Button Accordions

 BUTTON ACCORDIONS

Welcome to McNeela Instruments - the home of Irish button accordions.

We offer one of the best selections of button accordions in Ireland & the UK. Browse our exciting range of best selling button accordions below.  

The Irish button accordion is a member of the reed family which includes the concertina, the 10 button single row melodeon, the two row button accordion and the piano accordion. 

The most popular accordion played in Irish traditional music is the Irish button accordion or the 'box'. The most commonly played model is a 21 or 23 button box, with a two row layout fingerboard on one side and 8 bass buttons on the opposite side. Each row of buttons on the melody keyboard produces the notes of a single diatonic scale. The bass buttons on the bass keyboard are arranged in pairs. One button of each pair will sounding the root note of a chord, while the corresponding button will play a full major triad.

The Irish button accordion is frequently referred to as a two row diatonic accordion, though it's actually a fully chromatic instrument. The term chromatic accordion usually refers however to the button accordions used to play other genres of music such as classical or jazz. You’ll also occasionally see the Irish button accordion referred to as a two row melodeon. This is not to be confused with the one row, ten button melodeon which also commonly features in traditional Irish music. 

Which Accordion Key Is Better For Traditional Irish Music: B/C or C#/D?

Irish button accordions are typically tuned to B/C or C#/D. This simply means that the outer row of buttons is in the key of B, while the inner row is in C, or the outer row of buttons is in the key of D, with its corresponding inner row in the key of C#. This configuration makes all the notes of the chromatic scale available. 

The more popular tuning for Irish button accordions is usually B/C. C#/D tuning has seen a resurgence in popularity in more recent times however. Both systems are now in widespread use, though the C♯/D push and draw accordion system is still somewhat less common. 

What’s the difference? The quick and simplified answer is that on a traditional B/C Irish button accordion you’ll move your fingers more, but the bellows less. On a C#/D accordion you’ll move your fingers less, but the bellows more.

As you can see from the selection below, we cater for every level of accordion player, from beginner to advanced. We stock only the best button accordions, including Paolo Soprani accordions, and produce our very own best sellers - the McNeela Button Accordion Range.

If you're unsure which Irish button accordion is for you, check our handy guide: The Irish Accordion – A Complete Buyer’s Guide.

SHIPPING: We ship all over the world, but if you live in Dublin why not come and test one of our best selling accordions for yourself? We are located in Baldoyle Industrial Estate in Dublin, Ireland. We would be delighted to help you out and you can try out some of our best accordions.

Shipping times: IRELAND (Next Day) - UK (3-5 days) - EUROPE (7 days) - USA/CANADA and Rest Of World (7 days)