Range of Notes on Button & Piano Accordions (By Victoria)

[Walker]

I would like to share some diagrams about the range of notes on button and piano accordions.

Firstly, credit where it is due, I would like to start with button accordion - the range is truly epic. (range E1 to somewhere above the Himalayas) just joking - its C#8.




Next up - piano accordion - a serious concert instrument (E1 to C#8) - higher than a standard piano can go
(note: small error on the pointers here, but still an ace diagram)


Moderate quint converter - "though he be but little, he is fierce". (sorry that's Seabiscuit) Range is C2 to A7, though its big brother can go C1 to C#8.

 

[Walker]

One point I found interesting in studying these diagrams is that the actual range of notes on the first two concert accordions above (button and piano), both have the same maximum tonal range of E1 to C#8. But the 64 note (treble) button accordion and the piano accordion (47 note treble) spread the notes differently.

There are a few points I like to consider here:

1. The treble range on the button keyboard starts at the same lowest note as the lowest note of the bass side - both reach E1 (when engaging the 16' treble register). You effectively have two keyboards on the button instrument with almost the full range of a pianoforte. That's hugely impressive.

2. The highest treble note on the button keyboard is C#8. I was surprised to read this, and perhaps there are variations on different instruments. Maybe someone can enlighten me on this... However, I initially thought the top note on the 4' register would be G8. Yet, having read Accordion for Composers by R. Llanos & I. Alberdi, it is expressed that although the top note on the 8' register is G7, when the 4' register is engaged, the pitch continues rising until C#8, and then drops as follows, "except for the last notes, those that go from D 7 a G 7 ". This is a remarkable particularity of the button instrument, that I find very interesting and endearing.

It also clarifies something that I had not appreciated before - the concert piano accordion and the button instrument have exactly the same range of notes. However, the overlap between treble keyboard and bass keyboard is greater on the button accordion (though it also depends on the voice specification of the individual instruments), and of course that is a very useful feature of the button instrument.

3. Though I have not obtained a diagram with a concert quint converter instrument, it would appear that the overall range of notes on a 47/160 instrument would theoretically have a greater overall span than either on the chromatic button or piano accordions presented above. Yet despite the greatest range of potentially C1 to C#8 it would actually have the least keyboard overlap (though not necessarily, it depends on the free bass voice configurations - L,M,H for example).

I hope you enjoy some of the details about these most amazing musical instruments...

 

[debra]

The colored lines in the diagram of the piano accordion are wrong, but even these wrong lines do not indicate the same range. The treble keyboard of the button accordion goes down one octave further in the diagram (and in the real world).
The button keyboard goes from E1 to G6 on the L register, E2 to G7 on the M register and E3 to C#8 on the H register. Above C#8 there exist no reeds to go up to G8 so they are replaced by D7 to G7. As C8 is already the highest note on the piano you can see that's already very very high. When you play MH and go up you will hardly notice that the highest notes in fact sound like MM (without tremolo).
The piano keyboard with 47 notes goes from Eb2 to C#6 on L, Eb3 to C#7 on M and Eb4 to C#8.
On the bass side the melody bas on L also goes down to E1 on a chromatic convertor. There exist some accordions going down to C1 but no accordion goes lower than C1, again because no such reeds are being produced.

 

[Walker]

Hi Paul,

Yes, absolutely, I too had already noted an error in the diagram lines on the second image, and like you, I had noticed that the lowest notes on the button treble keyboard goes to E1. However, credit where its due - both piano and button accordions have the same overall range of notes E1 to C#8. I find that a wonderful and subtle point that is never normally acknowledged.

 

[debra]

Hi Paul,

Yes, absolutely, I too had already noted an error in the diagram lines on the second image, and like you, I had noticed that the lowest notes on the button treble keyboard goes to E1. However, credit where its due - both piano and button accordions have the same overall range of notes E1 to C#8. I find that a wonderful and subtle point that is never normally acknowledged.

They only have the same range on the chromatic melody bass.
The button treble keyboard goes down to E1 but the piano treble keyboard only goes down to E2 (or in the depicted case Eb2).

 

[Walker]

If you wish to treat the two keyboards separately, that is ok, no problem. I prefer to see the bigger picture and treat the two keyboards (bass & treble) as working together in performance, as one musical instrument...

The reality is that we rarely try to acknowledge the common ground on instruments. The beauty of the button accordion is not that it has a bigger overall range - this is a myth. However, the beauty is in the flexibility of the button instrument, as the performer can choose whether to play E1 on the right hand or the left hand and they do not need to change register as often as a piano accordionist. This flexibility of the button accordion is supreme, but every instrument has it's positives and negatives.

 

[debra]

If you wish to treat the two keyboards separately, that is ok, no problem. I prefer to see the bigger picture and treat the two keyboards (bass & treble) as working together in performance, as one musical instrument...

The reality is that we rarely try to acknowledge the common ground on instruments. The beauty of the button accordion is not that it has a bigger overall range - this is a myth. However, the beauty is in the flexibility of the button instrument, as the performer can choose whether to play E1 on the right hand or the left hand and they do not need to change register as often as a piano accordionist. This flexibility of the button accordion is supreme, but every instrument has it's positives and negatives.

