Editing Accordion (section)

{{short description|Bellows-driven free-reed aerophone musical instrument}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name           = Accordion
| image          = A convertor free-bass piano-accordion and a Russian bayan.jpg
| caption        = A [[piano accordion]] (top) and a [[Chromatic button accordion|button accordion]] (bottom)
| background     = keyboard
| hornbostel_sachs = 412.132
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = [[Free reed aerophone|Free-reed]] [[aerophone]]
| developed      = Early 19th century
| range          = Depends on configuration:
'''Right-hand keyboard'''
* [[Chromatic button accordion]]
* [[Diatonic button accordion]]
* [[Piano accordion]]

'''Left-hand keyboard'''
* [[Stradella bass system]]
* [[Free-bass system]]
| related        = '''Hand-pumped:'''
[[Bandoneon]], [[concertina]], [[flutina]], [[garmon]], [[trikitixa]], [[Indian harmonium]], [[harmoneon]]

'''Foot-pumped:'''
[[Pump organ|Harmonium]]

'''Mouth-blown:'''
[[Claviola]], [[melodica]], [[harmonica]], Laotian [[khene]], Chinese [[Sheng (instrument)|shēng]], Japanese [[Shō (instrument)|shō]]

'''Electronic reedless instruments:'''
[[Digital accordion]], [[Electronium]]
| musicians      = Accordionists ([[list of accordionists]]).
| articles       = Accordion, [[Chromatic button accordion]], [[Bayan (accordion)|Bayan]], [[Diatonic button accordion]], [[Piano accordion]], [[Stradella bass system]], [[Free-bass system]], [[Accordion reed ranks and switches]]
}}
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[[File:Accordionist.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|An accordionist]]
'''Accordions''' (from 19th-century [[German language|German]] ''{{Lang|de|Akkordeon}}'', from ''{{Lang|de|Akkord}}''—"musical chord, concord of sounds")<ref>'''[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=accordion&searchmode=none accordion]''', entry in [[Online Etymology Dictionary]]</ref> are a family of box-shaped [[musical instrument]]s of the [[bellows]]-driven [[free reed aerophone]] type (producing sound as air flows past a [[Reed (mouthpiece)|reed]] in a frame). The essential characteristic of the accordion is to combine in one instrument a melody section, also called the [[descant|diskant]], usually on the right-hand keyboard, with an accompaniment or [[Basso continuo]] functionality on the left-hand. The musician normally plays the [[melody]] on buttons or keys on the right-hand side (referred to as the [[Musical keyboard|keyboard]] or sometimes the [[manual (music)|''manual'']]), and the [[accompaniment]] on [[Bass (sound)|bass]] or pre-set [[Chord (music)|chord]] buttons on the left-hand side. A person who plays the accordion is called an '''accordionist'''.

The accordion belongs to the free-reed aerophone family. Other instruments in this family include the [[concertina]], [[harmonica]], and [[bandoneon]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Barr |first=C. |date=13 March 2022 |title=Instrument families: Where do accordions belong |website=Sonic Function |url=https://sonicfunction.com/instrument-families-where-do-accordions-belong/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525173417/https://sonicfunction.com/instrument-families-where-do-accordions-belong/ |archive-date=25 May 2023 |access-date=16 May 2023}}</ref> The concertina and bandoneon do not have the melody–accompaniment duality. The [[harmoneon]] is also related and, while having the descant vs. melody dualism, tries to make it less pronounced. The [[harmonium]] and [[American reed organ]] are in the same family, but are typically larger than an accordion and sit on a surface or the floor.

The accordion is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or [[Musical keyboard|keys]], causing ''pallets'' to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called ''reeds''. These vibrate to produce sound inside the body. Valves on opposing reeds of each note are used to make the instrument's reeds sound louder without air leaking from each reed block.<ref group="notes">For the accordion's place among the families of musical instruments, see Henry Doktorski's [http://www.ksanti.net/free-reed/description/taxonomy.html ''Taxonomy of Musical Instruments'' (''The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.'')] Also on this page is Diarmuid Pigott's ''The Free-Reed Family of Aerophones''</ref>

The accordion is widely spread across the world because of the waves of migration from Europe to the Americas and other regions. In some countries (for example: Argentina, Brazil,<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 August 2008 |title=Top Five – Os Maiores Sanfoneiros Da Música Sertaneja Atual |url=https://blognejo.com.br/top-five-os-maiores-sanfoneiros-da-musica-sertaneja-atual/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132051/https://blognejo.com.br/top-five-os-maiores-sanfoneiros-da-musica-sertaneja-atual/ |archive-date=Apr 22, 2021 |access-date=22 April 2021 |website=Blognejo.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brant |first=Ana Clara |date=2013-05-22 |title=Novo disco de Michel Teló junta sanfona, música sertaneja, eletrônica e ritmos dançantes |url=http://divirta-se.uai.com.br/app/noticia/musica/2013/05/22/noticia_musica,142451/o-dono-da-festa.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070240/http://divirta-se.uai.com.br/app/noticia/musica/2013/05/22/noticia_musica,142451/o-dono-da-festa.shtml |archive-date=Mar 4, 2016 |work=Divirta-se}}</ref> Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama) it is used in popular music (for example: [[Chamamé]] in Argentina; gaucho, [[forró]], and [[Música sertaneja|sertanejo]] in Brazil; [[vallenato]] in Colombia; [[Merengue music|merengue]] in the Dominican Republic; and [[Norteño (music)|norteño]] in Mexico), whereas in other regions (such as Europe, North America, and other countries in South America) it tends to be more used for [[dance-pop]] and [[folk music]].

In Europe and North America, [[#Use in popular music|some popular music acts]] also make use of the instrument. Additionally, the accordion is used in [[Cajun music|cajun]], [[zydeco]], [[jazz music|jazz]], and [[klezmer]] music, and in both solo and orchestral performances of [[classical music]]. Many conservatories in Europe have classical accordion departments. The oldest name for this group of instruments is ''harmonika'', from the Greek ''{{Lang|el-latn|harmonikos}}'', meaning "harmonic, musical". Today, native versions of the name ''accordion'' are more common. These names refer to the type of accordion [[#History|patented by Cyrill Demian]], which concerned "automatically coupled chords on the bass side".<ref>Dyremose, Jeanette & Lars, ''Det levende bælgspil'' (2003), p. 133</ref>