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Accordion Registration: What Do the Switches Do?
 2-reed LM accordion with 5 switches, including 2 duplicate masters |
Accordion registers, also called switches, couplers, stops, slides, togglers, voicers, or changes (in Spanish, "cambios"), are mechanical switches that change the number of reeds that sound on any note, thus changing the sound of the accordion. Accordions typically have anywhere from 2 to 4 reeds, in 3 possible different octaves, and how they are coupled together determines the overall sound. I'll try to make this fairly complex subject as clear as I can, but at some point one simply has to rely on one's ear. A handy piano for pitch reference will make voice identification somewhat easier for the novice. When I refer to a "voice", I mean one specific block or line of reeds (the "speaking" part of the instrument) - these would all be tuned in the same system, i.e. a low C note in that reedblock will be exactly one octave below the C note in the next octave, etc. It is also common to refer to voices as "reeds", as in "a 3-reed accordion". This does not mean that the accordion has only 3 reeds inside it! Rather it means if any one key on the keyboard is depressed during bellows travel, there are a maximum of 3 reeds that should be activated, depending on the register setting.
Nomenclature: Most manufacturers label their treble registers with the names of other musical instruments. This in no way signifies that the switches on an acoustic accordion are able to reproduce the sounds of those instruments - without some very sophisticated electronics, an accordion always sounds like an accordion, never a violin. It's just a handy means of identifying the different voices and combinations available on a given accordion, but it can be confusing, as there are conflicting usages between different makers. I recommend using the terms low, middle, and high (LMH), when referring to accordion voices and combinations. Some manufacturers use pipe organ designations: 16', 8', 4', respectively. Using these numbers instead of words is also helpful when there is a language barrier.
Not all possible reed combinations are available on every instrument, even the ones with more voices: some combinations were omitted on smaller instruments to keep the price down, and some were omitted on larger instruments because they simply don't sound very good. Some accordions have duplicate switches so that it is easy to reach them from any place on the keyboard (see the photograph at the top of this page).
The "master" switch refers to the register that selects all of the voices available on that accordion to play together, whether two, three, or four.
- Clarinet (M): nearly always refers to a single reed sound, in the middle octave of the 3 possible accordion
octaves. This is the concert pitch reed, that is, in this register, the lowest C on the accordion keyboard corresponds to the middle
C on a real piano keyboard.
- Oboe (M or MH): some makers use this name instead of "clarinet" for the single middle reed. Some others use it to refer to the combination of middle and high reeds (Titano and others).
- Bassoon (L): the low voice, one octave below the concert pitch reed. When you have the bassoon register
engaged, the lowest C on the accordion keyboard should match the C one octave below middle C on a piano keyboard.
Some junior sized accordions, and even larger 120 bass student models, stop right there, with only those 2 voices available, in octave tuning: Low and Middle. On most of these accordions, 3 switches are present: the Low reed by itself (Clarinet), the Middle reed by itself (Bassoon), and the two reeds in combination (Master). Some models omit the Bassoon setting, so that the Low reed can only be heard in combination. There are a few models that have no switches, so that both reeds are sounding all the time.
All piano accordions, except toys, have at least 2 voices. If yours has no registers (or even up to 3 registers), it probably only has 2 voices. But, which ones? Chances are, if it's a small 120 bass instrument with no switches, it has a low reed and a middle reed - that's a standard tuning for student instruments. Here's where you have to rely on your ear. If you can hear 2 different octaves playing together, your voicing is L/M. But if it sounds like the 2 voices are in the same octave, you're in luck: your voicing is M/M, or musette.
More register names:
- Piccolo (H): the high voice, one octave above the concert pitch reed. With this register engaged, the
lowest C on the accordion keyboard should match the C one octave above middle C on a piano keyboard.
The majority of smaller accordions (80 basses and under) do not possess a piccolo reed. Some smaller sized 120 bass accordions do have a third reed, usually the piccolo reed. These full-featured but compact accordions are sometimes called "ladies' or "spinet" sized accordions. Most full sized accordions have at least the three octave reeds mentioned so far (LMH), but many also have one more, the musette reed (M+).
But we aren't done with instrument names yet: now we get to make combinations. The chart below shows some of the names that might appear on accordion registers. Sometimes the circle with the dots is present on the switch, other times only the name.
LM
MH
LH
LMH
LMM
harmonium celeste organ accordion bandoneon - Harmonium, Melodeon, or Bandoneon (LM): often used to designate the coupling of the low reed with the middle reed. On a two voice octave tuned instrument, this is the master switch. Bandoneon is also used for the LMM register setting, see below.
- Violin (M, MH, or MM): used differently by different makers. Some use it for the single middle reed, some use it to designate the middle reed together with the high reed, others use it to mean the 2 unison middle reeds, whether musette tuned or not.
- Celeste (MH, MM, or MMH): also not consistent in meaning, but usually refers to the middle and high reeds together.
- Organ (LH): consistently used to refer to the low reed with the high reed, no middles. Popular in fast Bulgarian dance music, where it creates the illusion of 2 different instruments playing an octave apart but with perfect timing.
- Musette (MM, MMM, or MMH): usually refers to two middle reeds with some degree of detuning (sometimes also called "violin"), but sometimes three middles (the "correct" usage for musette) or two middles and high.
- Accordion or Harmonium (LMH): Some makers use this on 4 reed accordions to show one reed in each octave. On a 3 reed LMH accordion, this is the Master setting. "Accordion" is occasionally used on 4 reed accordions instead of the "Master" label.
- Bandoneon (LM, LMH, LMMH, or LMM): used variously. It's another name for the master setting on a 2 reed accordion, but sometimes used on 4 reed accordions to show all reeds except high.
- Other combinations and instrument names are also seen, but these are the more common ones.
Some higher-end accordions are equipped with a tone chamber, called "cassotto" by manufacturers. The tone chamber adds some weight to the accordion, and has the effect
of mellowing the tone for concert playing. It is not favored by folk accordionists. One or more reeds may be affected by the tone chamber, as seen in this diagram indicating a double tone chamber. The affected reeds are referred to as being "in the chamber". Because this setup is permanent, there are no switches that can take the reeds "out of the chamber" on an acoustic accordion. The chambered reeds are still coupled with the other reeds by means of the same registers as described above.
©2005, Wendy Morrison
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