Learn the Relationship Between Chromatic & Diatonic Instruments

Video Transcript

"AMANDA CLAIRE: Okay. So one thing to understand about accordions, again, remember there are many different sort of configurations. You got piano accordions, button accordions, concertinas. All of these, you can call them squeeze boxes. Usually, if they have little, round buttons on them, they're called button boxes. One thing to kind of think about is whether that instrument is a chromatic instrument or a diatonic instrument. And what that means is, generally the way to tell what a free reed instrument, like a harmonica, for example, every single hole in the harmonica, it actually makes a different note when air goes over it one way versus when air goes over the other way. So if I take the harmonica and I go--exhale on the fourth hole, I get one note, but if I inhale, I get a different note. So that's a diatonic instrument. And there are certain types of button box accordions and concertinas that are diatonic. Meaning, you get a different note when you run the bellows one way versus when you squeeze the bellows, okay? Piano accordions are always chromatic instruments. And that means that whether you're squeezing the bellows or pulling the bellows, it's making the same note, okay? Let's see here. That was a little bit of a bum note there but here we go. Let's see. Same note, okay? Now, that doesn't mean it's the same reed, okay? And that's kind of one important thing to understand about free reed instruments is that because air is passing back and forth over the reed, there are actually--for every note, needs to be two reeds in there. The reed that vibrates when the air goes one way through the instrument and the reed that vibrates when the air goes through the other way. So in the case of a piano accordion, which is a chromatic instrument, you've got two reeds in there, a minimum of two reeds 'cause sometimes they'll put in two different notes. They have like maybe an octave or something. But different reeds are sounding when you pull the bellows, then when you squeeze the bellows, and they happen to be tuned to the same note in a chromatic instrument. In a diatonic instrument, they'll be tuned to different notes. So when you go shopping for accordions, someone might ask you, are you looking for a chromatic instrument or a diatonic instrument and now you'll know what they mean."