Very true. With both sides together the range is the same. I tend not to consider the treble and bass side to be "interchangeable" though. This is partly due to me being better with my right hand than with the left, but also partly because both sides have a different sound because if the cassotto and more registers on the right hand side and the more "enclosed" case on the bass side.
I mainly write for and play in ensembles and there we typically only use the treble side and take advantage of the possibility to have different volume envelopes on each of the voices in the ensemble. A single accordion is a bit like a portable organ. An accordion ensemble has many more possibilities with the dynamics...

 

[Vladimir M.]

Hi Walker,

with a button accordion, people are very often fascinated by the extent of the treble. As is often the case with love, at the first enchantment one does not pay attention to the details of what may be to the detriment of things. So the details: Larger tonal range of the button accordion treble = the need for more read-plates inside the treble half-corpus. In the case of an identical internal space and volume (important assumption) of the treble part, the piano-accordion has a smaller range, but = it has more "free space" inside = the possibility of another register.

Summary: let we have the same internal volume of the diskant with a constant number of voice plates: In such a case:
Button-Acc=larger tonal range, fewer register combinations.
Piano-Acc= Smaller tonal range, but one more additional register (at identical internal volume of the instruments).



Best regards, Vladimir

 

[Walker]

Wow, thank you for making such an illuminating point. I am super impressed! I had always assumed previously the button accordion simply had a much bigger range of notes than the piano accordion. I eventually researched it and realised that the overall range (with bass & treble combined) is really the same - E1 to C#8.

As Paul very reasonably stated, when we consider the treble keyboard alone - the bayan has around 1 octave extra, the lowest (E1 to D2). There is no doubt there is true flexibility in the button range... But all instruments have both negatives as well as positives...

You say it far better than I do

with a button accordion, people are very often fascinated by the extent of the treble. As is often the case with love, at the first enchantment one does not pay attention to the details of what may be to the detriment of things

Why do so many concert piano accordions have 5 voices? Because there is plenty of space to...

Add a 32' voice - configuration 32', 16', 8', 8', 4'. To give one octave below the 16' voice and therefore create a treble range starting at E1 (or Eb1), thus matching the bayan treble range.

Or have a 'quint' treble voice at (2 2/3' pitch) to create the 'cathedral' tone - configuration: 16', 8', 8', 4', 2 2/3'

Perhaps we can have an additional 4' voice, giving 16', 8', 8', 4', 4', (popular on Titanos) or even the old fashioned 16', 8', 8', 8', 4'.

Thanks Vladimir. Respect!

 

[debra]

A large treble range and 5 voices have long been on many people's wishlist.
In PA the largest treble range I have seen is 49 notes (D to D, so 4 octaves). That wasn't 5 voice but it could be done.
The largest 5 voice button accordions I know of have a treble range of 56 notes (low A to high E, thus going down to A1 in the L register and up to E7 in the M register, with the L register of course only going up to C#8 as that's the highest reed in production.
I have this range in my Hohner Artiste XS. It implies having just 2 reed blocks in cassotto and 3 outside. The 2 blocks in cassotto versus the 3 blocks of a full-size bayan has the advantage of a much more equalized sound between the notes on the different reed blocks. The biggest disadvantage of a full-size bayan is that the third row of buttons in the M register sounds clearly less mellow than the first and second row.
To fit the 56 notes onto two blocks it is necessary to have 28 reed plates in a row (versus the usual maximum of 23 or 24). The only way this could be achieved without making the accordion much taller was to have extra-narrow reed plates. Not ideal, but in terms of sound better than fitting a third reed block in cassotto. Note, the Artiste XS is LMMMH but the factory-configuration only allows to select the "tremolo" M reeds together so there is no MM in any register, only MMM. Fortunately it's relatively easy to disconnect one of the M voices (like the M-) and operate it through a separate switch mounted on the grille (which is what I did).
So indeed every accordion has its own compromises: more notes without making the accordion bigger comes at a cost (not just in terms of money but also in terms of sound).

 

[Walker]

It seems to me that the button accordion: 64/120-58 in a 4 voice configuration is becoming the standardised classical button intrument, which keeps the depth of the instrument manageable at around 23.5cm whilst giving a right hand range of E1 to C#8.

The piano instrument may be 47/120-58 in a 4 voice, possibly lighter in weight, but treble starts at E2. So the performer needs to decide if it is important to have this lowest bayan treble octave or not. A 5 voice piano instrument still at 23.5cm depth can add the low octave, if it's considered necessary, (I would personally just look to the bass side for the last octave) or utilise the 5th voice option in a different way to increase tonal variety.

Either way, I for one had not appreciated the similarities - both pretty much starting on an E (or Eb) and ending on a C (or C#). Both having a maximum desired depth of roughly 23.5cm, and the same complete range over both hands.

Basically, all concert accordions are large boxes totally rammed full of reeds (or at the very least 80% rammed).

The big difference, is how you wish to extract the sound - with 47 large keys or with 106 small buttons. But that's a story for another day...

 

[Vladimir M.]

The big difference, is how you wish to extract the sound - with 47 large keys or with 106 small buttons. But that's a story for another day...

Not quite. The player must be aware of his body height and palm size. Higher body height + larger palm = good predisposition for both piano and button accordions. Lower body height + smaller palm = prefer button treble and disadvantage players on high concert piano-instruments (with number of keys 45 and higher).... And exactly here we are in controversy: young children often start learning and we do not know what height they will have and what will suit them. Therefore, quite a few future professionals at the conservatory will exchange the piano accordion for a button one. But then it is often too late. On the other hand, the piano system is more "psychologically compatible" with other keyboard instruments. The right solution is always an individual matter ...

Best regards, Vladimir