Accordion, melodeon, button accordion and concertina technical advice from Eagle Music Shop

Accordion Family Frequently asked questions

Cajun music, what should I choose?
Dry, wet, swing, what does it all mean?
What are the differences?
What type should I buy?
Tell me what I need to start playing English music?
European music, what key box do I need?
Anglo, English, duet, what's the difference?
Irish music, what type of box do I need?
Do I need a 2 1/2 or 3 Row box?
Continental Chromatic boxes, explain please?

Eagle's answers

Cajun music, what should I choose?
You can learn Cajun music on any diatonic box, but really a one row 4-stop is needed in the most popular Cajun key of C. The same instrument will also allow you to play in G in much the same way as a blues harmonica player would use the second position to get G from a C instrument. A great deal of myth and folklore surrounds this type of instrument, ranging from the type of woods used in the construction to the direction the reeds are laid in. A genuine Louisiana box would in fact have 2 of its 4 reeds laid flat on the soundboard and 2 upright on a block. There are budget one row instruments available, please enquire. The Dirk Powell video “Learn to play Cajun Accordion - Starting Out” is an excellent start to learning Cajun accordion music.

Dry, wet, swing, what does it all mean?
Voices. Refers to the number of reeds per note in an instrument. E.g 1 voice = 1 reed, (sounds like a concertina) 2 reeds = 2 voices, 3 reeds = 3 voices. etc. Stops / Registers. Knobs/switches which allow the different combinations of reeds to be selected. Dry tuned. Two or more reeds sounding which are tuned exactly the same (concert pitch) Wet or Tremolo. When one reed is tuned in concert pitch and the other is tuned sharp - sharp enough to set up a fast beat between the reeds. Swing. When one reed is tuned in concert pitch and the other is tuned slightly sharp. Somewhere between Wet and Dry Musette. Where 3 reeds in the same octave sound at the same time. One reed is tuned in concert pitch, one is tuned sharp, and one is tuned flat. A very strong tremolo effect made popular by Jimmy shand. Diatonic. eg. D/G, G/C etc. (a 5th apart) - Chromatic. eg. B/C, C#/D, D/D# etc

What are the differences?
Melodeons and button accordions come in all kinds of different types, suited to all types of music. If you want to play Irish, Scottish or English dance music (jigs, reels and the like) or Morris dance music, or European folk music, or Cajun music, or even song accompaniment, there’s an instrument here for you. So here are all the different types of squeezeboxes we stock, along with the uses you might put them to. If we give you the right advice here, we’re sure your partner won’t use it for lighting the fire!

MELODEON OR BUTTON ACCORDION? - It’s all a question of geography. There is a lot of confusion around as to when we should call one instrument a melodeon or another a button accordion, or indeed whether we should spell the word accordeon instead. For those of you who are new to the instrument, the purpose of this brief introduction is to lay down what we hope will be the foundation of your squeezebox vocabulary and understanding. To those of you who are not so new, we can be safe in the knowledge that we speak the same language. As a rule of thumb, in Ireland, an instrument with one row of treble buttons and two bass is usually called a melodeon, while all other button instruments (with the exception of the concertina and bandoneon) are known as button accordions. In England both 1 row and 2 row instruments would be classified as melodeons.
View our melodeon instrument section here.
View our button accordion section here.

The two row variety is further divided according to keys into diatonic (D/G, G/C, C/F and A/D) and chromatic (B/C and C#/D being the most popular). Accordions with buttons are then further divided into those instruments which (a) play different notes on the push and the pull of the bellows, usually with 8 but sometimes 4, 12, 14 or 16 bass buttons, and are known a button accordions, and (b) have buttons that play a different note in to out on the right hand and the same notes in to out on the left hand or bass end. These are known as button accordeons (note the spelling) and are often referred to as British chromatics, magnificent in the hands of maestros such as Jimmy Shand and John Kirkpatrick. A third instrument within the same branch of this squeezable family is the continental chromatic button accordeon, recognised by having anywhere from three to five rows of treble buttons and two to six rows of bass buttons. These play the same note on any given button regardless of the direction of the bellows.

What type should I buy?
Over and over again we meet people who get button key instruments from shops where there is neither the range nor the expertise necessary to help them choose the instrument best suited to their needs. Realising that they have been sold the wrong instrument, they bring their problem to us. There’s no need to become convinced that it is your ‘own fault’ when all that was needed was some proper advice and guidance to begin with. Here are just a few of our suggestions to help you answer the questions above. English music ... Usually a 2-row diatonic instrument is best to start on. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a 1-row instrument is easier to play. They are specialist instruments that do sound wonderful in the right hands but are not advised as a starting instrument.

Their limitations far outweigh their advantages, especially when it comes to joining in with other musicians at sessions etc. In England, D/G is the most popular tuning, whilst G/C and to a lesser extent C/F are the preferred keys in the rest of Europe. And don’t think that a D/G is limited to those keys. It is possible to play to a greater or lesser extent in D, G, A, E minor, B minor, A minor and C, although the really good players can find more. Very affordable starting instruments are available. The Hohner Pokerwork is the instrument that we recommend for starting out. It's quality relative to price beats all others on the market.

