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Just got an accordion


ksoper

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Beware! Once you start getting into playing the accordion you will start looking for any opportunity to get to play it. In any style of music.

 

And most of the time it might actually work.

 

This is so true!

I m a newcomer to the game but I love it and want to play more of it.

Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands
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There is a LOT to know about the accordion. Various bass systems in left hand, and then there's the chromatic accordion with the isomorphic keyboard layout. Once you get past the stigma of "oohm pa pa" stuff on it, you learn how cool it could be in the right hands. That's why I've been revisiting mine. As I stated earlier, it's my first instrument and one I want to really dig into now.

Even just using the standard "stradella" bass layout, there are a lot of serious jazz cats who combine the left hand triads to create polychords. Do some searches and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Tom

Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins...

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Congrats on the accordian acquisition. When played well, the instrument can be a monster. In a good way.

 

I often refer to my keytar (AX-Synth) as the 4th least respected instrument in North America, the top three being banjo, accordian, and viola. Now that someone has mentioned trombone, I may have to rethink that list.

 

When asked about the "cheesy 80s" keytar, I generally respond that my life's work is now to make the instrument respectable. Sometimes I will even bet the questioner that after I play, he will respect the instrument. I usually the win the bet.

 

Similarly, I don't know how anyone could watch old Myron Floren play "Lady of Spain" and then not respect the accordian.

-Tom Williams

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I often refer to my keytar (AX-Synth) as the 4th least respected instrument in North America, the top three being banjo, accordian, and viola. Now that someone has mentioned trombone, I may have to rethink that list.

 

The tuba has got to be in there too.

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I picked up a little two octave keyboard student model years ago. Just 12 left hand buttons, but I don't use them. It adds a nice sound on a few tunes in the country band. For the life of me I don't get why there isn't accordion on "Callin' Baton Rouge", for example. I just get it near my vocal mic and hope it isn't too loud! Then lean in to sing my harmony parts.

 

I have to say I can't help but smile when I play it and it typically gets a good reaction from the audience.

 

Have fun!

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

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I remember when I heard my (now deceased) uncle had sold his accordion. He couldn't play it anymore but the sad thing is none of his children wanted it.

 

I'll never know for sure but I believe he would have given it to me in a second if it had crossed his mind.

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Some people take it quite serious:

 

My sister directed me to this about a year ago. My training is in classical organ. I don't think I've ever heard it better.

 

Even just using the standard "stradella" bass layout, there are a lot of serious jazz cats who combine the left hand triads to create polychords. Do some searches and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

Just messing around with it a bit I was able to stumble on some voicings that were really reminiscent of Zawinul, who started on accordion. If it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me.

 

 

 

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Why are people so proud of their hatred for instruments that are misunderstood based on popular well-known pieces that are misrepresentative of the instrument's typical roles? And even so, why rain on someone else's parade. This is literally the only forum where I see this sort of behaviour. It's pathetic.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Accordion and viola feature prominently on my upcoming jazz album. Tuba stands in for bass on one song. It's not very audible though so I'm not going to claim the album features tuba.

 

I would argue that accordion is appropriate to more genres than almost any instrument. But of course this is partly because there are so many variants. Nevertheless, it is essentially a reed instrument, and one of the world's oldest.

 

Viola is a beautiful instrument and has more or less the same range as clarinet (my original instrument focus while I was studying at conservatory). Not as versatile as cello, but neither is violin. Cello, due to its scale, benefits from having the largest usable range of any member of the violin family, and manages to have distinct character in each register while also retaining a highly beautiful and emotive character throughout its range.

 

The genres in which viola is particularly prominent include gypsy swing (aka manouche), and klezmer, along with just about any middle eastern or eastern european form of music.

 

Interestingly, the viola and accordion are often paired -- more so than violin and accordion. Probably this is because they complement each other better in terms of being distinctly heard without masking each other. Also, both can be melancholic.

 

My biggest challenge on my current album was in finding the accordion sound appropriate for Colombian Cumbia, as Colombian instruments in general are nigh impossible to find in the USA or even in sample libraries. I did a lot of research and it seemed that a particular German accordion came the closest to matching what is used in Cumbia. But what they actually use is unique, just as is the bandoneon in tango music.

 

To some degree, accordion technique can carry over from one accordion (or accordion type) to another -- especially if one uses one with the same bass system. But bandoneon is another animal altogether, as the same keys make different notes if the bellows are going one direction vs. the other -- sort of like a harmonica. This is what also makes it arguably the most songful and expressive of all accordions, but it is notoriously difficult to play and only in recent years have new ones been manufactured, so the art of playing it has been disappearing due to the difficulty of finding a vintage instrument in good shape.

 

So, to the OP, you are quite lucky to have found a playable vintage accordion of any type, and one that doesn't need an expensive overhaul job (these usually run from $300 to $600 -- at least in my area, where storefront rents are high).

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Why are people so proud of their hatred for instruments that are misunderstood based on popular well-known pieces that are misrepresentative of the instrument's typical roles? And even so, why rain on someone else's parade. This is literally the only forum where I see this sort of behaviour. It's pathetic.
Dude, chill. We're just having some fun at someone's expense. ;)

 

I often refer to my keytar (AX-Synth) as the 4th least respected instrument in North America, the top three being banjo, accordian, and viola. Now that someone has mentioned trombone, I may have to rethink that list.

 

The tuba has got to be in there too.

Not anymore!

 

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The tambourine guy is Joe Saylor. He is actually a serious jazz musician and studied at Julliard. He has recorded with Wynton Marsalis among others and was on the cover of Modern Drummer. Joe is from my hometown.
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I played accordion for many years when I was much younger -- from age 9 to 19. I grew to hate it, mostly because I was actually pretty good, so expectations were high to go far with it and the whole thing just got too serious. My teacher (God rest his soul) was great in that he gave me classical, popular, and a good bit of theory, but never anything I really wanted to play. I majored in it for two years in college until my head was about to implode and then switched majors and quit for good. I sold both instruments (a classical Excelsior and an early organ type that wasn't a Cordovox) and never really looked back. I think about it from time to time, kind of like you might think about an old girlfriend who you broke up with before going all the way with or killing her. My wife keeps bugging me to find a used one because she wants to hear me play it. But it doesn't suit 99.99% of the music in play now, so I honestly don't know what I'd do with one beyond trying it once to see if my left hand can still find its way around and then throwing it in a closet for the rest of eternity. And anything remotely decent, even well used, is so damned expensive. So here I remain accordionless, as I have for most of the last 40 years.

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The Russian Bayan might change a few people's opinions about Accordions. I first saw one of these being used in a small chamber ensemble several years ago. It was amazing how orchestral they sounded with this Accordion filling out the music. The Bayan is a 20th century re-invention of the button Accordion that plays chromatically and has become widely used by virtuoso classical players:

 

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Years ago when Buffalo's West Side was a little Italy a lot of kids had to play accordion. This is an old picture from a guy John I know that was "forced" to play the instrument. I guess it was televised. http://i63.tinypic.com/2igoacg.jpg

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