Atzarin Accordion - Treble Keyboard Configurations

The Atzarin arrangement of notes was originally intended for the right hand keyboard of medium sized "diatonic" or bisonoric accordions. The layout was to be applied to already existing keyboard configurations of three rows of buttons. The thinking behind this is to keep production costs at the same level as for existing models using conventional layouts.

Conventional 3 row button accordion keyboard configurations might be split into 2 groups. In the first group are those configurations which have 1 button less per row starting from the first or outer row. This group includes 27 button keyboards in rows of 10x9x8 buttons and 33 button keyboards in rows of 12x11x10 buttons. This kind of keyboard configuration favours the lower notes as each of the 3 lowest notes is only available in one direction of the bellows, whereas 7 of the 8 highest notes are each only available in one direction of the bellows.

In the second group of keyboard configurations are those which have 2 exterior rows of the same number of buttons on either side of a central row that has 1 more button than the other 2 rows. This group includes 31 button keyboards in rows of 10x11x10 buttons and 34 button keyboards in rows of 11x12x11 buttons and 34 button keyboards in rows of 12x13x12 buttons. This group has a better balance of notes that are available in only one direction of the bellows. 5 of the lowest notes and 5 of the highest notes are each only available in one direction of the bellows.

The best configuration for an Atzarin accordion would be 3 rows of the same number of buttons, with all rows staggered in the same direction, as on the Atzarin bandonion, but in straight rows. On the treble keyboard, each row starting from the first row, furthest from the bellows, would be displaced to the right. This configuration would have only the 3 lowest notes and the 3 highest notes each in one direction of the bellows only.