How to Play the Button Accordion: Push and Pull Explained

How the diatonic button accordion works: why every button plays one note on the push and another on the pull, and how to use the bellows, bass and air button.

One button, two notes

On a diatonic button accordion, each melody button opens a pair of reed sets: one that sounds when air flows in as you pull the bellows open, and one that sounds when air flows out as you push them closed. That is why a single button gives two different notes.

Take middle-row button 3 on a G/C/F accordion. Push and you hear C (Do). Pull and you hear D (Re). Move up to button 4 and you get E (Mi) on the push and F (Fa) on the pull. Learning the accordion means learning both notes of every button you use.

Holding the accordion and moving the bellows

A common way to start is seated, with both feet flat and the accordion resting on your left thigh. Put on the right shoulder strap first, then the left. The left hand slips under the bass strap so it can move the bellows and reach the bass buttons; the right hand stays free to move over the three rows.

The bellows should only move while a button is pressed. Pushing or pulling with no button held forces air against closed valves and can strain the instrument. To reset the bellows without making a sound, hold the air button, which on many three-row models sits on the bass side under the left thumb, and move the bellows gently.

Why push and pull are not random

The push and pull notes follow a pattern. On every row, the push notes belong to the row’s home chord and the pull notes belong to the chord that leads back home. On the middle row of a G/C/F accordion, the push gives C, E and G, the C major chord, and the pull gives D, F, A and B.

So a scale is a zigzag: push, pull, push, pull, with two pulls in a row near the top. The C major scale on the middle row is button 3 push, 3 pull, 4 push, 4 pull, 5 push, 5 pull, 6 pull and 6 push. Practicing this zigzag slowly is one of the best first exercises for coordinating your fingers and the bellows.

The left hand follows the bellows too

The twelve bass buttons play single bass notes and chords. On a G/C/F accordion they also change with the bellows. One pair of buttons gives a C bass and a C chord on the push, and a G bass and a G chord on the pull. That matches the melody: push melody notes fit the C chord, pull melody notes fit the G chord.

A basic accompaniment is a bass note on beat 1 and a chord on beat 2, repeated. Practice it alone first, keeping the bellows moving smoothly, before adding the right hand.

Crossing rows to save bellows

Because the rows are in different keys, the same note often appears in more than one place. G (Sol) near middle C is on the push of both the middle and outer rows, and on the pull of the inner row. Players use this to stay in one bellows direction for longer, or to avoid running out of bellows in the middle of a phrase.

You don’t need this on day one. Start on one row, get comfortable with push and pull, and add row crossing once scales feel easy.

Your first two minutes

Hold middle-row button 3 and pull slowly for four counts, then push slowly for four counts, keeping the sound steady. Then play buttons 3, 4 and 5 on the push and the same three on the pull. Our free first lesson includes an interactive button map, so you can hear each push and pull note before you play it on your own instrument.

Updated: 2026-11-12