• A few words of introduction
• The type of music you intend to play
• Where and with whom you intend to play
• Size and weight
• Switching between instruments
  • Some potential layouts
• Quality issues
• Reed configurations and tremolo

The most common tunings are: G/C, C/F, D/G, A/D (roughly in that order) although there are also other tunings (such as Bb/Eb (one whole step lower than C/F) for use in brass bands). G/C is the dominant tuning in France, Belgium, Italy, and recently, Scandinavia. D/G is king in Britain, C/F is the rule in the Netherlands and Germany, A/D is used mainly in Britain and Scandinavia to accompany fiddlers, but is not nearly as common as D/G.

If you intend to play French, Italian, or Belgian music, you almost have to get a G/C instrument. If you intend to play a little of this and a little of that, you would probably be best served by a G/C box as well, since it is the most commonly available. In addition, there is a vast amount of music and tuition books written for the G/C box, since the French have been very prolific in this regard. Furthermore, it seems that G/C is becoming the "lingua franca" of button accordions. Many workshops, particularly those with international flavor, are set up for G/C instruments, even in areas which don't traditionally play G/C. The G/C is particularly well suited to playing along with hurdy-gurdies (also normally pitched in G/C) and French bagpipes...both great combinations. It is the lowest pitched of the top 4 box tunings, and consequently it can use more air in the lower octaves....but the upper octaves sound great.

If you intend to play English music, especially for country dance or morris dancing, D/G is THE traditional box. There is a hint of a rumor of a movement about to try to make C/F the new standard for morris, but I think chances are slim that it will happen. There is a lot of inertia to overcome. One also sees G/C boxes in use by morris musicians, but they are the exception rather than the rule and they often have trouble playing with other musicians in massed dances. D/G is the highest pitched of the top 4. The very highest notes can be quite shrill and unpleasant sounding. It is interesting to note that G/C boxes are usually played in the upper octaves, while D/G is usually played in the lower octave...probably a function of where each instrument sounds best...but it also has an effect on what sort of ornaments are easiest to produce, since the fingerings are differant for each octave. This peculiarity has sometimes led to the generalization that players on the Continent play the upper octaves, and the British play the lower octaves. I think it actually depends more on the tuning than on the locale. Incidentally, D/G is also a fine choice for playing fiddle type music, and for playing Irish music.

The C/F is played by the Dutch and Germans (both have a rich brass tradition, and C/F is more adaptable to that type of music). It is pitched 1 whole step below the D/G, which reduces the shrillness of the highest notes somewhat. The Dutch have a clever and useful modification to their system which consists of reversing the reeds on the fifth button of the inside row. This button is a duplication of reeds found in the same bellows direction in the outside row. By reversing them, there is a lot more vesatility and flexibility in playing right hand chords and in choosing bellows direction....of course the trade off (and there's always a trade off) is that playing in the key of F requires cross fingering. There is usually a great selection of older used instruments pitched in C/F....probably the easiest tuning to find in used instruments. This is partly due to the fact that Germany was a hotbed of accordion production, and still does a fair amount of accordion manufacture. Some folks like them because they are easy to sing along with.

The A/D is played because those happen to be very common fiddle keys. It is most commonly found as a second box (behind the D/G) in Britain and (behind the G/C) in Scandinavia. It can also be used to good effect in old-time string bands. So, for squeezers who play with fiddlers or who like to play fiddle tunes, this is the logical choice. It is pitched 1 whole step above the G/C box, which gives it a nice rich tone without as much of the air-greedy, rough sounding lower reeds one sometimes finds with a G/C.

