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TWO-ROW DIATONIC ACCORDIONS (ENGISH MELODEON, VIENNA ACCORDION)

The 21 button, 2 row melodeon is the most commonly played in many countries accross the world, here in England we mainly play the D/G system, but in France G/C and A/D are preferred and in Germany C/F is the preferred key.  The main point to bear in mind is that these instruments are identical in build to the Irish (chromatic) system but are vastly different to play.

The only main difference between keyboard types apart from the key is whether the instrument has accidental buttons on the two buttons nearest the chin or whether it has low notes in the standard melodeon scale.  Certain instruments have 23 buttons to extend the scale.

21 BUTTON TWO ROW MELODEON LAYOUTS

• D/G with accidentals
• D/G with low notes
• C/F with accidentals
• C/F with low notes
• G/C with accidentals
• G/C with low notes
• A/D with accidentals
• A/D with low notes
• F/Bb with accidentals
• F/Bb with low notes
• Bb/Eb with accidentals
• Bb/Eb with low notes

Other keys are very rare (e.g. Eb/Ab, B/E, F#/B, C#/F# G#/C# and E/A) they follow the same pattern and can be transposed from the layouts above

23 BUTTON TWO ROW MELODEON LAYOUTS
Only D/G layouts but can be transposed to any key

• D/G 23 buttons with accidentals and low notes
• D/G 23 buttons with extended low scale

TRIKITIXA (Basque Country Melodeon) LAYOUTS
A system of 2 row melodeon with 12 unisonoric basses (i.e. the bass buttons play the same note on the push and pull).  Another peculiarity is that these instruments have 4 accidentals instead of 2.  Usually tuned in C/F and with a musette sound - I have transposed it to D/G as well.

• D/G Trikitixa
• C/F Trikitixa

IRISH STYLE (chromatic) 2 ROW BUTTON ACCORDION
As I said, although these look identical to diatonic melodeons, they are tuned a semitone between the rows (B/C, C/C# etc) rather than the fifth you get on melodeons.  It is technicalloy possiblt to play a chromatic two-row in any key but some are easier than others.  The main difference between the layouts is to do with the bass configurations which vary - many B/C players do not use the basses.

• B/C 21 buttons traditional basses
• B/C 21 buttons modern bass layout
• B/C 21 buttons old Hohner layout (this layout is now obsolete)
• B/C 23 buttons traditional basses
• B/C 23 buttons modern bass layout
• C#D 21 buttons traditional basses
• C#D 21 buttons modern bass layout
• C/C# 21 buttons old Hohner layout (The main layout found for CC#)

Main keys (harder keys)
D, G, Em (Am, A)
D, G, Em (Am, A)
C, F, Dm (Gm, G)
C, F, Dm (Gm, G)
G, C, Am (Dm, D)
G, C, Am (Dm, D)
A, D, Bm (Em, E)
A, D, Bm (Em, E)
F, Bb, Gm (Cm, C)
F, Bb, Gm (Cm, C)
Bb, Eb, Cm (Fm, F)
Bb, Eb, Cm (Fm, F)

The classic Hohner Pokerwork or Vienna

2½ ROW MELODEONS (including Club Models)

The 2½ row melodeon has been making quite a comeback in England in recent years - it is by no means a new invention, the "Club Models" have been around for years although modern keyboard layouts are different from the club.  The 2½ row melodeon is unfortunately the most varied in terms of fingering; different manufacturers supply different fingerings from the factory and many players change the reed setup to reflect their own playing styles.  I have included a B/C (Irish chromatic) 2½ row layout which makes some fingering on the B/C system easier.

MODERN 2½ ROW MELODEONS
Modern instruments in this category have 12 bass buttons as standard

• D/G 21+5 buttons Saltarelle Layout
• D/G 21+5 buttons Castagnari Layout
• D/G 23 +4 buttons Saltarelle Layout
• D/G 21 +5 Andy Cutting's Layout (Castagnari Mory)
• D/G 23 +4 John Spiers' Layout (Saltarelle Connemara II)
• B/C 23 +4 Layout (Irish Chromatic)

CLUB MODEL MELODEONS
Club models have 8 basses and a peculiar unisonoric button in the middle of the inside row.
The keys listed below are the most common to find Club Models in.

• D/G 30 button Club Model
• C/F 30 button Club Model
• Bb/Eb 30 button Club Model

melodeon.net is completely independant and free to use, it is designed as a resource for players of melodeons and diatonic accordions everywhere, focussing strongly on the English and European styles of playing but encompassing all other styles.  Our aim is purely to increase the knowledge base and communication between players so we can all get better.

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times since 23/06/2004

Keyboard Layouts  

Keyboard Layouts:
One of the most frustrating aspects about the melodeon is the fact that there is no one design for the standard instrument worldwide.  The first fact to take into consideration is the number of rows (1, 2, 2½, or 3).

To view any layout click on the red hyperlinks

ONE-ROW MELODEONS

The one-row melodeon is probably the easiest to make sense of playing only a diatonic push-pull scale in one key.  Most have only 2 bass buttons or spoon basses, Hohner did make some one-row pokerwork models which had 4 basses.

STANDARD ONE ROW MELODEON LAYOUTS
• C
• D
• G
• A
• Bb

HOHNER POKERWORK ONE ROW WITH 4 BASS BUTTONS
• C
• D
• G

I think these were the only keys Hohner made this model in.

A typical one-row melodeon

THREE-ROW MELODEONS
Apart from some Alpine instruments not listed here, the 3 row is the big daddy of the melodeon family.  Normally just an extension of the 2 row melodeon with an extra key to play in and 12 basses.  The most common by far in England is the A/D/G system, but elsewhere in the world G/C/F and F/Bb/Eb are also common.

Other systems with 3 rows include the C#/D/G which is a kind of hybrid between the diatonic melodeon and the irish chromatic system featuring fingering from both C#/D and D/G.  Then there is the D/G/accidentals system which is basically an extension of the 2½ row system but as every keyboard I've ever tried with this system has been different from the previous, publishing them all would just be confusing.  Finally, the B/C/C# or "British Chromatic System" invented by the late Jimmy Shand Snr. is a very versatile extension of the B/C system - usually found with Piano Accordion basses but sometimes with a 12 bass system, this layout has also been used by John Kirkpatrick and Tim Van Eyken.

THREE ROW LAYOUTS

• A/D/G 27 buttons (Saltarelle Cheviot & Nordsud)
• A/D/G 31 buttons (Hohner Corona configuration)
• A/D/G 33 buttons (Large continental system)
• C#/D/G 27 buttons (8,9,10 configuration)
• C#/D/G 31 buttons (9/10/11 configuration)
• B/C/C# 35 buttons with Stradella Bass (Kirkpatrick)

ODDBALL LAYOUTS
OK at the moment the only really wierd layout on this page is one which I invented!  but - it is quite a cool system to play in.  It is the Gminor - D minor layout.  The main difference is that the push pull scale of each row plays the minor harmonic scale rather than the major.  I have tweaked the basses so that the playing is intuitive for a standard 2 row player.

MINOR DIATONIC SYSTEM - SPIERS

• Gmin/Dmin 21 buttons - Spiers
• Gmin/Dmin 21 +5 buttons 2½ row - Spiers