The accordion is a free reed instrument of the aerophone group.

Description of the instrument

It has two wooden boxes, one (which is played with the right hand) with buttons or keys to give the melody, and the other (which is played with the left) that gives the bass notes and the chords of the accompaniment. the two boxes there is a bellows.

Way of playing

The bellows, which opens and closes with the arms, sends the air that makes the reeds vibrate.

History

After the diatonic accordion came the chromatic accordion. This could be of two types: with buttons on the right side (called chromatic) or with keys (known as a "piano" accordion).

The accordionists, like the trikitilaris, went from town to town participating in all kinds of festivals and popular celebrations.

This instrument, which has more musical resources than its diatonic relatives, initially put the trikitixa into a corner, but later, although we do not know why, it has lost strength in the world of popular music and the trikitixa has prevailed over it.

We must not forget the chromatic accordions that "Larrinaga-Guerrini" from Donostia made. Instruments of great prestige and quality have come out of this workshop.

To finish this section, we want to mention the influence accordionists have had on the repertoire of trikitilaris. On many occasions, the trikitilaris have adopted new music, pieces and dances of these accordionists to expand their repertoires and it is very evident that since the mid-20th century we have been listening to fandangos, arin-arin and new marches, learned or commissioned from accordionists.

SOURCES

Bibliography

HARANA, Mielanjel; TAPIA, Joseba; BERGIZES, Aingeru. (1998). Gelatxo. Zarautz: Euskal Herriko Trikitixa Elkartea.

Discography

LARRAÑAGA, Isidro. (1979). Euskal Herriko Dantzak. IZ. IZ-123.

YANZI, Pepe. (1972). Lesaka. Edigsa-Herri Gogoa. HG-48.

ZELAIA, Enrike. (1982). Araba. Elkar. ELK-53.

(1986). Nafarroa. Elkar. ELK-HG-147.

(1987). Bizkaia. Elkar. ELK-HG-206.

(1987). Gipuzkoa. Elkar. ELK-HG-177.