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| one-row accordion | |
|---|---|
| Name | One-row accordion |
| Background | musical_instrument |
| Classification | Free-reed aerophone |
| Developed | 19th century |
| Related | Concertina, Melodeon, Button accordion, Piano accordion |
one-row accordion The one-row accordion is a single-row diatonic button accordion used in folk traditions across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It combines a bellows, buttons, and free reeds to produce melodies and drones in a compact form, and it has been associated with regional styles, dance music, and portable street performance. Prominent cultural contexts include the folk revivals and national movements linked to figures, festivals, and ensembles in countries such as Ireland, England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales, England, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, and Korea.
The instrument emerged in the early 19th century alongside patents and workshops in cities like Vienna, Berlin, London, Milan, and Paris, influenced by innovations tied to inventors who contributed to the development of free-reed instruments. Its diffusion followed migration and trade routes connected to ports such as Liverpool, Marseille, Hamburg, Genoa, Lisbon, and Barcelona, and it became embedded in local festivities like Samhain, Carnival, Oktoberfest, and regional fairs. Ethnomusicological study during the late 19th and 20th centuries—by scholars associated with institutions like the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Ethnographic Museum of various nations—documented its role in dance forms such as the polka, waltz, mazurka, fandango, jota, corrido, milonga, tango, cumbia, zarzuela, and regional reels and hornpipes. Revival movements connected to organizations such as the Folk Revival networks, regional folk clubs, and festivals in cities including Dublin, Edinburgh, Belfast, Bristol, Bordeaux, Rome, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Havana, Mexico City, Bogotá, and New Orleans sustained its practice.
Typical construction reflects workshop traditions from makers in Castelfidardo, Macon, Arezzo, Strasbourg, Cracow, Lviv, Kyiv, and Moscow. The instrument uses a wooden case with metal reeds mounted on reed blocks and a bellows formed from cloth, leather, and cardboard, techniques preserved in lutherie schools and conservatories such as those in Milan Conservatory and regional craft guilds. Button arrangements follow systems that evolved alongside standards in workshops tied to patents and manufacturers in Vienna, Berlin, London, and Castelfidardo; craftsmanship often references design practices from luthiers and instruments exhibited at institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Rijksmuseum. Decorative motifs may reflect local iconography from regions like Galicia (Spain), Brittany, Puglia, Sicily, Andalusia, Bavaria, Silesia, and Transylvania, and finish techniques align with traditions preserved by artisans who trained under firms such as those based in Castelfidardo and Vienna.
Tunings are typically diatonic, often in keys associated with regional repertoires like Dublin and Belfast traditions favoring D major or G major tunings; continental traditions may prefer C major, F major, B-flat major, or modal tunings linked to folk modes documented in ethnomusicological collections at the Institut de Musicologie and university departments in Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne, Columbia University, and Harvard University. Theoretical understanding draws on scale systems found in the study of western tonalities and modal idioms linked to works archived in institutions such as the Royal Irish Academy and the Hungarian National Museum. The push-pull (bisonoric) layout produces different pitches on bellows directions, a principle paralleled in instruments like the diatonic accordion, melodeon, and concertina, and analyses of button layouts appear in publications from music departments at Trinity College Dublin and conservatories in Vienna and Milan.
Techniques combine right-hand melodic fingering with left-hand operating styles that may provide drones, bass stabs, or simple chordal accompaniment; practices align with regional teaching methods found in folk schools, workshops, and manuals produced by publishers in Dublin, Edinburgh, Belfast, Galway, Bologna, Paris, and Berlin. Ornamentation includes cuts, rolls, and grace notes similar to techniques in traditions associated with performers who played at venues like The Abbey Theatre, Ceili houses, Village halls, and street corners in Buenos Aires, Havana, and Lisbon. Ensembles often integrate the instrument alongside instruments from various traditions, for example pairing with the fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo, clarinet, zurna, saxophone, double bass, drums, and piano during performances at festivals such as WOMAD, Roskilde Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Glastonbury, FolkEast, Eisteddfod events, and regional competitions.
The repertoire spans dance tunes, songs, and accompaniment patterns used in contexts like weddings, religious processions, street performance, and theater. Repertoires include airs from collections such as those edited by collectors associated with the Irish Traditional Music Archive, the English Folk Dance and Song Society, the Smithsonian Folkways catalog, and national archives in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, and Romania. Roles vary from lead melodic instrument in small ensembles to rhythmic accompanist in larger bands and orchestras associated with regional music societies and conservatories in cities like Dublin, Paris, Rome, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, and Havana.
Related instruments include the melodeon, diatonic button accordion, concertina, bandoneon, piano accordion, chromatic button accordion, and various folk free-reed instruments found across Europe, South America, North America, and Asia. Regional variants bear names and modifications tied to local traditions in Ireland, England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico and are documented in museums and collections linked to institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Museo del Tango.
Prominent maker centers include firms and workshops in Castelfidardo, Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Strasbourg, Cracow, and Moscow. Notable performers and exponents of single-row diatonic practice appear in folk scenes associated with artists and groups who performed at venues like The Troubadour, Royal Albert Hall, and festivals such as Cambridge Folk Festival and Glastonbury; their names are preserved in recordings released on labels such as Smithsonian Folkways, Topic Records, Nonesuch Records, ECM Records, and Decca Records. Instrument makers, performers, and scholars connected to archives at Trinity College Dublin, National Folklore Collection, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the British Library have contributed to maintaining craft knowledge and performance practice.
Category:Free-reed aerophones