Skip to main content
Go back

Diatonic Accordion

Colour photograph of a red and blue diatonic accordion with the bellows extended.

Photograph

Collection of the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon

Used to play traditional Quebec music, the diatonic accordion is bisonoric. In other words, each button plays two different sounds, depending on whether the bellows are being opened or closed. The right-hand keyboard can have one, two or three rows of buttons. In the Montmagny region, diatonic accordions with a single row of buttons are most common.

Diatonic accordions are also used to play traditional music from other parts of the world, like France and the United States (Louisiana). Accordionists play other kinds of music as well, including jazz.