Jan Herremans
Accordeonist
Accordions (from 19th-century German Akkordeon, from Akkord—"musical chord, concord of sounds"[1]) are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type, colloquially referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist. The concertina and bandoneón are related; the harmonium and American reed organ are in the same family.
The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or keys, causing pallets to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called reeds. These vibrate to produce sound inside the body. Valves on opposing reeds of each note are used to make the instrument's reeds sound louder without air leaking from each reed block.[notes 1] The performer normally plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand manual, and the accompaniment, consisting of bass and pre-set chord buttons, on the left-hand manual.
The accordion is widely spread across the world. In some countries (for example Brazil,[2][3] Colombia and Mexico) it is used in popular music (for example Forró, Sertanejo and B-Pop in Brazil), whereas in other regions (such as Europe, North America and other countries in South America) it tends to be more used for dance-pop and folk music and as well as in regional and is often used in folk music in Europe, North America and South America. Nevertheless, in Europe and North America, some popular music acts also make use of the instrument. Additionally, the accordion is also used in cajun, zydeco, jazz music and in both solo and orchestra performances of classical music. The piano accordion is the official city instrument of San Francisco, California.[4]
The oldest name for this group of instruments is harmonika, from the Greek harmonikos, meaning harmonic, musical. Today, native versions of the name accordion are more common. These names refer to the type of accordion patented by Cyrill Demian, which concerned "automatically coupled chords on the bass side".
Accordions have many configurations and types. What may be technically possible to do with one accordion could be impossible with another:
Some accordions are bisonoric, producing different pitches depending on the direction of bellows movement
Others are unisonoric and produce the same pitch in both directions. The pitch also depends on its size
Some use a chromatic buttonboard for the right-hand manual
Others use a diatonic buttonboard for the right-hand manual
Yet others use a piano-style musical keyboard for the right-hand manual
Some can play in different registers
Craftsmen and technicians may tune the same registers differently, "personalizing" the end result, such as an organ technician might voice a particular instrument
Universal components
Bellows
Accordion bellows controlled sounds
MENU
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A sample of effects that can be achieved with the bellows—949 KB
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The bellows is the most recognizable part of the instrument, and the primary means of articulation. Similar to a violin's bow, the production of sound in an accordion is in direct proportion to the motion of the player. The bellows is located between the right- and left-hand manuals, and is made from pleated layers of cloth and cardboard, with added leather and metal.[6] It is used to create pressure and vacuum, driving air across the internal reeds and producing sound by their vibration, applied pressure increasing the volume.
The keyboard touch is not expressive and does not affect dynamics: all expression is effected through the bellows: some bellows effects as illustrated below:
Bellows used for volume control/fade
Repeated change of direction ("bellows shake"), which has been popularized by Luiz Gonzaga[7] and is extensively used in Forró and called "resfulengo" in Brazil.
Constant bellows motion while applying pressure at intervals
Constant bellows motion to produce clear tones with no resonance
Using the bellows with the silent air button gives the sound of air moving, which is sometimes used in contemporary compositions particularly for this instrument
The accordion's body consists of two wood boxes joined together by the bellows. These boxes house reed chambers for the right- and left-hand manuals, respectively. Each side has grilles in order to facilitate the transmission of air in and out of the instrument, and to allow the sound to better project. The grille for the right-hand manual is usually larger and is often shaped for decorative purposes. The right-hand manual is normally used for playing the melody and the left-hand manual for playing the accompaniment, however skilled players can reverse these roles.[notes 2]
The size and weight of an accordion varies depending on its type, layout and playing range, which can be as small as to have only one or two rows of basses and a single octave on the right-hand manual, to the standard 120-bass accordion and through to large and heavy 160-bass free-bass converter models.
