Which is easier: piano accordion or button?

Question

I want to learn how to play the accordion but am not sure which is better: piano or button. Any advice?

Answer 1

In my experience, hands-down, the piano-accordion is MUCH easier, friendlier, and more logical.

Button accordion is no doubt a beautiful instrument and is amazing in its genre of Norteño, Tejano, and Ranchera, for example, but unlike a traditional piano keyboard, the buttons are not arranged in an obvious or visual way.

Also, the instrument is diatonic so a button gives one pitch when pulling the bellow and another pitch when pushing it which adds to the complexity of the instrument.

The piano-accordion, on the other hand, gives the same note in either direction giving you one less thing to think about, remember, and juggle.

I have found it reasonably easy to mimic button styles on a piano-accordion but at times impossible the other way around.

The piano-accordion is also used across the world in many different countries to play everything from Argentinean tangos to Irish jigs to Russian folk tunes to Parisian cafe songs to German Oktoberfest classics and so much more.

If you have ever played piano or ANY keyboard instrument, the piano-accordion will be a natural go-to because you already know how to play half of it. And if not, the keyboard is incredibly visual, logical, and repetitive making it much friendlier and less frustrating.

Personally, I would recommend learning the piano-accordion first. Then, later down-the-road, if you're still curious about the button-accordion, give it a try after you've gained some initial experience on the piano accordion.