Accordions. Buttons or Keys?

What are accordionists discussing?

A topic that has caused heated discussions among accordionists for years. The most frequently asked questions are: which accordion is better, which is easier, which more difficult, which accordionists are better, etc. etc. The problem is that there is really no clear answer to these questions. There are both virtuosos of keyboard and button accordions. One will find it easier to learn on the keyboard, another on the button. It really depends on very individual circumstances, although there has always been a thesis that the keys are easier, but is it really so?

Treble

Looking at the melodic side of the button, you can actually be scared, because it looks like a typewriter with no letters marked on it. Probably this is also the reason why many choose keyboards. Although it is a bit incomprehensible, because we do not see the bass side at all, and yet we take up the challenge. There was also a very discriminatory opinion that buttonholes are for the more talented ones. This is total nonsense, because it’s just a matter of some adaptation. In the beginning, the keys are actually easier, but after a while the buttons become simple.

One thing for sure

One can be sure of one thing. That you can play everything that can be played on the keyboard accordion on the buttons. Unfortunately, it is not physically possible to do the same the other way around. Here buttons really have a decisive advantage in terms of technology. First of all, they have a larger scale in the chimney, secondly the buttons are more compact and here we can easily catch two and a half octaves, and on the keys just over an octave. I think that there is no need to ponder on this matter, because the buttons do win. This is only certain, but it does not change the fact that they should not be considered better accordions, but at best with more possibilities.

Real music is in the heart

However, when it comes to the issue of sound, articulation and a certain fluidity and freedom of playing, it is only in the hands of the musician himself. And this really should be the most important value for a real musician. You can play a given piece beautifully on both the keyboard and button accordion. And by no means those who decide to learn the keyboard accordion should not feel any worse. You can already ignore the fact that there is nothing to prevent you from honing your skills on the first and the second accordion.

Switch from keys to buttons and vice versa

A large part of learning to play the accordion begins with the keyboard. Many people remain with their choice, but an equally large group decide to switch to buttons after some time. Most often this happens when we graduate from the first degree music school and start the second degree on the buttons. It is all right, because when we think about going to a music academy in perspective, it will be easier for us to use the buttons. This does not mean that you cannot finish higher musical studies on the keyboard accordion, although as we will statistically look at, keyboard accordionists at music academies are a definite minority. There are also accordionists who, after switching to buttons, return to the keyboard for some reason after some time. So there is no shortage of these situations and flows to one another.

Summation

Both types of accordions are worth considering because the accordion is one of the great musical instruments. Regardless of whether you choose keys or buttons, learning the accordion is not the easiest one. For this later, the effort will be rewarded with a beautifully spent time listening to the accordion.