Atzarin Bandonion - Broadly Voiced Chords

The Atzarin bandonion successfully deals with an issue that is, at the same time, one of the unique advantages of traditional bandoneon and one of the biggest failings of B and C system bandonions - very broadly voiced chords. On the traditional bandoneon's "chaotic" layout it is possible to comfortably play very broadly voiced chords spanning two octaves using just one hand, whereas playing the same chords on a B or C system bandonion is very uncomfortable and often not practical.

Completely regular layouts tend to be linear, either horizontally like the international chromatic layout and Atzarin, or vertical like the Wicki/Hayden layout. This often means that the larger the musical interval between two notes, the greater the physical distance will be between the buttons that produce those notes. The problem is further compounded by large buttons and consequently larger spacing.

If the buttons are arranged in straight rows the problem is made even worse, particularly on a bandonion where either the hand or the wrist is strapped to the instrument restricting certain movements. On straight rows, when either the thumb or the index finger is extended away from the other fingers to press a far button on a parallel row, the other fingers curl in extreme, causing the fingers to hit the buttons at a very bad angle and the position of the hand is unnatural and uncomfortable.

The Atzarin bandonion successfully deals with this issue by having curved, ergonomic rows that slope towards the thumb in combination with more compactly spaced buttons. The more compact spacing simply reduces the physical distance between buttons, so less stretch is required when spanning more than an octave. The ergonomic slope of the curves keeps the hand and fingers in their natural positions when the either the thumb or index finger is extended away from the hand to press a far button, and as the rows are curved the buttons coincide more closely with the natural position of the finger tips when the hand and fingers are spread.