Squeezebox Studio
Guide

What the accidental buttons are for

By SGWNI,

The two main rows of a melodeon only have the notes of their own two keys. Button 1 at the chin end of each row is there for some of the notes they miss: on a D/G, G♯ and B♭ on the D row, and F and E♭ on the G row.

What they're for

Each accidental button gives you two notes, one each way, in a single octave. That's enough to open up a few keys and to catch the odd note in a tune that strays outside the box's keys.

On a D/G the F does the most. With it you get a full octave of C major, A minor, D Dorian and G Mixolydian, which the rows alone don't give you, and the G♯ adds F♯ minor and E Mixolydian. On a G/C the B♭ does the same job as the F, opening F major, D minor, G Dorian and C Mixolydian, and the C♯ adds B minor and A Mixolydian. The D/G and G/C key pages show which keys need them.

Button 1 is a stretch from the middle of the row, where most tunes sit, so in a fast passage it helps to plan the fingering around it.

Which way round

Here's where makers disagree. On a D/G, Hohner puts F on the push and E♭ on the pull of the G row. Castagnari often has it the other way round, E♭ push and F pull. The D-row button is usually G♯ push and B♭ pull, but some charts show that one reversed too.

On a G/C the Hohner layout has C♯ push and E♭ pull on the G row, and B♭ push and G♯ pull on the C row. Castagnari's G/C charts, and many French boxes, reverse both: E♭ push and C♯ pull, G♯ push and B♭ pull.

Some boxes have no accidentals at all. Older D/Gs, and some new ones, put low notes on button 1 instead: F♯ and A on the D row, B and D on the G row.

How to check yours

Play button 1 on each row, push then pull, and compare with a tuner or a piano. On a D/G with Hohner accidentals you should hear G♯4 then B♭4 on the outside row, and F5 then E♭5 on the inside. If any pair is the other way round, any tab written for the standard layout will be wrong on that button, and nowhere else.

Sources