The Accordion History

The accordion has a fascinating history. Its starts way back 4,500 years ago with the Cheng or Sheng in China, the first known instrument to use the free vibrating reed principle, which is the basis of the accordion’s sound production.

However, it was Cyrillus Damian, a Viennese instrument maker, who has often been credited with the creation of the first true accordion. According to numerous historical resources, he was the first to patent an instrument of that name, having received royal patronage for his invention in 1829. But later, reports have revealed that the first true accordion made its appearance in 1822 when Christian Friedrich Buschmann put some expanding bellows onto a small portable keyboard, with free vibrating reeds inside the instrument itself. He dubbed it the hand-aeoline and helped spread its fame in 1828 by touring with it.

From then on, several varieties of free-vibrating reed instruments were developed. Some of them are still quite well-known today. As the instrument received a growing popularity, the demand for instruction manuals started to grow. According to certain historical resources, the first textbook featured both the original music and arrangements of familiar pieces written by A. Reisner and was published in Paris in 1832. Several textbooks were produced since then.

Meanwhile, from 1830 onwards, the development of accordion continued at a rapidly accelerating pace. Several varieties of instrument were further developed, such as the bandoneon, the harmonica and chromatic type which still exist today. Perhaps one of the interesting developments from this period was the introduction of what subsequently became known as the Schrammel that comprises an accordion, two violins, and bass guitar. This model was often used at Viennese gatherings and can still be heard today.

In 1863, the first piano accordion was introduced to the public, and many performers regarded it as a means of liberating themselves from being confined to their massive and immobile walls of pipes. That time, one of the artists, Pietro Diero brought his custom built piano accordion to the United States and earned a reputation for himself as the father of the American accordion playing. During the early part of the twentieth century, several manufacturers of this reed instrument began establishing their companies and thanks to pressure from professional players that the standard size and shape of the instrument was formed.

Today, the accordion is truly an international phenomenon. More and more manufacturers of this instrument in the United States were established, but their output according to some researches is small compared to their European counterparts. The large contemporary producers of this instrument are located at Germany, France, USSR, and Italy, not to mention to the other countries.