Nydana's Accordion Resources
Welcome to "the accordion smorgasbord". Here you will find some useful information related to the accordion. You can, for instance, download a chord combination chart for free!
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Accordion Types
There are many types of accordions. The most common ones are Piano Accordions and Chromatic Button Accordions. The chromatic button accordions come mainly in two different versions: B-system and C-system. There is also the less well-known Kravtsov Accordion; and the nowadays seldom used Uniform (or Reuther) Accordion.
The most common bass is the standard stradella bass with its preset chords. Traditional French, Belgian, and Russian accordions, may differ in their respective stradella arrangements. There is also something called free-bass, in which there are no preset chords.
Abbreviations that will be used here:
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PA |
Piano Accordion |
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CBA-B |
Chromatic B-system Button Accordion |
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CBA-C |
Chromatic C-system Button Accordion |
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FB-C |
C-system Chromatic Free Bass |
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FB-S |
Finnish C-system Chromatic Free Bass |
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FB-N |
Norwegian B-system Chromatic Free Bass |
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FB-R |
Russian B-system Chromatic Free Bass |
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FB-Q |
Quint Free Bass |
Nydana's Chord
Combination Chart
This document shows the stradella layout and how to combine chord buttons to produce various kinds of chords. An interesting article by Stephen Keen, found on Hans Palm's website, was the source of inspiration for this chord combination chart. Left hand chord combining can be useful when you want to leave your right hand free to perform fast melodic lines while providing all kinds of chords with your left hand. The chords you get with these combinations are correct from a music theory point, but the voicing of each chord - that is, in which octave each note is put - is predetermined on your accordion once a specific register switch has been selected.
It should be remembered that in many cases it might be better to play simple chords with your left hand and add notes in your right hand to accomplish the desired harmony - this way you have more control over the voicing of the chords. For example, a Cmaj7 chord is formed if you combine a simple left hand C chord with the major seventh (B) in your right hand. If you want to play C13, you can play C7 with your left hand and Dm with your right hand. You can play C7+ by playing C7 in your left hand, while filling in the +5 (G#) in your right hand. This is made possible because the fifth is missing in the left hand C7 chord button. In the same way you can fill in a -5 (Gb) in your right hand and get a C7-. The chords C7+ and C7- can generally work as a substitute for C+ and C- respectively. For a good Csus4 substitute, try C11, C7sus2, or C9sus4.
The chords produced by the chord buttons are often comprised of notes taken out of a two-octave range. This makes it somewhat irrelevant to speak of particular chord inversions - or voice leading between chords. If a C major chord button is sounding the following notes: GCEGCE, then you actually have all three inversions hidden in there: CEG, GCE and EGC. The embellishing octave reeds are usually rather faint, and so creates more of a shimmer to the chords, in which the individual notes don't stand out so much.
You cannot engage the notes in a preset chord individually. However, if your accordion bass features a high register where the fundamental and counterbass buttons sound only the very same reeds that the chord buttons use, then various chords can be formed using only those bass buttons. A melody can then be played over these chords, in your right hand. If you happen to have a CBA (and big enough hands), you may even be able to manage both melody and bass notes with your right hand. It is thus possible to play a Csus4 by depressing bass buttons F and G, while playing a lower C (and possibly a melody line) in the right hand.
In the case where the bass buttons are only sounding the same reeds as the chord buttons, then some additional chord combinations (not mentioned in the chart) are actually possible. For instance, if you combine the C major chord button with the bass buttons for D and A, you get the notes corresponding to C6[9].
The top diagram in the chart shows the complete stradella layout. Then there is also a diagram which shows only the bass buttons and their intervallic relationships. For instance, to play the equivalent of a major scale on the bass buttons, use the following sequence: 1 2 3 4 5 6 M7 1 (intervals 1, 4 and 5 are perfect intervals; 2, 3 and 6 are major intervals).
Print the two pages on each face of a single sheet of paper (if your printer allows it), or print on two separate sheets and put them back to back in a transparent plastic cover for easy reference whenever you play the accordion.
A total of 2 pages.
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Updated 1 Nov 2008 |
Here is a magnified stradella layout:
A total of 1 page.
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Updated 1 Nov 2008 |
Piano Accordion vs. Chromatic
Button Accordion
This document tries to compare, in an objective way, the pros and cons of respective system. It also lets you give points to either system in order to find out which one is best for your needs.
A total of 6 pages.
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Updated 24 Aug 2007 |
CBA-C vs. CBA-B
In case you have made up your mind to begin playing the chromatic button accordion (CBA), then it might be difficult to choose between C-system and B-system (can also be referred to as C-griff and B-griff, or C-grip and B-grip). C-system is mostly used in countries like France, Italy and Sweden, and is also sometimes referred to as the international system. In Finland they also play the C-system, but the rows have been shifted so that the note E is found on the first row. The B-system is used in countries like Russia and Norway, and is perhaps becoming increasingly popular among clasically trained accordionists in many different parts of the world. Here are some C-system features:
- The basic shapes for minor and major chords are comfortable, especially when adding the root (lowest note) on top of the chord, like C_Eb_G_C, provided that the duplicate rows are sometimes employed
- The thumb is perhaps likely to be employed more often
Here are some B-system features:
- Comfortable chromatic runs (the chromatic rows are in line with your fingers)
- Easier to stick to three rows (cf. playing D_F#_A_D on the first three rows of a CBA-C)
- The duplicate buttons are better positioned for finger-over-thumb legato playing
- In many cases a more natural wrist position
- Allows the sliding up a semitone
It may also be of interest to consider the free-bass systems associated with each type.
