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The accordion is a hugely versatile instrument, crossing dozens of cultures and musical styles. But how did this fascinating instrument come to be? How has it (and the music that’s been written for it) changed over time? We delve into the history of the accordion, looking at its earliest iterations, the development of the playing style and how the accordion has found its way into various musical styles today. <\/p>
The first accordion-type structure was devised by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buchmann in 1822. In 1829, Cyrill Remian came up with the innovative idea that formed the basis of the accordion as we know it today. This was the idea that a single key could produce a functional chord. But it was only in 1844 that the English inventor, Charles Wheatstone, patented an instrument<\/a><\/strong> with the pre-set chord system, with a keyboard and bellows. <\/p> In 2024, you\u2019ll find instruments with a wide variety of systems, keyboards and configurations. The main influence is the Russian and European manufacturing styles. Despite the accordion being a portable instrument with a powerful sound, accordion makers have tried to hone its amplification using microphones, extend its range through a midi connection or even use other kinds of untempered tuning.\u00a0<\/p> The accordion is intrinsically linked to a wide range of different musical styles. Not only can the layout of its keyboard change from one country to another but as its construction is still recent, it is far from standardised. That said, it is interesting to obtain a historic and ongoing view of the instrument through its discography. <\/p> These different schools of musical thought are still active. Starting with world music, the Portuguese artist Eug\u00e9nia Lima with \u00d3 Linda Terra Algarvia<\/em> (1968) and the Frenchman Joe Rossi with Valse Musette<\/em> (1958). Currently, there\u2019s Jo\u00e3o Frade in his self-titled record from 2018, which he himself describes as Creative Portuguese Music<\/em> or Lelo Nika, from Serbia, with Beyond Borders<\/em> (2010).<\/p>How has the playing style changed?\u00a0<\/h2>