Pallet mechanism
The accordion is an aerophone. The manual mechanism of the instrument either enables the air flow, or disables it:st ice cream cone maker in the world as of 2009
candids here : www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157622769131641
More Antwerp here :www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157623956089399
Accordeonist
Accordions (from 19th-century German Akkordeon, from Akkord—"musical chord, concord of sounds"[1]) are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type, colloquially referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist. The concertina and bandoneón are related; the harmonium and American reed organ are in the same family.
The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or keys, causing pallets to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called reeds. These vibrate to produce sound inside the body. Valves on opposing reeds of each note are used to make the instrument's reeds sound louder without air leaking from each reed block.[notes 1] The performer normally plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand manual, and the accompaniment, consisting of bass and pre-set chord buttons, on the left-hand manual.
The accordion is widely spread across the world. In some countries (for example Brazil,[2][3] Colombia and Mexico) it is used in popular music (for example Forró, Sertanejo and B-Pop in Brazil), whereas in other regions (such as Europe, North America and other countries in South America) it tends to be more used for dance-pop and folk music and as well as in regional and is often used in folk music in Europe, North America and South America. Nevertheless, in Europe and North America, some popular music acts also make use of the instrument. Additionally, the accordion is also used in cajun, zydeco, jazz music and in both solo and orchestra performances of classical music. The piano accordion is the official city instrument of San Francisco, California.[4]
The oldest name for this group of instruments is harmonika, from the Greek harmonikos, meaning harmonic, musical. Today, native versions of the name accordion are more common. These names refer to the type of accordion patented by Cyrill Demian, which concerned "automatically coupled chords on the bass side".
Accordions have many configurations and types. What may be technically possible to do with one accordion could be impossible with another:
Some accordions are bisonoric, producing different pitches depending on the direction of bellows movement
Others are unisonoric and produce the same pitch in both directions. The pitch also depends on its size
Some use a chromatic buttonboard for the right-hand manual
Others use a diatonic buttonboard for the right-hand manual
Yet others use a piano-style musical keyboard for the right-hand manual
Some can play in different registers
Craftsmen and technicians may tune the same registers differently, "personalizing" the end result, such as an organ technician might voice a particular instrument
Universal components
Bellows
Accordion bellows controlled sounds
MENU
0:00
A sample of effects that can be achieved with the bellows—949 KB
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The bellows is the most recognizable part of the instrument, and the primary means of articulation. Similar to a violin's bow, the production of sound in an accordion is in direct proportion to the motion of the player. The bellows is located between the right- and left-hand manuals, and is made from pleated layers of cloth and cardboard, with added leather and metal.[6] It is used to create pressure and vacuum, driving air across the internal reeds and producing sound by their vibration, applied pressure increasing the volume.
The keyboard touch is not expressive and does not affect dynamics: all expression is effected through the bellows: some bellows effects as illustrated below:
Bellows used for volume control/fade
Repeated change of direction ("bellows shake"), which has been popularized by Luiz Gonzaga[7] and is extensively used in Forró and called "resfulengo" in Brazil.
Constant bellows motion while applying pressure at intervals
Constant bellows motion to produce clear tones with no resonance
Using the bellows with the silent air button gives the sound of air moving, which is sometimes used in contemporary compositions particularly for this instrument
The accordion's body consists of two wood boxes joined together by the bellows. These boxes house reed chambers for the right- and left-hand manuals, respectively. Each side has grilles in order to facilitate the transmission of air in and out of the instrument, and to allow the sound to better project. The grille for the right-hand manual is usually larger and is often shaped for decorative purposes. The right-hand manual is normally used for playing the melody and the left-hand manual for playing the accompaniment, however skilled players can reverse these roles.[notes 2]
The size and weight of an accordion varies depending on its type, layout and playing range, which can be as small as to have only one or two rows of basses and a single octave on the right-hand manual, to the standard 120-bass accordion and through to large and heavy 160-bass free-bass converter models.
Pallet mechanism
The accordion is an aerophone. The manual mechanism of the instrument either enables the air flow, or disables it:st ice cream cone maker in the world as of 2009
candids here : www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157622769131641
More Antwerp here :www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157623956089399