What is the difference between the accordion and the bandoneon?
I am astonished at how frequently this question is asked. And what is more astonishing to me is how the people who ask it all seem to be getting at the same basic point: they are Astor Piazzolla fans. So, to answer the first level of the question: the accordion and the bandoneon are based on the same free-reed/bellows technology and therefore sound and look similar, but beyond that they are completely different. They use different key/button arrangements and are utterly incompatible in playing technique. I played a bandoneon identical to Astor’s once and I could barely get a sound out of the thing. The notes are laid out in a highly unintuitive pattern, which changes depending on which direction the bellows are moving (as in a harmonica). Apparently the French have developed a bandoneon which is the same as the chromatic button accordion- cheaters. For more information on the variations of squeezebox design, I always recommend Bob Godfried’s analysis in the liner notes to the “Planet S