CD Reviews
CDs would not normally be reviewed on this web page, but the following two are exceptions.
Phantasie 84
If you are only going to buy one CD containing mostly classical music, performed on the accordion, in your lifetime, then have a serious look at "Phantasie 84" by the young Swedish free bass accordion player Daniel Andersson. Daniel plays a chromatic C-system button accordion. Although he recorded this CD at the age of only 19, he handles his instrument not only technically stunning, but also with great musicality. The recording features excellent sound quality, and is really worthwhile.
Absolute
"Absolute" is another one of those must-have acccordion CDs. Alexander Shirunov plays the piano accordion at the very highest level in the virtuoso entertainment genre. Highly enjoyable, and very inspirational.
Free Bass Systems
Compared
Why free-bass? Free-bass gives the accordion a different sound - a sound that is suitable for all kinds of music, but works particularly well with classical, jazz, and pop. Free-bass allows you to play sheet music written for piano. You can play melodies in your left hand that extend over several octaves. Chords can be played in different inversions. Free bass is sometimes also called melody bass because you can play a melody in the bass without sometimes experiencing the octave breaks you get with a stradella bass (although one should remember that there are usually multiple octaves sounding when you play a stradella bass, which makes those octave breaks less apparent). Most accordions that feature free-bass are so-called convertor accordions, which means that you can alternate, with the help of register switches, between the usual stradella layout and a free-bass layout.
Is it difficult to play free-bass? It need not be more difficult to play than the stradella, but to get a fuller sound, both your left and right hand need to be very active. Being able to read sheet music is desirable, but you can also learn to improvise bass parts from chord symbols if you don't like to read bass clef.
The good news is that long jumps in your left hand can often be avoided (unless you want to mimic a stradella by playing a stride accompaniment). Furthermore, chromatic runs, on a chromatic free-bass, are also very easy.
There are several different free-bass systems in use (only the most common are mentioned here). You have chromatic layouts that are similar to the right-hand side of a chromatic button accordion. These layouts have more or less become the norm, and are relatively easy to learn and to play. Let's call these FB-C, FB-S, FB-N and FB-R, respectively (where FB stands for Free Bass). Then we also have the Quint Free Bass, which we could call FB-Q.
Here are some of the features that the chromatic free-bass systems all have in common:
- No octave breaks to keep track of
- Good for left hand chord progressions
- Can potentially have a range of almost up to five octaves without switching registers
FB-C is the most commonly used chromatic free-bass. You find it on CBA-C and PA. It is a mirror version of the right hand side of a CBA-C. The FB-S is basically an FB-C that is shifted one step closer to the bellows. Low notes are closer to your chin. It has the following features:
- Easy and comfortable chromatic runs
- Your stronger fingers work the lower bass notes, and higher notes are added occasionally with your less stronger fingers, such as the little finger
- Bass notes consume more air, and if you hold your hand higher up on the instrument, you can more easily produce a greater flow of air, and have better bellows control
- When you read music, both left hand and right hand move downwards when note symbols move upwards
- Chords are usually comfortable
FB-N is sometimes used with CBA-B (primarily in Norway), and is a mirror version of the right-hand layout. It has the following features:
- Your stronger fingers work the lower bass notes, and higher notes are added occasionally with your less stronger fingers, such as the little finger
- Bass notes consume more air, and if you hold your hand higher up on the instrument, you can more easily produce a greater flow of air, and have better bellows control
- When you read music, both left hand and right hand move downwards when note symbols move upwards
- Good for using only three rows (less need to use any duplicate row)
FB-R (R for Reversed, or Russian) is the chromatic free-bass that has the lowest sounding notes closest to the ground. The available range may influence how high up on the instrument your hand is usually held. The lowest notes may be slightly more difficult to control because their buttons are at the bottom, and they will be operated by the less stronger fingers. It is harder to reach intervals such as 10ths. It has the following features:
- Having low notes close to the ground is by some people felt as more natural, especially if you have played the piano
- Your stronger fingers can be used for runs while the little finger plays a bass note
- Easy and comfortable chromatic runs
- Good for using only three rows (less need to use any duplicate row)
FB-Q (Quint) has the stradella bass- and counterbass rows duplicated twice, with increasingly higher octaves toward the bass strap. It has a maximum range of almost three octaves without switching registers. It has the following features:
- Easy to adapt to if you already play stradella
- You can reach notes that are far apart from each other (in terms of pitch) within a uniform system
Convertor Bass
A convertor accordion has both a stradella and a free bass arrangement. Some of the register switches on a convertor accordion will engage the various free-bass modes. The register switches simply redirect the airflow inside the accordion with the help of mechanical sliders under the reed blocks. Here is a typical convertor bass layout with a C-system chromatic free-bass:
A total of 1 page.
