Accordionist

Accordion

A piano accordion (top) and a Russian bayan (bottom)
Keyboard instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	412.132 (Free-reed aerophone)
Developed	Early 19th century
Playing range
Depends on configuration: Right-hand manual Chromatic button accordion Diatonic button accordion Piano accordion Left-hand manual Stradella bass system Free-bass system
Related instruments
Hand-pumped: Bandoneon, Concertina, Flutina, Garmon, Trikitixa, Indian harmonium Foot-pumped: Harmonium, Reed organ Mouth-blown: Claviola, Melodica, Harmonica, Laotian Khene, Chinese Shēng, Japanese Shō Electronic reedless instruments: Electronium, MIDI accordion, Roland Virtual Accordion
Musicians
Accordionists (list of accordionists).
More articles
Accordion, Chromatic button accordion, Bayan, Diatonic button accordion, Piano accordion, Stradella bass system, Free-bass system, Accordion reed ranks and switches

Depends on configuration: Right-hand manual

Left-hand manual

Hand-pumped: Bandoneon, Concertina, Flutina, Garmon, Trikitixa, Indian harmonium

Foot-pumped: Harmonium, Reed organ

Mouth-blown: Claviola, Melodica, Harmonica, Laotian Khene, Chinese Shēng, Japanese Shō

Electronic reedless instruments:

Accordions (from 19th-century German Akkordeon, from Akkord—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type, colloquially referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist. The concertina and bandoneón are related; the harmonium and American reed organ are in the same family.

The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or 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. The performer normally plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand manual, and the accompaniment, consisting of bass and pre-set chord buttons, on the left-hand manual.