere from four to twelve sides in cross-section. There is a keyboard at each end of the bellows. Every button delivers an individual note, so a concertina provides no fixed chords. There is such a wide variation of notes and systems, that it can be nearly impossible for a performer of one system to successfully play a different concertina. Instead, the second instrument would have to be relearned. There are other unique characteristics that set this particular instrument apart from the rest. Unlike modern accordions, the concertina's buttons never produce chords and they travel parallel to the motion of the bellows, or toward the opposite end of the instrument. In addition, the internal materials, mechanics, construction and tone color are all different from other styles of accordions, but the basic standards of sound production are identical. Diatonic: This style of accordion is often the instrument of choice of folk and dance groups. The great sound output, light weight, low cost and playing simplicity make the diatonic one of the world's most popular accordions. Players find it easy to perform on the diatonic, as the note pattern on the keyboard is similar to that of the mouth harmonica. Piano Accordions: The piano accordion has become the first truly standardized universal type since the development of the Stradella bass system. This means that a performer can play in a number of styles without changing the system, making the piano accordion the easiest type to play. Unlike most other types of musical instruments, there is more than the "basic" style of accordion. If you're interested in learning to play the accordion, try a few different types to find the one that suits you best.
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Darnell Istead enjoys writing articles for several popular Internet sites, on my family and home interior subjects.
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