Not all accordions were made to look the same. There are many accordions that are very unusual And strange. As manufacturers became more popular And expanded their business, many special models were being made. One popular example Is the curved type piano accordion that started To appear In the 1930's and onwards. Many stars and artists started to use the curved accordions and became very interested And fond Of them. The main reason For the curved design was To facilitate the wrist And hand position Of the user when performing. When Ascending And Descending notes On a standard piano accordion, the hand must move up And down In a parallel way. However the curved model allowed the player To rotate their wrist As they moved up And down the keyboard.
Today, the curved design has become less popular. Now it is made usually On special request. Even In many auctions today, the curved accordion Is very rare. Hohner were one Of the most popular brands Of curved accordion. The Hohner " & "Organetta" & "(pictured) Is one example Of their work, And it was similar In design To their standard accordions at the time, featuring a similar metal grille. But there were also a few other companies who manufactured these type Of accordions, including Santianelli And Scandalli. Today a small few Santianelli curved accordions can be found In online auctions.
Many manufacturers also began to extend the bass system on certain accordions, by adding an extra 40 bass buttons To the accordion. Many artists enjoyed the extra bass system As it allowed them To play many advanced pieces Of music, including classical organ works By Johann Sebastian Bach. Hohner were a very popular manufacturer Of the 160 bass model, And the special " & "Gola" & "model (pictured) Is an example Of one Of their 160 bass models. An interesting point Is that the 160 bass system led To the eventual " & "Free bass" & "system that is now popular today. Many accordion makers wanted to build more powerful accordions for playing more complex music that used advanced bass notation. Today the 160 bass Is Not As popular, And the " & "Free bass" & "system has come To Replace it.
In Switzerland, accordions also have a very unique style. Although similar to a standard diatonic accordion, the Swiss type accordion (known As Schwyzerörgeli) has a different design On the bass side. As pictured On the Right, the bass side Is designed similar To a bandoneon, And the buttons are positioned directly facing the hand Of the player. This design allows For more quick playing Of the bass notes. Each button row If the Schwyzerörgeli Is usually In a flat key, In Order To fit In With instruments like the clarinet. The treble side usually has three reed blocks, but the " & "blocks" & "are actually just reeds arranged In a chamber, instead Of the more common reed blocks. Usually, there Is one reed Set, And two reed sets tuned an octave higher. These two sets are also tuned apart From Each other. This gives a very rich And unique " & "tremolo" & "sound.
There were also some chromatic accordions that were made with an unusual button type keyboard. Today many Of these types Of accordion are very difficult To find. The buttons were Of a square shape, which was different than the normal circular shaped button accordions that were more common. They buttons were also more closely aligned together, And Not In the usual " & "stepped" & " design found On the chromatic button accordion. Pictured On the Right Is a three-line chromatic accordion that Is a " & "Frankie" & " brand. This Is a very rare And uncommon accordion that was very rare even during the years when it was being produced. Many brands such As this appear very rarely (If ever) In online auctions. In many cases, these very rare instruments mostly can be found In accordion museums And are also owned By devoted collectors.
Probably the most insteresting instruments that can be seen today, are the accordions (pictured) used By the " & "Timbre Accordion Group" & ". The members Of the Group perform On Custom accordions that were built To produce sounds similar To woodwind instruments such As the clarinet And flute. In 1996 the Group released an album Of music featuring the instruments. There Is Not much information available about the instruments Or their construction, but today they can still be heard In various venues across the world Where the Group perform, And they have gained huge popularity And critical acclaim As a result.
