Garmon / Гармон & Bayan / Баян

The garmon (гармонь), also called the garmoshka (гармошка), is a button accordion with two rows of buttons to play the melody and at least two rows of buttons to play accompanying chords. The garmon is also seen in folk music from the Mari people in the Volga and Ural regions, the Caucasus, and in many Eastern European countries like Slovenia and Croatia to name a couple.

Russians also play a type of accordion called the bayan (баян). The bayan is a chromatic button accordion. It appeared in the 20th century and is named after a Russian bard from the 11th century (Boyan). The bayan has three or more rows of round buttons used to play the melody and five to six rows of buttons to play the bass notes and chords to accompany the melody.

The garmon has been called the bayan's ancestor. In an interview, accordion virtuoso Svetoslav Shershukov says that "the bayan pushed the garmon into the background, because the bayan is much more comfortable to use. The bayan allows to play practically the entire spectrum of music."