Bosnia and Herzegovina

The accordion is a traditional instrument in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the dominant instrument used insevdalinka, a traditional genre offolk musicfrom Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is also considered a national instrument of the country.

Brazil

The accordion is widely used in Brazil(in particular in the South, South-East, Centre-West and North-East), in traditional as well as pop music. Compared to many other countries, the instrument enjoys in Brazil high popularity in mainstream pop music. In some parts of the country, such as the North-East it is the most popular melodic instrument. As opposed to most European folk, a very dry tuning is usually used in Brazil.

The accordion (predominantly the piano accordion) is used in almost all styles of Forró(in particular in the sub-genres of Xote andBaião) as principal instrument,Luiz Gonzaga(the King of theBaião) andDominguinhosbeing among the notable musicians in this style. In this musical style the typical combination is a trio of accordion,triangleandzabumba(a type of drum). This style has gained popularity recently, in particular among the student population of the South-East of the country (in theForróUniversitário genre, with important exponents today being Falamansa, and trios such as Trio Dona Zefa, Trio Virgulino and Trio Alvorada). Moreover the accordion is the principal instrument in Junina music (music of the São João Festival), with Mario Zan having been a very important exponent of this music.

It is an important instrument in the Sertanejo(and Caipira) music which originated in the Centre-west and South-east of Brazil and subsequently has gained popularity throughout the country.

In the South of the country (where there is a preponderance of the button accordion), in particular in Rio Grande do Sul, it used in the Brazilian Gaúcho musical style, an important exponent of this music being Renatto Borghetti.

Colombia

The accordion is also a traditional instrument in Colombia, commonly associated with thevallenatoandcumbiagenres. Recently the accordion has been used bytropipopmusicians such asBacilos,Carlos Vives, andAndrés Cabas, as well asrockmusicians such asJuanesandShakira. Vallenato has come to symbolize the folk music of Colombia. The legend of the accordion's arrival in Colombia comes from a story of a ship wreck that was coming from Germany to Argentina. The wreck happened over the Magdalena river in the Atlantic coast.

Use in heavy metal music

Accordionists in heavy metalmake their most extensive appearances in thefolk metalsub-genre, and are otherwise generally rare. Full-time accordionists in folk metal seem even rarer, but they are still utilized for studio work, as flexible keyboardists are usually more accessible for live performances.

Notably, the Finnish symphonic folk-metal band Turisashas always had a full-time accordionist, employingclassicalandpolka-style sensibilities alongside a violinist. Another Finnish metal band,Korpiklaani, invokes a type of Finnish polka calledhumppa, and also has a full-time accordionist. Sarah Kiener, the formerhurdy-gurdyplayer for the Swiss melodic-death/folk metal bandEluveitie, played aHelveticaccordion known as azugerörgeli, which could be a distant relative (in one way or another) to the Swissschwyzerörgeli, as both are indigenous to and very rare outside of Switzerland.