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Piano Accordion

 
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A piano accordion is an accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
 equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 or organ
Reed organ

A reed organ, also called parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reed ....
. It is more similar to that of an organ, as they are both wind instrument
Wind instrument

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator....
s, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deiro
Guido Deiro

Count Guido Pietro Deiro was a famous vaudeville star, international recording artist, composer and teacher. He was the first piano-accordionist to appear on big-time vaudeville, records, radio and the screen....
 in 1910—has remained the popular nomenclature. It may be equipped with any of the available systems for the left-hand manual.

In comparison to a piano keyboard, the keys are more rounded, smaller, and lighter to the touch.






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Encyclopedia


A piano accordion is an accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
 equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 or organ
Reed organ

A reed organ, also called parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reed ....
. It is more similar to that of an organ, as they are both wind instrument
Wind instrument

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator....
s, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deiro
Guido Deiro

Count Guido Pietro Deiro was a famous vaudeville star, international recording artist, composer and teacher. He was the first piano-accordionist to appear on big-time vaudeville, records, radio and the screen....
 in 1910—has remained the popular nomenclature. It may be equipped with any of the available systems for the left-hand manual.

In comparison to a piano keyboard, the keys are more rounded, smaller, and lighter to the touch. These go vertically down the side, pointing inward, toward the bellows, making them accessible to only one hand while handling the accordion.Felt
Felt

Felt is a non-weave cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials....
 or rubber
Rubber

Natural rubber is an elastomer?an Elasticity_ hydrocarbon polymer?that was originally derived from a milky colloidal suspension, or latex , found in the sap of some plants....
 is placed under the piano keys to control touch and key noise: it is also used on the pallets to silence notes not sounded by preventing air flow. This material eventually wears with use, resulting in a clacking noise, so has to be replaced to quieten the mechanism.

History

The first accordion to feature a piano keyboard was probably the instrument introduced in 1852 by Bouton of Paris. Another source claimed the first piano accordion was introduced in 1854 at the Allegemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung in München. It was showcased by the instrument builder Mattäus Bauer and quickly became a serious competitor to button accordions. As of 1972 it can be largely said that the piano system dominates the North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n continent, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, and certain East European countries, while the button system is generally to be found in Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 and former Soviet countries. The piano accordion is also predominant in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
.

Comparison to chromatic button layout

Compared to a chromatic button layout, the advantages of using a piano layout on an accordion would be the layouts logical simplicityOne key corresponds to one note, and there are no alternate fingering options., the relative size of the buttons for fast legato flows, and its layout compared to standard notationWith a piano accordion, there is no need to transpose the melody in a piano, organ or harpsichord piece.. However, it has a relatively smaller range, is too big to reach notes far apart, such as two octaves, and requires more finger movement to operate.

See also

  • List of All Ireland piano accordion champions
    List of All-Ireland Champions

    This page lists those who have won the senior title at Fleadh Cheoil na h?ireann title since its foundation in 1951 by Comhaltas Ceolt?ir? ?ireann.There are competitions for soloists, duos, trios, and various types of ensembles, many of which are divided into separate competitions by age group....
  • Button accordion
    Button accordion

    A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side Keyboard instrument consists of a series of buttons rather than piano-style keys....
  • Squeezebox
    Squeezebox

    The term Squeezebox is a colloquial expression referring to any musical instrument of the general class of hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophones such as the accordion or concertina, including the Indian version of the Harmonium, a small, portable, hand-held instrument often used in South Asian and Middle Eastern music....
  • Bass piano accordion
    Bass piano accordion

    The Bass Piano Accordion is a variation of a Piano accordion, but it has no bass buttons and the piano keyboard is an octave lower. They typically have around 3 octaves....


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