shcrammel accordion: Austria musical instrument

The shcrammel accordion also called “Schrammel harmonica” in German language is an accordion with melody keyboard in the chromatic B-Griff system and also has a twelve-button diatonic bass keyboard. It is named because of a traditional mixture of two violins, accordion and contrabass known as Schrammelquartet in Vienna chamber music tradition. Most of them have two or three sets of reed that are tuned in the same configuration. When you compare the sound of the instrument with the modern day chromatic button accordion, the sound is plainly different and special; this is because it is smaller than the modern day CBAs.

The 1854 industrial exhibition in Munich was the first time a written notice about the existence of this musical instrument was seen. Mattaus Bauer, the Vienna accordion builder was named as the one who showed the instrument with piano keyboard and one with a ‘3 row machine and accidentals”, mentioned in combination with the piano accordion. Alfred Mirek opined that the instrument came before the Bayan in his book and the Bayan was built in the year 1870. By 1890, the builder of the instrument produced a very large range of that instrument types. And by the year 1900, there were about 72 accordion builders in Vienna. And today most of the instrument that are still in existence are the one that were manufactured from 1920s and 1930s, only one maker of this musical instrument is still alive, named Mr. Mazourek together with his son and they are still working.