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Updated 1 Nov 2008 |
The Ideal Accordion
There is probably no such thing as an "ideal" accordion that would be perfect for everyone. The regular piano accordion is often the natural choice for a large number of accordion players around the world, and will indeed be the ideal instrument for their needs. The following is nevertheless an attempt to suggest an alternative to the piano accordion in three different categories below. They all have the chromatic B-system in the right hand.
Stradella Bass CBA
The regular chromatic button accordion will allow you to add parts well below the melody line. This makes this type of accordion ideal for playing some of those delicate and moving musical pieces. To some extent, it may even replace the need for having a free-bass. Another advantage with an accordion that only features the stradella bass, is that the accordion is optimized to sound good with it.
Convertor Accordion
The following is a suggested type of accordion that would be possible to have custom-made from some of the accordion makers (likely without any surcharge). It would have the following characteristics:
Consider a smaller B-system chromatic button accordion with only two voices in the RH (this means that you have no kind of "musette" tuning available). No register switches are needed except three chin register buttons. Restricting the number of voices increases the range to typically 46 notes (usually from E to C#). The accordion is still quite small and weighs only about 8-9 Kg.
The LH would be a convertor with the usual stradella, combined with a C-system free-bass shifted one step closer to the bellows (a.k.a. Finnish free-bass). All buttons C and F in the free-bass would have concave tactile markings, except for the row closest to the bass strap. The lowest note on an FB-S (Finnish free-bass), on an accordion of this size, would likely be F#. The free-bass range is usually 40-43 notes. The stradella system would typically have either 96 or 102 buttons.
The FB-S has been chosen because it is comfortable to play, provided that the three chromatic rows closest to the stradella's fundamental bass buttons are used primarily. This arrangement is also convenient when you want to play stradella basses and chromatic basses simultaneously (note, however, that the relationship between stradella bass buttons and chromatic bass buttons will likely be different on a bigger accordion).
The four chromatic free-bass rows now have the same kind of layout as the first four rows in the RH. This arrangement will invite you to use the three chromatic rows next to the stradella bass buttons rather than the three rows closest to the bass strap, thereby yielding a less cramped hand position. The three rows that are thus used most of the time, are also closer to the stradella bass buttons when you occasionally want to use these.
Here is the proposed bass layout:
A total of 1 page.
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Updated 24 Oct 2009 |
Melody Bass Accordion
If you can manage without the stradella bass, then you can have five rows of chromatic basses. These free-bass rows could, as a suggestion, be similar to the right-hand side of a five-row CBA-B. This way you could have the same kind of layout in both hands, provided that the suggested free-bass is indeed combined with a CBA-B.
The free-bass will be very comfortable to play on the three rows closest to the bellows. Greater intervals, such as tenths, can be more easily played if the little finger operates the three rows closest to the bass strap.
It is further suggested that the free-bass buttons would have tactile reference marks (concave buttons) such that all notes C are marked; and that all notes F are marked near the bellows; and that all notes G are marked near the bass strap. This spaces out the marked buttons into a nice symmetrical pattern. There is thus a lesser risk that nearby marked buttons could be confused with one another. The very same pattern of marked buttons could (if so desired) also be applied to the right-hand side (albeit using buttons with granular surfaces). Having F, C, and G marked, as proposed here, is logical because they represent the so-called perfect intervals in C major.
An alternative reed block arrangement is suggested such that notes in higher octaves are added to the bass notes. There would thus be four register combinations available. None of the embellishing octave notes are added in the range G2-F#3, which avoids some muddiness otherwise created when bass notes close together clash with one another. The total range will be 54 notes without having to switch registers. Only three reed blocks are needed, and they will fit inside a smaller accordion. The simplicity of the reed block configuration should make it possible to produce a reasonably priced accordion with some unusual register combinations applied to the chromatic basses.
Here is the suggested free-bass layout:
A total of 2 pages.
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Updated 19 Dec 2009 |
The following document shows the free-bass note layout with Italian note names; thus making it more suitable when communicating with Italian accordion makers:
A total of 2 pages.
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Updated 19 Dec 2009 |
Makers of Free Bass
Accordions
Makers of free bass and/or convertor accordions include (in alphabetical order):
Baldoni, Ballone Burini, Beltrami, Beltuna, Bengts (Swedish brand made by Bugari), Bompezzo, Borsini, Brandoni, Bugari, Cooperfisa, Dallapé, Delicia, Dise (Swedish brand made by Pigini), Excelsior (merger with Pigini), Fantini, Fisart, Fisitalia, Fratelli Alessandrini, Geuns (hybrid bandoneons, Belgium), Giustozzi, Hohner, Jupiter (Moscow), Mengascini, Monarch, Ottavianelli, Petosa, Pigini, Polverini, Ranco Antonio (made by Polverini), Roland (digital accordions), Scandalli, Serenellini, Titano, Verde, Victoria, Vignoni, Zero Sette (merger with Bugari), Zonta (Belarus).
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