Accordion range

The accordion’s range in notes and hertz

That is the right hand of a 41-key piano accordion; register switches move it an octave either way. The left-hand bass and chord buttons sound lower and are not counted here.

Written and sounding pitch

The accordion reads at concert pitch in treble clef: a written note sounds as written, so the range above is both the sound and the page.

Instruments with a similar range

The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the accordion’s:

• Viola · C3–D7 41 notes shared
• Cello · C2–A6 41 notes shared
• Harp · C2–A6 41 notes shared
• Marimba · C2–C7 41 notes shared
• Piano · A0–C8 41 notes shared
• Violin · G3–E7 39 notes shared

Tune it, play it

• Accordion tuner — tune by microphone, with the accordion’s own target notes.
• Play an accordion online — the same range, playable in your browser.

Songs that fit the accordion

36 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the accordion’s range, each written out in the notation accordion players read:

• Hot Cross Buns
• Lightly Row
• Going Home (New World Largo)
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Happy Birthday
• Ode to Joy
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Jingle Bells
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Yankee Doodle
• Silent Night

All 36 accordion songs ›

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The chart behind our playable accordion, itself checked note by note against published charts.