So far, we have only covered two row instruments. There are also plenty of 3 row instruments in use. By far, the most common 3 row tuning is G/C/F. That is the tuning used by Tex-Mex and Conjunto musicians as well as other South and Latin American musical styles. It is fairly normal to find this instrument in use in France, Italy and the Netherlands as well, since it can play along with G/C instruments and C/F instruments. Running a distant 2nd is the A/D/G. This is found in England (especially in country dance circles) as it can play along with D/G instruments, and in fiddle music, since those three keys are by far the most common fiddle keys. In recent years, there has been a growing trend to tune 3 row instruments as a two row, with the inside row consisting entirely of accidentals. This makes it possible to play chromatic passages in any octave of the instrument...and is especially common in France, where there are numerous systems proposed by various players. Diatonic yet chromatic at the same time - confused? You should be. Maybe Yann Dour can help explain it better in his article Sounding Off. The other trend with 3 rows is to combine Irish and Continental tunings on one box e.g. C#/D/G or B/C/F. The advantage here is that the box becomes fully chromatic, there are more opportunities for cross fingering, it is easier to use the basses, and one can use the same box for a variety of differant styles. Its a good idea for those who just can't decide whether they'd rather play Irish style or Continental style.

Another variety of accordion consists of 2 1/2 row instruments. These are basically similar to 2 row instruments except the the accidental buttons have been placed on a half row where they are more convenient to the fingers. These instruments are often equipped so that they are chromatic in 2 octaves rather than 1 octave as on a standard 2 row. Also, 2 1/2 row instruments usually (but not always) come with 12 rather than 8 basses, which gives greater flexibility to the left hand. The "club" model of accordion is a special version of a 2 1/2 row instrument, it has a button on the treble side, in the middle of the inside row which plays the same note in both bellows directions. This button is called the Gleichton (which is German for "same tone"). This button functions much like the Dutch reversed button to give the instrument more flexibility. The "club" models often have only 8 basses, which are tuned slightly differantly than the standard setup.

One row models, which used to be the most common, are still in use in many cultures. Cajun, Quebecois (French Canadian), morris music, Irish, French, numerous African cultures, all use the one row box. Most people who are interested in the one row are looking at playing either Cajun, or Quebecois. Be aware that Cajun boxes use a special tuning called "just intonation". This tuning will sound "off" if used with fixed tuning instruments such as piano, non-cajun accordions, etc., but this tuning is also what gives the cajun accordion its "cajun" sound. Each culture has its own favorite tuning for the music it plays. Quebecois reportedly uses 4 reed (tuned LMMH with 4 stops) D boxes most often, followed by G and A....though sometimes one sees the ubiquitous G/C/F 3 row. Cajuns, who also use 4 reed LMMH boxes, reportedly like their melodeons tuned in C with D being the next most common. Please note, however, that Cajuns typically play on the pull rather than the push, which means that a C box is played in G, and a D box is played in A (two row players may want to note that with a G/C, C/F, D/G, or A/D box, you can approximate the Cajun or Quebecois repertoire in the popular keys of C or D for Cajun and D, G or A for Quebecois, you're just not likely to have the 4 reeds or the Cajun intonation on your box). I would highly recommend that you thoroughly research the type of music you will be playing before deciding on what sort of instrument to get, and in what tuning.

Some button accordions have even more than 3 rows. Generally speaking, these are known as Helikon, Heligonka or Steirische instruments. They are common to Alpine music from Bavaria, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Bohemia, Moravia (sometimes Slovakia) and Italian Tyrol. In specific terms, Helikons usually have from 3 to 5 treble rows which are tuned with a gleichton in each row except the very outside row (though not all have the gleichton), like the club model. They tend to be larger instruments with very low, tuba-like basses. They are common in Polka music. The boxes can be very ornate, with little metal horns that protrude from the bass side, and shiny chrome details and colorful decorations everywhere. They are often tuned to play in brass bands (which means mostly flat keys) and the large number of rows allows a lot of choice in bellows direction and fingering...this results in a smoother style of playing than most button boxes. Its a good thing too, because these boxes tend to be large and heavy....approaching the weight of a 120 bass piano accordion (though smaller in size), so they don't lend themselves very well to a push-pull style of playing. I believe they normally have 11 basses, and I'm not sure of the layout of those, though it stands to reason that it is significantly differant from a standard 2 row melodeon.

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