Stradella bass system

Main article: Accordion

The Stradella Bass System (sometimes called standard bass) is a buttonboard layout equipped on the bass side of many accordions, which uses columns of buttons arranged in a circle of fifths; this places the principal major chords of a key (I, IV and V) in three adjacent columns. Each column contains, in order:

The following chart shows a standard 120-button Stradella layout.

In modern accordions, each chord button sounds three individual pitches. Early accordions sounded four pitches for the seventh and diminished chords. Modern Stradella systems omit the 5th from these two chords, allowing for more versatility. For example, an augmented seventh chord can be created by using the dominant seventh chord button and adding an augmented 5th from the right-hand manual or from one of the bass or counterbass buttons.

In most Russian layouts the diminished seventh chord row is moved by one button, so that the C diminished seventh chord is where the F diminished seventh chord would be in a standard Stradella layout; this is done in order to achieve a better reachability with the forefinger.

Contents

Register switches

The larger and more expensive accordions can also have on the Stradella bass side, some Register switches, similar in concept to the treble register switches

Common configurations

Name Columns Rows of bass-notes Rows of chords
8-bass 4 - Root notes: F to D Root note Major
12-bass 6 - Root notes: B♭ to A Root note Major
24-bass 8 - Root notes: E♭ to E Root note Major, minor
32-bass 8 - Root notes: E♭ to E Root note Major, minor, 7th
40-bass 8 - Root notes: E♭ to E Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th
48-bass 8 - Root notes: E♭ to E Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th, diminished
12 - Root notes: D♭ to F♯ Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor
60-bass 12 - Root notes: D♭to F♯ Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th
72-bass 12 - Root notes: D♭ to F♯ Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th, diminished
80-bass 16 - Root notes: C♭ to G♯ Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th
96-bass 16 - Root notes: C♭ to G♯ Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th, diminished
120-bass 20 - Root notes: Low A to A♯ Major 3rd note, root note Major, minor, 7th, diminished
140-bass 20 - Root notes: Low A to A♯ Major 3rd note[notes 1], root note Major, minor, 7th, diminished, augmented[notes 1]
160-bass 20 - Root notes: Low A to A♯ Three major 3rd rows, root note Major, minor, 7th, diminished

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b 140-bass accordions may come with either an extra major 3rd note row, located between the regular major 3rd row and the root note, or an augmented 7th chord row.
Squeezeboxes
Accordions
Concertinas