Accordion playing techniques

1. Dynamics and phrasing with the bellows

Control loudness mainly through bellows air pressure. A held note can grow louder or softer without releasing its key or button. Both hands share the bellows, so pressure changes affect both sides. [4]

A phrase is a musical thought. Decide where it leads and where it settles, then shape its dynamics. Rests and phrase endings are useful places to plan a change of bellows direction. [5]

Try it
Hold one right-hand note for four beats: grow a little louder for two beats, then softer for two. Try a short melody next and listen for unintended breaks.

2. Legato, staccato and accents

Vary how notes connect, end and begin. Start with steady bellows pressure to hear what changes when you alter the timing of pressing and releasing keys or buttons.

Legato

Join each note smoothly to the next. Coordinate finger changes with continuous airflow, avoiding unwanted overlap.

Staccato

Release the key or button early to leave a short gap. Duration and loudness are separate: try soft staccato too.

Accent

Give a note a brief increase in bellows pressure at its onset. This also affects other sounding notes, so coordinate it with accompaniment duration.

Try it
Play C–D–E–F at one tempo: smoothly, briefly, then with an accent on the first note. Keep the next note on time after the accent.

3. Left-hand bass notes and chords

Stradella uses single-note bass buttons and buttons that sound preset chords. Start by alternating bass and chord, then combine buttons to form additional chords.

The bass layout follows the circle of fifths

Next to C is G, then D. Stradella fundamental bass notes follow the circle of fifths: note names ordered in perfect fifths. F is on one side of C and G on the other, putting the three common major chords of C major in adjacent columns. [1]

Transpose by moving the same shape

Transposition moves music to another key while preserving the intervals between notes. Move every left-hand button one column from C toward G: C→F→G→C becomes G→C→D→G. Keep each button in its bass or chord-type row and move all of them by the same number of columns. [2]

Change key to compare

C majorG majorD major

Find F, C and G from the circle among the fundamental bass buttons (B) on the right: they are neighbours in the same order. Colours mark IV, I and V on the bass and major-chord (M) rows. Changing key moves the selected columns while preserving their relative positions.

C · IF · IVG · V

↻ Clockwise by perfect fifths

Diagram: Circle of fifths deluxe 4 · Just plain Bill · CC BY-SA 3.0
Original unchanged; IV, I and V highlights are overlaid.

Enlarge the original circle ↗

Reading the circle

Outer capitals (Major) name major keys; inner lowercase letters (Minor) name minor keys. C and a on the same spoke mean C major and A minor: relative keys sharing a key signature.

From C, clockwise to G and D adds one sharp at each step. Counterclockwise to F and B♭ adds one flat at each step. Neighbouring major keys differ by one key-signature accidental.

Selected key and relative minorC major / a: A minor · no sharps or flats

The inner lowercase letters name minor keys, not counterbass notes. C major’s relative minor is A minor, but the counterbass in the C column is E. The minor chord in that column is Cm.

Key signatures and relative keys (Open University) · Wikipedia: circle of fifths

20 columns × 6 rows. Moving up the diagram follows the clockwise circle.

↑ Up by perfect fifthsBellows →

• Diminished 7th · dim
• Dominant 7th · 7
• Minor · m
• Major · M
• Fundamental bass · B
• Counterbass · CB

This is the standard two-bass-row, four-chord-row 120-button layout. Slant and spacing are simplified. Enharmonic equivalents recur at the ends. The tones and layout of 7 and dim buttons can vary by instrument. 120-bass layout reference

Starting position: the C column

Play the same progression: I → IV → V → I

C → F → G → C

• IV: chord on the fourth degree
• I: the home chord
• V: chord on the fifth degree

Bass-plus-chord shapes transpose too

For Dm7, use counterbass D in the B♭ column and the adjacent F chord. Move both one column right in the diagram: counterbass A in the F column plus the adjacent C chord gives Am7. The relative positions of ① and ② stay the same.

Column root	B♭	F
Counterbass	① D	A
Fundamental bass	B♭	F
Major M	B♭	② F

D · F · A · C

Both one column right →

Column root	F	C
Counterbass	① A	E
Fundamental bass	F	C
Major M	F	② C

A · C · E · G

Clockwise on the circle corresponds to up in the full 120-bass layout and right in the combination diagrams below. These are schematics of note names and relative positions.

A fifth here describes the relationship between note names. Actual Stradella pitches wrap within a limited range, so each neighboring button does not necessarily sound a literal fifth higher. F♯ and G♭ are enharmonic equivalents. [3]

The shape works where all the required buttons exist. Check the ends of the keyboard and any missing rows or columns. Transposing a whole piece also requires transposing the right hand; its fingering depends on whether it uses piano keys or buttons.

4. Changing tone with registers

Register switches select combinations of reed sets. The same key can produce different ranges and thicknesses of sound. Treble reed sets are often labelled L, M and H. [6]

L · 16′

Low: one octave below M.

M · 8′

Middle: the reference pitch level.

H · 4′

High: one octave above M.

LM combines low and middle reeds; MM combines two middle sets. The amount of beating in MM depends on tuning. Names, symbols and available combinations vary: check your instrument and its manual.

Try it
Compare a short melody on available settings such as M, LM and MM. Add accompaniment and listen to the melody’s balance. Practise switching at a rest or phrase break first.

5. Bellows shake

Hold a key or button while repeatedly reversing the bellows in short movements to create repeated pulses. Their attacks and releases differ from repeating a note with the fingers. [4]

Try it
Hold one right-hand note and alternate short, slow opening and closing movements. Match the duration and strength in both directions. Practise a few pulses at a time and increase speed only when the movement is steady.

Keep the instrument stable and use small movements without tightening the shoulders or wrists. Any held left-hand notes pulse too. This example assumes an instrument that plays the same pitch in both bellows directions.

6. Extended technique: tapping the bellows and body

Patting the broad face of the bellows with a palm can add percussive sounds. Players also tap the hard casing with fingers or palms; the contact point and touch change the sound. These sounds can mark a rhythm or punctuate gaps between phrases without playing the keys. [7] [8]

Contact points and force depend on the instrument’s materials, construction and condition. Check with an experienced player or repair technician and begin with light contact. For this exercise, use no fingernails or hard objects and avoid concentrating force on bellows corners or metal fittings.

Try it
Keep the instrument stable with the bellows slightly open and count four beats. Without pressing keys or buttons, gently touch and release the agreed bellows surface with your palm on beats 2 and 4, making a pulse from the taps.