Accordion Accordian: The Complete Beginner’s Guide to the Instrument

Accordion Accordian: The Complete Beginner’s Guide to the Instrument

The short version: “Accordion accordian” is the search behind one of the world’s most misunderstood instruments — the accordion, sometimes misspelled “accordian.” (The correct spelling is accordion; this guide uses the exact search phrase so it reaches everyone looking for it.) The accordion is a free-reed instrument you play by squeezing bellows to push air across metal reeds while pressing keys or buttons. It sounds like a one-person band because, in a real sense, it is one: melody on the right hand, bass and chords on the left, and dynamics controlled by your arms. This guide explains how it works, the main types, how to choose your first instrument, and a step-by-step plan for getting started.

The short version: what is an accordion accordian?

An accordion accordian — properly spelled “accordion” — is a portable keyboard-and-reed instrument. You wear it with shoulder straps, and it has two sides joined by pleated bellows. The right-hand side plays the melody on piano-style keys or round buttons; the left-hand side plays bass notes and chords on a grid of buttons. You make sound by expanding and pulling the bellows, which forces air past reeds inside the instrument. No electricity, no amplifier needed — just air, reeds, and your two hands working together.

People encounter the accordion in folk festivals, tango clubs, polka dances, zydeco bands, and street performances from Paris to Buenos Aires to New Orleans. It is one of the few instruments that is equally at home in a symphony hall and on a sidewalk. And despite its complicated appearance, the basics are learnable: most beginners can play a simple tune within their first few weeks of practice.

A note on the spelling: accordion vs accordian

Let’s clear this up first, because it matters for searching. The correct spelling is accordion. “Accordian” is a common misspelling — so common that thousands of people search for it every month. If you landed here by typing “accordion accordian,” you are in the right place: this guide covers exactly the instrument you meant, and it uses your search phrase so search engines connect you with the answer.

The word itself comes from the German “Akkord” (chord), a nod to the instrument’s ability to play full chords on the left-hand buttons. Early patents for accordion-like instruments date to the 1820s and 1830s in Europe, with names like Cyrill Demian — who patented an “accordion” in Vienna in 1829 — attached to its early history. The instrument then spread through folk traditions across Europe and the Americas, and every region put its own stamp on it.

How an accordion actually works

The short version: bellows push air, air vibrates reeds, reeds make sound. Your hands do everything else.

Inside an accordion are sets of thin metal reeds — one set that sounds when you push the bellows together, another that sounds when you pull them apart. This is why accordion players are always moving: the bellows are the instrument’s lungs, and the direction of the airflow decides which reeds speak. A good player controls the bellows the way a singer controls breath — smoothly, with constant small adjustments for volume and expression.

The right-hand side is the melody side. On a piano accordion it looks like a small piano keyboard; on a button accordion it is rows of round buttons. Pressing a key or button opens a valve that lets air reach a specific reed, producing a specific note. The left-hand side is the accompaniment side: a grid of buttons (often 120 on a full-size instrument) that play single bass notes on the inner rows and full pre-set chords — major, minor, seventh — on the outer rows. That is the accordion’s famous trick: your left hand can play a whole rhythm section while your right hand plays the tune.

Most accordions also have register switches — little buttons or levers that change which sets of reeds sound together, giving you different tones, from a soft single-reed flute sound to a full, bright multi-reed blast. Learning to switch registers while playing is one of the skills that separates beginners from experienced players.

Piano accordion vs button accordion

The short version: if you already play piano, start with a piano accordion. If you don’t, a button accordion is often easier to learn — and it’s the traditional choice in most folk styles.

The piano accordion has a piano-style keyboard on the right-hand side, usually with 25 to 45 keys. It is the most common type in North America and much of Western Europe, and it is the natural choice for anyone who already reads music on a keyboard. Its downside is size and weight: a full-size piano accordion is a big instrument, and the keyboard takes up more space than buttons.

