Squeezebox StudioG/C melodeon
A G/C melodeon is laid out like a D/G but pitched a fifth lower. The G row is outside, with eleven buttons, and the C row is inside, with ten. G and C are on button 3, counted from the chin end.
Button 1 on each row is an accidental. On the Hohner layout shown here that is C♯ push and E♭ pull on the G row, and B♭ push and G♯ pull on the C row.
Every button
| Button | Push | Pull | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C♯4 | E♭4 | accidental |
| 2 | D3 | F♯3 | |
| 3 | G3 | A3 | home note |
| 4 | B3 | C4 | |
| 5 | D4 | E4 | |
| 6 | G4 | F♯4 | |
| 7 | B4 | A4 | |
| 8 | D5 | C5 | |
| 9 | G5 | E5 | |
| 10 | B5 | F♯5 | |
| 11 | D6 | A5 |
| Button | Push | Pull | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1′ | B♭4 | G♯4 | accidental |
| 2′ | G3 | B3 | |
| 3′ | C4 | D4 | home note |
| 4′ | E4 | F4 | |
| 5′ | G4 | A4 | |
| 6′ | C5 | B4 | |
| 7′ | E5 | D5 | |
| 8′ | G5 | F5 | |
| 9′ | C6 | A5 | |
| 10′ | E6 | B5 |
Range
The treble side runs from D3 to E6, a little over three octaves. In that range it lacks 11 of the semitones, and those gaps are why tunes in some keys don't fit.
Notes you can play two ways
These notes are on more than one button, often one on the push and one on the pull. That choice is what lets you avoid a change of bellows in the middle of a run, and it's where different fingerings come from.
| Note | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| G3 | 3 push, 2' push |
| B3 | 4 push, 2' pull |
| C4 | 4 pull, 3' push |
| D4 | 5 push, 3' pull |
| E4 | 5 pull, 4' push |
| G4 | 6 push, 5' push |
| A4 | 7 pull, 5' pull |
| B4 | 7 push, 6' pull |
| C5 | 8 pull, 6' push |
| D5 | 8 push, 7' pull |
| E5 | 9 pull, 7' push |
| G5 | 9 push, 8' push |
| A5 | 11 pull, 9' pull |
| B5 | 10 push, 10' pull |
The bass side
Eight basses, as on a D/G but a fifth lower: G and C on the push of the outer row, with D and G on the pull. The inner row gives E with A minor, and an F that is the same both ways.
| Row | Button | Push | Pull |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outer | Chord | G | D |
| Bass | G | D | |
| Chord | C | G | |
| Bass | C | G | |
| Inner | Chord | E | Am |
| Bass | E | A | |
| Chord | F | F | |
| Bass | F | F |
Other versions of this layout
Castagnari's G/C charts, and many French boxes, reverse both accidentals: E♭ push and C♯ pull on the G row, G♯ push and B♭ pull on the C row. The two main rows are the same either way.
Some G/C boxes have low notes on button 1 instead of accidentals, and a few are fourth-button starts. Neither is shown here.
Scales on this box
Each of these has its own page, with the buttons for every note and a way through the octave. Which keys suit a G/C compares all of them.
- G major
- C major
- F major
- E minor
- A minor
- B minor
- D minor
- A Dorian
- D Dorian
- G Dorian
- D Mixolydian
- A Mixolydian
- G Mixolydian
- C Mixolydian
Where this chart comes from
This is the G/C layout built into Squeezebox Studio. Before it went into the app it was checked note for note, octaves included, against these independent charts:
- Hohner fingering chart, 'Diatonic keyboard GC, 21 buttons'
- Lester Bailey, 'G/C - 21 - with accidentals'
- Chris Ryall, Melodeon Explorer presets (chords.js)
- Orest Kozulich, '21 Button G/C with Accidentals'
- Mel Forum, 'Melodeon keyboard layout 21 button G/C with standard accidentals, 3rd button start'
- cctheater.free.fr, 'Claviers d'accordéons diatonique'
Other charts: D/G melodeon, B/C button accordion, D/G melodeon, Anahata layout.