Accordion

An accordion is a musical instrument of the handheld bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as squeezeboxes.

Physical description

Modern accordions consists of a body in two parts, each generally rectangular in shape, separated by a bellows. On each part of the body is a keyboard containing buttons, levers or piano-style keys. When pressed, the buttons travel in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the bellows (towards the performer). Most, but not all modern accordions also have buttons capable of producing entire chords, whereas concertinas' buttons produce only single notes.

Related Topics:
Keyboard - Piano - Chords

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The related concertina differs in that its buttons never produce chords and travel parallel to the travel of the bellows (towards the opposite end of the instrument); there are also differences in the internal materials, construction, mechanics, and tone color, but the basic principles of sound production are identical.

Related Topics:
Concertina - Tone color

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