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Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin built the first accordion in 1822. This initial crude invention, known as the Handaoline, was awkward and heavy to handle with an unappealing sound. A few years later in 1829, Cyrillus Damian of Vienna created another version. Damian named his instrument the "accordion" because of the fixed chords produced by the left-hand buttons. Subsequently, Paolo Soprani, from Castelfidardo, Italy, improved on what Damian had created and "invented", with the help of his brothers, the modern accordion.
The first diatonic accordion, also known as the button accordion, had one row of ten buttons in the right hand.
Diatonics are frequently used by many folk and dance groups, because of their great sound output, simplicity, lightweight and low cost. This makes them one of the most popular accordions worldwide. The note pattern of the keyboard is usually identical to the mouth harmonica. There are seven types of diatonic accordions: One row Diatonic;
Two row Diatonic; Italian; Organetto; Three row Diatonic; Helicon and Shand.
Three row diatonic accordions, the accordion of choice for modern day
conjunto musicians, are similar to the two row diatonics with the third row either a semi tone higher than the original (now middle) row, or a fourth above the second row. It is possible to have accordions with up to twelve bass notes.
The simple and direct action of the button accordion makes it very responsive to the technique and style of the player. This flexibility has led to the creation of individualistic styles and trends popular in
Tejano accordion playing. Italian-based Gabbanelli and German-based Hohner are two of the most popular accordion manufacturers in the world. Both companies design and customize button accordions for the specialty music markets including
Tejano.
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