Modified Diatonic Accordion Layouts.

Many different kinds of modified diatonic accordion layouts exist which try to overcome the limitations of the instrument.

Sometimes, the sixth note of the scale from each inner row is substituted by the fifth note of the scale of the same row, which is the Tonic or root note of the adjacent outer row, so that this Tonic or root note is available in both directions of the bellows. This results in a single unisonoric button on the inner row, that characterises this kind of diatonic accordion and Club models, which also make use of this feature. The substituted note is not missing as it is found, in the same bellows direction as in its substituted position, in the adjacent outer row. This kind of accordion is found in the Austrian Tirol and Slovenia.

In the Netherlands it is common to reverse the notes of the 5th button of the inner row so that the tonic note of the major key of the outer row can be played on the draw and the tonic note of the minor key of the inner row can be played on the push!

These changes try to open a new range of possibilities for right hand chording and melodic runs in either bellows direction, but do not change the diatonic nature of the instrument.

Most commonly, however, modified diatonic layouts involve a third row or partial row of buttons that play accidental notes and strive towards making the accordion chromatic. These instruments are covered in the bisonoric chromatic accordions section of the conventional bisonoric instruments page.

If you only really want to play Folk music in a few different musical keys, perhaps a diatonic accordion will be fine. However, don't expect to play Blues, Jazz or classical music of much complexity in a variety of musical keys with similar ease, even using a modified diatonic accordion that has a chromatic range. If you want to play any kind of music in any key, save yourself time, hassle and future frustrations, you should think about getting an Atzarin instrument!

Introduction to Atzarin layouts