The garmon (Russian: Π³Π°ΡΠΌΠΎΠ½Ρ) is a kind of Russian button accordion, a free-reed wind instrument.
A garmon has two rows of buttons on the right side, which play the notes of a diatonic scale, and at least two rows of buttons on the left side, which play the primary chords in the key of the instrument as well as its relative harmonic minor key. Many instruments have additional right-hand buttons with useful accidental notes, additional left-hand chords for playing in related keys, and a row of free-bass buttons, to facilitate playing of bass melodies.
The garmons can be of two major classes: unisonoric, meaning that each button plays the same note or chord when the bellows is being expanded as it does when compressed, and bisonoric, in which the note depends on the direction of the bellowswork. Examples of unisoniric type are livenka (Π»ΠΈΠ²Π΅Π½ΠΊΠ°, after Livny, Oryol Oblast) and Khromka (Russian: Π₯ΡΠΎΠΌΠΊΠ°, for "chromatic"). Bisonoric garmons are, e.g., Tula accordion (Russian: Π’ΡΠ»ΡΡΠΊΠ°Ρ Π³Π°ΡΠΌΠΎΠ½Ρ, after Tula) and talyanka (ΡΠ°Π»ΡΡΠ½ΠΊΠ°, "Italian")
The garmon is also known by the names garmoshka (Russian: Π³Π°ΡΠΌΠΎΡΠΊΠ°) and garmonika (Russian: Π³Π°ΡΠΌΠΎΠ½ΠΈΠΊΠ°) .
The garmon is an important musical instrument for Azeri and Hamshen[citation needed] folk and popular music. .