The button accordion uses round buttons on the melody side instead of keys. There are two main families. Chromatic button accordions play all twelve notes of the scale and are the standard in much of Europe and in classical accordion music — the button layout is compact, so the hand barely has to move. Diatonic button accordions (often called melodeons) play different notes on push and pull, like a harmonica, and are the traditional choice in Irish, French, Tex-Mex (conjunto), and many other folk styles. Diatonic boxes are simpler and lighter, but each one is typically tuned to one or two keys.

The accordion accordian around the world

Few instruments have traveled as far as the accordion. In Argentina and Uruguay it is the voice of tango — the bandoneón, the tango’s close cousin, is a button instrument in the same family, and players like Astor Piazzolla took it from dance halls to concert stages. In Louisiana, the diatonic accordion drives zydeco and Cajun music. In Mexico and along the Texas border, the button accordion is the heart of norteño and conjunto. In Brazil, the sanfona leads forró bands. In Eastern and Central Europe, the piano and chromatic button accordions anchor folk ensembles, wedding bands, and polka traditions.

And then there is the street. From the métro stations of Paris to the plazas of Colombia’s vallenato festivals — where the accordion is the lead instrument of an entire genre — the accordion accordian is a busker’s best friend: loud enough to fill a square, portable enough to carry, and complete enough to need no band. Wherever people gather and dance, the accordion has usually already arrived.

How to choose your first accordion

The short version: smaller and lighter beats bigger and fancier for a first instrument. A used 48- or 72-bass accordion in good working order is the sweet spot for most adult beginners.

Accordions are described by their bass-button count: 12-bass (small, beginner, often for children), 48-bass (compact, good starter), 72-bass (the most common student size), and 96- or 120-bass (full size). More bass buttons mean more keys you can play in and more chord options — but also more weight. A full-size accordion can weigh 10 kilograms or more, which is a lot to hold up while you’re learning.

Practical buying advice, in order of importance:

• Condition beats brand. A used accordion with airtight bellows, working reeds, and no musty smell is worth more than a famous name with problems. Test every key and button on both push and pull before you buy — every single one.
• Check the bellows. Hold the instrument without pressing anything and gently try to move the bellows. If air leaks out easily, the bellows need work, and that is an expensive repair.
• Start smaller than you think. A 48- or 72-bass instrument is easier to hold, easier to reach around, and perfectly adequate for the first year or two of playing.
• Tuning matters. Accordions drift out of tune over decades. An instrument that has been recently tuned or serviced will sound dramatically better than one that has sat in an attic since the 1970s.
• Budget realistically. A playable used student accordion typically costs a few hundred in most currencies; new student instruments cost more, and professional instruments cost far more. Renting is a sensible option if you are not sure you will stick with it.

Size	Bass buttons	Best for	Weight (approx.)
12-bass	12	Young children; very first steps	Very light
48-bass	48	Adult beginners; travel and practice	Light
72-bass	72	Most student players; the standard starter	Medium
96-bass	96	Advancing players; most keys covered	Heavy
120-bass	120	Full-size; professionals and serious students	Heaviest

Step 1: Set up your posture and straps

Put the accordion on while sitting upright in a sturdy chair — feet flat on the floor. The shoulder straps should hold the instrument snugly against your chest, with the keyboard side vertical and the bellows resting lightly on your left thigh. Adjust the straps so the instrument does not slide when you move the bellows. Bad strap setup is the number one cause of beginner back and shoulder pain, so spend real time on this before playing a note. Many teachers also recommend a back strap connecting the two shoulder straps to stop them slipping.

Step 2: Learn bellows control before anything else

Before touching the keys, practice moving the bellows with the air-release button pressed — smooth, steady, even motion in both directions. Then try it without the button, feeling the resistance of the reeds. The goal is constant, controlled airflow: no jerking, no sudden changes in speed. Everything musical you will ever do on the accordion depends on this one skill. Ten minutes of bellows exercises a day for the first two weeks will pay off for years.

