Play Accordion online
A portable instrument with keys or buttons that sounds when air from a bellows sets free metal reeds vibrating.
Dizi
On a keyboard, the keys A S D F G H J K play the eight pitches of the scale.
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Turn your phone sideways or switch to full screen to see the instrument larger.
Keyboard keys
Add it to your home screen as a separate app: opens with one tap and works offline too. Free.
Keyboard: the up and down arrows select a course, Space or Enter plays it, plus and minus move the selected course's mandal by one comma.
Tap or swipe on the right side; tap the labels on the left to select a course. No sound on iPhone? Turn off silent mode.
Mandals
Lower or raise each pitch one comma at a time with the mandal levers. The setting applies to every course that has no setting of its own.
Course mandal
Tune a single course separately from the pitch setting. Courses you don't adjust follow the pitch setting.
About the Accordion
In brief
- Family: Bellows-driven free-reed (metal reed) aerophone; not blown, the bellows supply the air
- Origin: Based on Buschmann's work in Berlin in 1822; first patent under the name “accordion” in 1829, Vienna (C. Demian)
- Body and materials: Bellows between two boxes; the sound comes from vibrating brass or steel reeds
- Keys: Piano keys or buttons for the melody on the right, bass and chord buttons on the left (mostly Stradella)
- Tuning: Fixed reeds, usually equal temperament; commas can only be approximated
- Music: Folk and dance tunes, Romani, Balkan and Caucasian music, popular music
Getting started: types, sizes, tuning
History
It was developed in Europe in the early 19th century and soon spread around the world. It became popular in folk, Romani and entertainment music in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Turkey; in the Arab world accordions tuned to play quarter tones were also made.
Construction
There is a bellows between two bodies; on the right side are piano keys or buttons for the melody, on the left side buttons for bass notes and chords. Each key opens the air path to the metal reeds inside.
How it's played
It is strapped to the chest; while the left arm opens and closes the bellows, the fingers of both hands press the keys and buttons. The volume is controlled by the pressure of the bellows.
Useful while you practice
Project notes
- Pitch system: Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek pitches are shown on a scale dividing the octave into 53 equal parts (the Holder comma, ≈22.6 cents), a close approximation of the theory's Pythagorean-ratio pitches. Each pitch is computed as its letter position plus the mandal shift; reference A4 = 440 Hz.
- Interval abbreviations: B = bakiye (4), S = küçük mücenneb (5), K = büyük mücenneb (8), T = tanini (9), A = augmented second (12–13 commas).
- Sound: real kanun recordings, retuned to comma precision for each pitch. With the synthesis option, each course is generated as three slightly detuned strings.
- Mandals: per-pitch tuning is the default; any course can also be tuned separately. Makam presets are per pitch.
- Known limitations: pitch names are referenced to Rast (G); makam presets are awaiting expert review.
Frequently asked questions about the Accordion
How do I play the virtual accordion?
In the realistic view, the accordion's piano-style keyboard is drawn and each pitch of the makam sits on the white key of its own letter. You play by tapping, clicking or sliding your finger across the keys; you don't need to work the bellows. On the keyboard, A–K plays the first octave and Q–U the second. On a phone, you can enlarge the keys by turning the screen sideways or going full screen.
How does the virtual accordion play commas?
The metal reeds of a real accordion have a fixed tuning and cannot play commas. The virtual accordion, however, plays the pitches of the makam you choose at their comma values; for example, it gives Uşşak's segâh or the in-between notes of Hüzzam without rounding. The tonic and dominant are marked in color, and you can choose from more than 150 makams.
Is the virtual accordion's sound a real recording?
Yes. The sounds are real accordion recordings from the “Accordion” pack shared by Miles_Thompson on Freesound (CC0, free to use). Each pitch is tuned with comma precision from the nearest note recording. Until the recordings load, synthesized sound plays; with the “Synthesis” option you can also switch to generated sound.
Can I practice dance tunes on the virtual accordion?
Yes. If you choose the accordion in the “Play it yourself” step of the “Learn this piece” section of a piece in the sheet music archive, the virtual accordion opens with the piece's makam. Listening to the piece's usul and finding the melody phrase by phrase on the virtual accordion also helps you notice which pitches are only approximated on a real accordion.
Source: Wikipedia