Melodeon: Ireland musical instrument

A melodeon or diatonic button accordion is a member of the free-reed aerophone family of musical instruments. The musical instrument is a button accordion on which the melody-side keyboard comprises one or more rows of buttons, with each row manufacturing the notes of a single diatonic scale. The buttons on the brass-side keyboard are most usually arranged in pairs, with one button of a pair sounding the fundamental of a chord and the other the corresponding major triad.

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Diatonic button accordion are popular in several countries and the instrument is used primarily for performing popular music and traditional folk music and contemporary offshoots of these genres.

Different terms for the musical instrument are used in various parts of English speaking countries.

In Britain and Australia, the name melodeon is widely used, not minding whether the musical instrument has one, two or three rows of melody buttons.

In Ireland, the musical instrument is known as melodeon when it has one row of melody, while the version of the musical instrument that has two or three rows are known as button accordion

In the Northern part of America, the musical instrument is known as accordion.

In france, the musical instrument is called accordéon diatonique, but one row version of the musical instrument is sometimes called melodeon.

In Italy, a diatonic button version of the musical instrument is called fisarmonica diatonica or organetto.

The normal names given to the musical instrument by the Germans are fisarmonica diatonica or organetto.

The dutch term for the musical instrument is trekharmonika and trekzak.

In Portugal, the musical instrument is called concertina.

In Estonia, the musical instrument is known as lõõtspill.

The Russians call the musical instrument garmon

The Slovenian name for the musical instrument is diatonična harmonika and more regularly frajtonarca.