Chromatic Accordion
Photograph, 2018
Julien Simard
Collection of the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon
The chromatic accordion operates on a unisonoric system. Unlike on a diatonic accordion, each key always produces the same sound, regardless of whether the bellows are being opened or closed. The chromatic accordion is also much larger.
The chromatic accordion is popular in Europe (France, Italy, Scandinavia), but also in North America. It is used for many styles of music, including jazz, blues and musette. It is sometimes used to play traditional music, but less often than the diatonic accordion.