One-Row Button Accordions

You can find one-row diatonic accordions in C, G, D, and less often, A, and even more rarely, flat keys or keys with 4 or more sharps.

If your dream is to play Quebecois music, a one-row/four-stop  button accordion in D is a good choice.  The stops turn banks of reeds on and off, and the tuning will be in what’s called equal temperament.  This is what you hear when you play a scale on a piano, assuming the piano is in tune.

In the Irish music world, one-row button accordions are typically called melodeons.  They, too, will be in equal temperament.

For Cajun music, a one-row/four-stop button accordion in the key of C with the 3rds and 7ths of the scale tuned slightly flat is pretty standard.  Cajun one-rows typically have little or no tremolo.  Not all one-rows in C are Cajun-tuned, so if you’re shopping for one or the other, ask or listen to the scale.

Acadian 1R4S/D

Acadian one-row, four-stop button accordion in D

Hohner Presswood button accordion

Hohner Presswood button accordion in G

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