Diatonic Button Accordion - Advantages and Disadvantages of The Diatonic System

Advantages and Disadvantages of The Diatonic System

DBAs have two main advantages when compared with chromatic accordions such as piano accordions and chromatic button accordions: 1) smaller size and lighter weight, 2) and the rhythmic effects inherent in the single (“push-pull”) action.

The size and weight difference results from the nature of accordion reeds, which produce sound when air is moved through them in one direction only. In other words, for any key or button, two reeds are necessary: one to sound on the press, and one to sound on the draw. Any double-action instrument would therefore require twice as many reeds as an equivalent single-action instrument, making it larger and considerably heavier. This advantage is somewhat eroded in more complex, multi-row variants of the DBA, alluded to below.

The rhythmic effects inherent in the push-pull action are very well suited to the lively rhythms of dance music, and traditional dance music in particular. (On multi-row fourth-apart instruments, players can to some extent counter the natural push-pull effect with a row-crossing playing style that “smoothes out” the musical phrasing; on semitone-apart systems, depending on the key of the piece being played, players may be obliged to adopt a smoother style.)

The main disadvantage of the diatonic system is that playing in a wide range of keys is impractical. Attempts to overcome this limitation, for example by adding extra rows and more complicated bass systems, invariably add extra bulk and weight, thereby compromising an advantage in striving to overcome a disadvantage. Extreme examples are 18-bass three-row instruments of the type favoured by some French musicians, and B/C/C# accordions with 120-button Stradella basses: the size and weight of both these types can be greater than medium-sized piano or chromatic accordions.