Step 3: Find your right-hand notes

On a piano accordion, place your right hand on the keyboard and learn the feel of middle C and the scale around it. On a button accordion, learn the home row of buttons. Play slow scales — push and pull, in and out — listening for evenness of tone. Do not rush this stage. Your right hand needs to find notes without looking, the way a typist finds keys, and that only comes from slow, deliberate repetition.

Step 4: Add the left-hand bass buttons

The left-hand buttons are arranged in a clever system: the middle row is the fundamental bass notes (C is usually marked with a dimple or groove so you can find it by touch), and the rows around it give you major chords, minor chords, and sevenths. Start with just the C bass button and the C major chord, playing a simple oom-pah pattern while your right hand holds a single note. Then add G, then F. Most folk and pop songs you will ever play use combinations of just these.

Step 5: Put both hands together — slowly

This is the hard part, and there is no shortcut: play a simple tune with the right hand while the left hand keeps a steady bass-chord pattern, at half the speed you think you can manage. If either hand falls apart, slow down further. Beginners almost always try to go too fast; the players who progress fastest are the ones who practice slowest. Within a few weeks of daily practice, simple songs — folk tunes, nursery rhymes, basic waltzes — will start to come together, and that is when the instrument gets genuinely fun.

Common beginner mistakes to avoid

Sawing the bellows. Short, choppy bellows movements make the music sound nervous and cut phrases in half. Think long, smooth breaths.

Death-gripping the keyboard. Tension in the right hand slows you down and causes pain. Keep the wrist relaxed and the fingers curved.

Ignoring the left hand. Many beginners focus entirely on the melody and treat the bass buttons as an afterthought. The left hand is half the instrument — give it equal practice time.

Skipping the strap adjustment. Mentioned above, worth repeating: most beginner discomfort is a setup problem, not a technique problem.

Playing too fast, too soon. Speed is a byproduct of accuracy. It arrives on its own if you practice slowly and correctly.

Taking care of your accordion

An accordion is a mechanical instrument with hundreds of moving parts, and it rewards basic care. Store it upright on its feet (never on its side for long periods), in a dry place away from radiators and damp. Let it warm up gradually if you bring it in from the cold — condensation on cold reeds is bad for them. Dust the keyboard and buttons with a soft dry cloth, and have it serviced by an accordion technician every few years: bellows tape, valve leather, and tuning all wear with time. With reasonable care, a good accordion lasts for decades — many of the best student instruments in circulation today were built in the middle of the last century.

FAQs

Accordion accordian: which spelling is correct?

The correct spelling is “accordion.” “Accordian” is a very common misspelling — common enough that it appears in search data constantly. This guide uses the exact phrase “accordion accordian” so that everyone searching for the instrument finds the right information.

Is the accordion hard to learn?

It is more physically demanding than it looks, because you are coordinating both hands plus the bellows. But the basics are very learnable: most beginners can play a simple tune within a few weeks of regular practice. The left-hand button system is logical, and the right hand is straightforward if you already know a keyboard.

What is the difference between a piano accordion and a button accordion?

A piano accordion has piano-style keys on the melody side; a button accordion has rows of round buttons. Piano accordions are the natural choice for keyboard players and are most common in North America. Button accordions are more compact, often easier for the hands, and traditional in most folk styles — Irish, French, Tex-Mex, and Eastern European music among them.

How much does a beginner accordion cost?

A playable used student accordion typically costs a few hundred in most currencies; new student instruments cost more. Prices vary widely by size, brand, and condition. Renting is a sensible way to start if you are unsure about committing.

What size accordion should a beginner get?

Most adult beginners do well with a 48-bass or 72-bass instrument — light enough to hold comfortably, with enough range for the first year or two of playing. Full-size 120-bass accordions are heavy and unnecessary for beginners.

How long does it take to learn the accordion?

Expect simple tunes within the first month of regular practice, comfortable playing of folk songs and waltzes within six months to a year, and real fluency after a couple of years. As with any instrument, daily practice — even twenty minutes — matters far more than occasional long sessions.

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