Diatonic button accordion
A melodeon or diatonic button accordion is a member of the free-reed aerophone family of musical instruments. It is a type of button accordion on which the melody-side keyboard contains one or more rows of buttons, with each row producing the notes of a single diatonic scale. The buttons on the bass-side keyboard are most commonly arranged in pairs, with one button of a pair sounding the fundamental of a chord and the other the corresponding major triad.
Diatonic button accordion
Diatonic button accordion (German make, early 20th century).
Three-row button accordion with 12 bass buttons
1950s two-row instrument in C♯/D by the Paolo Soprani company, of the type favoured by Irish musicians; grey celluloid finish.
A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerophone in their classification of instruments, published in 1914. The sound from the instrument is produced by the vibration of air in reeds. Button accordions of various types are particularly common in European countries and countries where European people settled. The button accordion is often confused with the concertina; the button accordion's buttons are on the front of the instrument, where as the concertina's are on the sides and pushed in parallel with the bellows.
Diatonic button accordion (German make, early 20th century)
One-row diatonic button accordion
Three-row diatonic button accordion
Three-row chromatic button accordion