Robin is of course quite right - the accordian can be a great instrument, but it's reputation has suffered from too many bad players. That's no reason not to play it - it's just a reason to try to play it well. And remember - the only way to play well is to play badly - if you're not playing at all, you're not getting better.

Part of the reason the accordian is looked down on in some circles, is that it has chord buttons, instead of building chords from separate notes. This is somehow seen as an "easy" option by those who have never played it - bad accordian players are usually bad because they can't play the bass properly, but drown out the tune in soggy chords. A good accordian player (Phil Cunningham, for example) can play the melody on the left end, using bass and counterbass buttons.

The concertina is nevertheless a lot easier to carry around!

Andrew