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accordion |
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accordion, musical instrument consisting of a rectangular bellows expanded and contracted between the hands. Buttons or keys operated by the player open valves, allowing air to enter or to escape. The air sets in motion free reeds, frequently made of metal. The length, density, shape, and elasticity of the reeds determine the pitch. The first accordions were made in 1822 by Friedrich Buschmann in Berlin. Bouton added a keyboard 30 years later in Paris, thus producing a piano accordion. The accordion is frequently used in folk music. See concertina concertina (kŏnsûrtē`nə), musical instrument whose tone is produced by free reeds. ..... Click the link for more information. . accordionPortable musical instrument that uses a hand-pumped bellows and two keyboards to sound free reeds, small metal tongues that vibrate when air flows past them. The keyboards on either side of the bellows effectively resemble individual reed organs. The right-hand keyboard plays the treble line or lines. Most of the keys on the left-hand (bass) keyboard sound three-note chords; “free-bass” accordions permit the playing of single-note lines. A prototype accordion, using buttons rather than keys, was patented in Berlin in 1822 by Friedrich Buschmann (also inventor of the harmonica). The instrument gained wide popularity in dance bands and as a folk instrument. See also concertina.accordion 1. a portable box-shaped instrument of the reed organ family, consisting of metallic reeds that are made to vibrate by air from a set of bellows controlled by the player's hands. Notes are produced by means of studlike keys 2. short for piano accordion How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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It features the same ingredients of virtuoso guitar licks, Latin-flavored rhythms, easygoing pop tunes, and sweet fraternal harmony vocals, with the addition of occasional horns and a squeeze box. When 69-year-old Tommy Ippolito, who has been playing accordion since he was 5, strolls with a squeeze box at a private reception these days, a teen-ager occasionally inquires: What instrument is that? Better suited to moving among society's gypsies and foreigners than a violin or piano, Proulx's squeeze box helps her capture the distinctive urban, ethnic, and down-home flavors of those who have not yet melted into the suburban blender. |
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