Accordina

The accordina is a musical instrument with wind and free reeds like the accordion or the 'harmonica. The patent filing of André Borel, its inventor, who imagined and manufactured it in the 1930s, is dated under the name Chromatic Harmonicon. The accordina was distributed by Paul Beuscher establishments in Paris from 1954 until the early 1970s.
== Invoice ==
It is a straight accordion keyboard, the bellows of which has been replaced by the instrumentalist's breathing.
The instrument receives several names by metonymy, including “mouth accordion” or “button harmonica”.
Today, musicians playing the accordina tend to take it as an instrument in its own right, and not as a miniature accordion or a developed harmonica. In fact, the accordina is not an instrument that benefits from a push-pull technique. You have to blow into the mouthpiece to produce the sound. The principle is similar to that of the harmonium (which has pedals to activate the sound by pushing air towards the reeds). He only has one voice, the “flute”.
Its keyboard is made up of 37 to 44 round buttons offering a maximum range of 3 and a half octaves, from fa to do.
Three initial productions followed:
* the first with brass reeds and a trapezoidal mouthpiece;
* the second with stainless steel reeds and an oval mouthpiece with a plastic tip;
* the third, manufactured by the Paolo Soprani establishments, similar to the second but with a less careful finish.
Today, several professionals are interested in the reconstruction of this instrument: Laurent Jarry, Marcel Dreux, Georges Fornes, Jérémie Vanglabeke, Claude Labourdette, Joseph Carrel and Guy Boitier (amateur manufacturing with a 3D printer), each having a different approach and personal of this instrument. Their objective is to make their contribution to develop this instrument and above all to make it attain the status of a musical instrument in its own right. Today, only Jarry, Dreux and Carrel remain, who continue to produce accordinas regularly.
The Jarry model is the lightest accordina and also the least noisy. It has dimensions (in mm) 280x80x70 for a total weight of 860 grams. Its aesthetic is recognizable by its shape and its unique use of wood species for the cover (Yew, Apple, Walnut and Cherry). It has buttons in different possible materials: wood, mother-of-pearl or synthetic. The reeds are made of stainless steel and the base is made of treated walnut for better protection against humidity. It has 37 buttons (G 3-G 6)
The Marcel Dreux model has dimensions (in mm) 300×80×70 for a weight of , and is offered with a choice of spouts at the top or on the side and long or short. The materials used for the cladding are stainless steel, wood (birch and rosewood) and carbon. The reeds are made of stainless steel. The base is made of POM synthetic material for better sound regularity and insensitivity to humidity. It has 44 buttons (F 3-C 7) for the main model.
A little longer (), Claude Labourdette's model is lighter (), and concentrates a number of innovative technologies. Its concept places great emphasis on the use of wood in different forms, while the bed base is made with a water-repellent synthetic resin close to the acoustic qualities of wood. It is equipped with BINCI a Mano reeds with stainless steel blades.
== Game ==
This instrument is very popular with jazz musicians, generally accordionists in the first place.
Some notable names: Francis Jauvain, Roland Romanelli, Christophe Delporte, Daniel Mille, Olivier Manoury, Richard Galliano, Jacques Bolognesi, [[Marcel Loeffler] ], Ludovic Beier, Norbert Pignol, Norbert Aboudarham, Stéphane Milleret, Patrick Reboud, Vincent Peirani, William Sabatier, Régis Huiban, Phillipe Ollivier , Jérôme Richard, Roman Jbanov, Jean-Louis Noton, Max Marcilly, Mimmo Mirabelli, Lionel Suarez, Alain Bruel, Patrick Brugalieres, Leilo Indalo, Aurélien Noël, Jean-Claude Laudat.
== Notes and reference