Modifying a Piano Accordion for Traditional Irish Music

As soon as I tried my first piano accordion, I realised why a lot of Irish players don’t use the bass buttons, or do so very sparingly – the chords on the common stradella system really aren’t suited to the music. There’s major, minor, dominant 7th, and diminished chords, and they’re all low, loud and thick sounding.

So, I've bought a 30 key, 72 bass accordion, and had some of the notes removed:

Major chord – removed the 3rd, to leave just 1st and 5th

Minor chord – removed the 5th, to leave just 1st and minor 3rd

Dominant 7th chord – removed the 5th to leave just 1st and major 3rd

Diminished chord – removed the 1st, to leave minor 3rd and 6th.

Its sort of in between the traditional "Stradella" system, and the "free bass" system. The buttons can be combined to create some really interesting and subtle harmonies, as well as the standard chords.

Choosing a piano accordion for Traditional Irish Music

When choosing a piano accordion, you need to consider how many piano keys you need, as well as how many basses.

Piano Keys

The piano keys are on the right hand side, and provide the melody. When playing with other instrumentalists, or in a session, you will only need to play these. The ideal minimum amount of piano keys (notes) to play Irish tunes is 30. You can also get away with 26 keys for most of them. 34 keys is also a popular option, and will give you more flexibility. The less keys, the smaller and lighter the accordion.

Bass buttons

The basses are the buttons on the left hand side. Although they’re called basses, they are a mix of bass notes, and 3-note chords. The ideal minimum amount of bass buttons are 72, which means you will be able to play chords in every key. Some Irish players don’t use the buttons at all – certainly when playing in a session, where other instruments are providing the harmony. If you don’t intend to use the bass buttons, it doesn’t matter how many basses your accordion has.

Tuning

On most small piano accordions, you will have the option of using any combination of 3 voices at the same time. These will often be two voices at the same pitch, and one voice an octave lower. Where there are 2 voices at the same pitch, you have the option of them being tuned exactly the same (dry tuning), very slightly apart (swing tuning), or more apart (wet tuning or musette).

Most Irish players choose dry tuning or swing tuning. Wet tuning, or musette, gives more of a French café sound.

Reeds

There are 3 different types of reed. “A Mano” are hand made, and are the highest quality. “Tip a Mano” are hand finished, and are medium grade. “Durral”, “factory” or “export” are the lowest grade.

30/72 or 26/72 accordions

Here is a list of some of the better quality 30 or 26 key piano accordions (as of May 2010) which have 72 bass buttons. Also included are the approximate price in British pounds, dimensions, and weight.

Allodi SP/O/3GB (26 key) £2,300

Brandoni piccolo (30 key) £1,700 [37.5 x 17 x 36cm, 6.2kg]

Brandoni 65W super (30 key) £3,500 [39 x 19 x 36.5cm, 7.3kg] (all wood)

Delicia 72 bass Compact (26 key) £950 [33.2cm, 6.2kg] (small keys)

Dino Baffetti 72 bass Studio I (26 key) £1,900 [40x35x17cms, 6kg]

Fantini SP/30/T (30 key) £2,500 [38cm, 5.8kg]

Pigini Preludio P30 (30 key) £1850 [36x17cm, 6 kg]

Weltmeister Juwel (30 key) £1,200

Wooden accordions

Wooden piano accordions are popular within Irish traditional music. They are considerably more expensive, and normally start at 34 key (with the exception of the Brandoni). The main options are listed below.

Brandoni (30, 34+ key)

Castagnari (34 key)

Pietro Mario (34 key)

Saltarelle (34 key) (possibly the most popular piano accordion for Irish trad)

Victoria (37+ key)