Tell me what I need to start playing English music?
The Starter Pack A D/G Hohner Pokerwork melodeon, together with either Dave Mallinson’s ‘Absolute Beginners’ book and CD, or one or both of John Kirkpatrick’s series of videos ‘How to play the English melodeon’ are all you need to get you off and started. Add a padded melodeon shoulder carrying bag (Mally Bag) or, if you prefer, a rucksack, and you have the full works from the beginning. Please phone us for our current best starter pack prices. With proper dedicated practice, progress can be quite quick, and you will be surprised just how soon you could be sitting in one of the many informal pub sessions that are to be found at most English Folk Festivals, or perhaps joining in with the local morris side.

European music, what key box do I need?
European music ... G/C and C/F are the most popular tunings for European music, and incidentally these are also among the best keys to use when singing. Hohner supply the Pokerwork in G/C and C/F. The UK does not have a wealth of tuition material, but ‘Le livre du Débutant’ is a useful G/C tutor.

Anglo, English, duet, what's the difference?
The concertina may be the instrument for you if you want to get into the ‘squeezebox’ world and start playing tunes for enjoyment, accompanying singing or playing for dance music. It is a lightweight and relatively easy to handle instrument. The common types fall into two categories ‘English’ and ‘Anglo’. The ‘English’ concertina plays the same note when you press a key and move the bellows, the ‘Anglo’ plays two different notes on ‘push’ and ‘pull’ for each key. You play the lower notes with the left hand and the higher notes with the right hand. The ‘English’ concertina normally has 30 or 48 keys, the ‘Anglo’ has 20 or 30 keys.

The ‘Duet’ concertina is the least common these days. It is a versatile instrument and plays the same note in both directions the same as the English concertina. However, the bass notes are on the left side and the treble are on the right.The most popular three ‘systems’ were invented by Crane (also known as the Triumph concertina) McCann and Jeffries. All these makers used a different key layout. (You may find one of the vintage instruments on our used instrument listings if you want to play the duet). Vintage Concertinas... Please telephone us if you are looking for a vintage concertina, you may be lucky and find that we have the model that you are looking for built by Jeffries, Crab, Lachenal or Charles Wheatstone:- the man who invented the concertina back in 1829.

Irish music, what type of box do I need?
Traditional Irish music... As a point of interest, it is a commonly held belief that it is easier to play Irish music on a diatonic than it is English style on a chromatic. It is perfectly possible to play Irish Traditional Music to a very high standard on the D/G diatonic melodeon; in fact until the 1940’s and early 1950’s the D/G and 1-rows were highly favoured. If you want to sound like one of the older traditionalists, a diatonic is the one to choose. It wasn’t until players like Paddy O’Brien came along that the modern Irish accordion style developed. They realised that switching to the B/C system had several advantages. Firstly, the fact that the C row comprises of all natural notes and the B row is all sharps and flats.

By using a combination of notes from each row and playing across the rows, more keys were available and a smoother bellows action achieved. Secondly, the grace notes, triplets, runs and fills etc which are characteristic of modern Irish music are more readily available and fall to hand easier than on a diatonic. Another difference is in the bass work. This differs from the English bouncy rhythmic style, which depends on changing bellows direction to play notes in the same direction of the bellows as their accompanying chords. Irish music on the other hand has very little bass accompaniment, placing more importance on the melody notes and ornamentations, rather than making sure these notes fall in a particular directions to make the basses fit.

The Irish style is still evolving, and other keys are finding favour, especially C#/D, with exponents such as Jackie Daly popularising this tuning. Basically, the aim is to be able to play in the main fiddle keys of D, G and A and relative minors. Using the C#/D allows you to play more or less up and down one row for most of the time, generating a more rhythmic effect. Also you can play in keys such as E. To start playing Irish music, we would recommend the Hohner B/C Double Ray as the best value starter instrument. If you can find a good second hand Hohner Double Ray, this would also be ideal for the beginner. ( ensure that the basses are correct).

The finest choice would be the Castagnari 'Tommy' (stepped keyboard as played by Sharon Shannon) or the flat keyboard Dinn II or Dinn III if your budget can stretch that far ... Castagnari is by far the 'Rolls Royce' of the squeezebox world. Available from stock in B/C. Irish traditional style starter packs are available. Why not contact us to discuss your requirements and best price deals?

Do I need a 2 1/2 or 3 Row box?
Moving up from a 2-row to a 21/2-row or even a 3-row instrument can be a difficult decision to make. Which is better: 2 1/2-row or 3-row ? It’s all a question of how much work you want to put in to be able to play in the extra keys that these bigger instruments offer. A 3-row generally has 27 to 33 buttons, and the fingering for ‘A’ is identical to that of ‘D’ on a 2-row. ‘B’ minor is also the same fingering as ‘E’ minor on a 2-row. However, a 2 1/2-row allows you to play in the keys of ‘A’, ‘B’ minor, ‘D’ minor, ‘G’ minor, ‘E’ and ‘C’ major. Please note: For each of these extra keys a new fingering must be learnt. Another advantage of a 2 1/2-row is that they are generally lighter than 3-row boxes. Different makes tend to have different layouts but all give the extra notes that you need.

Continental Chromatic boxes, explain please?
The continental chromatic system is becoming ever more popular in the UK. In very basic terms the continental is a piano accordion with buttons rather than keys. A greater number of notes is available under the span of your hand, making this a very versatile instrument. Also very logical in note layout, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand it. Available in two layouts, known by the names of B system and C system.

There is often a great deal of debate about which system is best. In our experience both systems have advantages and neither is better than the other. When starting out, you may find a smaller instrument easier to control. Our recommendation would be for at least 4 treble rows and 60 bass. There is not much specific instruction material available at the moment. However some piano accordion tutors can be used with a degree of success. For more information do not hesitate to contact us.