Are you in search of an instrument to help you play traditional music? Consider investing in a button accordion; they are great beginner choices with exceptional sound quality.
Button accordions use reed blocks that connect to piano keys on one side and buttons on the other, with valves opening upon pressing piano keys or buttons on either end.
Cajun
Cajun button accordions differ from most accordions by being diatonic squeezeboxes with metal reeds instead of wooden ones – this gives them their distinctive sound!
The accordion has been around since its invention in the early 1800s, yet did not become popular in Louisiana until 1890 during German immigration; however, its widespread usage did not occur until 1920s in southern Louisiana.
At one point during this era of Americanization, accordions fell out of fashion; however, after World War II they experienced an unexpected resurgence that wasn’t intellectual but more visceral in nature.
Marc Savoy from Eunice, Louisiana has been instrumental in this revival and is responsible for producing accordions that have become the standard throughout southern Louisiana. His efforts to preserve Cajun music has helped preserve their legacy; his book Made in Louisiana: The Story of the Acadian Accordion is an invaluable source for those wanting to gain more insight into this glorious musical tradition.
Celtic
Celtic music, originally from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is renowned for its distinct sounds and lyrics; today it can be heard worldwide.
Traditional Celtic musicians commonly utilize fiddle, lute, flute and bagpipes in their performances. Other instruments may also be utilized such as the harp.
Button accordions are an indispensable instrument of Irish traditional music. Their wide array of styles makes learning them easy.
One of the most widely used accordions is diatonic, with two notes per button and is often utilized in folk, Vallenato, Norteno and Musette music as well as pop.
Chromatic accordions feature either piano keys or button keys and are frequently employed in European folk, rock and pop music genres.
Paddy O’Brien and Finbarr Dwyer are two key figures of B/C accordion playing, alongside Joe Burke and Sharon Shannon who have greatly shaped Irish traditional accordion style.
North European
North Europe is home to numerous types of button accordions, which differ from piano accordions by using buttons as keyboard components instead of piano keys for their melody-side keyboards.
Button accordions can be found throughout Europe, such as Russia and Switzerland, but are also popularly employed in areas where European people have settled such as Serbia and Croatia.
There are various kinds of button accordions, with some unique models. A dugmetara (pronounced “dugme”) is a traditional Serbian instrument with six rows of buttons which create five bass tones.
Schwyzerorgeli button accordions are another popular North European button accordion choice that features both bisonoric treble and unisonoric bass notes, making them popular instruments for traditional music performances in Switzerland and other nearby nations.
Norteno
Norteno button accordion music originated in Mexico and now flourishes across Latin America. The genre’s dance-oriented, upbeat compositions frequently bring up important social or political topics.
Norteno music has its roots in European immigrants who settled in Mexico and the United States, taking elements from German, Polish, and Czech music cultures as its foundation.
Norteno music draws elements from Tex-Mex and Cajun styles, but has its own distinctive sounds and rhythms.
The accordion is an integral component of Norteno music and often accompanied by other instruments like saxophones or marimbas to add even greater variety in sound creation using button accordions.