"Accordion" vs "Diatonic"

[Waldo]

So, every time a new diatonic players joins the forum, several members recommend melodeon.com, as they did for me when I took up DBA. I went there and signed up, made some inquiries and formed the opinion that "melodeons" were primarily one or two row instruments. As a result I requested Nobby add a diatonic section to the forum (which I most appreciate). So this experience begs the question; When does an accordion become a melodeon? Every Mexican diatonic player I've talked to refer to their box as an accordion. Is it because of bi-sonoricism? or Because they are (usually) not chromatic? Or..........?

There certainly are differences, but what about the Hohner Club......Accordion or Diatonic? What about the use of the abbreviation DBA (which includes the word "accordion")? Are three row's the ******* child with no place to call home? I'd just as soon DBA players call this place "Home". After all, the banner sub-heading does read "An accordion forum open to all".

Thank you
Press on....
Waldo

 

[Ffingers]

So, every time a new diatonic players joins the forum, several members recommend melodeon.com, as they did for me when I took up DBA. I went there and signed up, made some inquiries and formed the opinion that "melodeons" were primarily one or two row instruments. As a result I requested Nobby add a diatonic section to the forum (which I most appreciate). So this experience begs the question; When does an accordion become a melodeon? Every Mexican diatonic player I've talked to refer to their box as an accordion. Is it because of bi-sonoricism? or Because they are (usually) not chromatic? Or..........?

There certainly are differences, but what about the Hohner Club......Accordion or Diatonic? What about the use of the abbreviation DBA (which includes the word "accordion")? Are three row's the ******* child with no place to call home? I'd just as soon DBA players call this place "Home". After all, the banner sub-heading does read "An accordion forum open to all".

Thank you
Press on....
Waldo

"What's in a name? A Rose by any other name would still smell as sweet."

William Shakespeare.

 

[Waldo]

Wondering why my post was edited (******) when the term refers (in my dictionary, Oxford Press) as being "something inferior, irregular, etc", an adjective, not a noun (as in, "He was a real *******!).

 

[Walker]

One of the most eloquent observations on the form and function of the group of instruments known as accordions was written by @Ffingers recently in another thread about the contemporary accordionist Margherita Berlanda. In the thread Ffingers wrote:

The multifarious developments of the "squeezebox" over the relatively few years of their existences is a source of continous fascination for me.
So many adaptations developed in order to match the requirements of particular genres, circumstances and individual needs and tastes.
From the simplest concertinas to the massive mechanical monsters that have been created, there seems to been something imagineered to fit the requirements of particular musicians and their chosen styles of music.
't is a wonderful world of sound, indeed.

I believe that the diatonic button accordion in it's many forms has a lot to give... I have a particular soft spot for the Irish button accordion like the famous little grey Paolo Soprani and also the Italian organetto - there is something about these designs and the sounds they create that seem to evoke a sense of festivals, fetes, folk dance and fun. I'd like to hear a lot more of the DBA around here.

 

[tcabot]

The meaning of "Melodeon" varies from country to country and can mean very different types of a squeezebox. I believe in USA or Canada it might actually mean a reed organ, while in Ireland the definition only covers single-row instruments. Correct me if I'm wrong.

"Accordion" is usually used for any free-reed squeezebox, even if it does not technically fall into the definition of an accordion. E.g.
- That's a very cool-looking accordion you've got there!
- It's a unisonoric chromatic bandonion, you uneducated *****.

 

[dunlustin]

I believe melodeon applied to a 2-row is almost unique to England.
Sometimes a 1-row is called that elsewhere.
Queries are passed on to Melodeon.net (whose name likely comes from its English origin. (??)) I guess by people who know little about diatonics but do know that Melodeon.net is a good source for push/pull boxes.
In a word: almost everywhere diatonic accordions are accordions.

 

[Tom]

True in the US. I have never met anyone here who knows or uses the word “melodeon.” I have had people ask “what is that thing?” And as I have noted, “accordian” is about as common as “accordion.” People either have a German or Italian (here) or Mexican or French (there) background and have someone in their family who plays, or have never seen an accordion in the flesh. Or they are new converts like me who never saw anyone play before acquiring a beast.

But the fated “comeback” is upon us. An example: This past spring the local junk shop picked up 6 junkers. All restorable but I passed on all. I went in yesterday and they were ALL gone. (About $150 each). So either some local repairman picked them all up to restore and resell (possible but unlikely) or ?????. I wish I knew.

 

[Scuromondo]

All diatonics are accordions. But not all accordions are diatonic