Montunoman 2 Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 Here in Texas you hear a lot of accordion music in the Hispanic areas and October Feasts as well. I used to kind of resist the sound but after all these years and being happily married to Mexican lady it’s kind of grown on me , lol 😂. I decided to learn , and I’m looking to buy an accordion with keys. My ultimate goal would be able to play popular tunes solo , and join some sort of Latino/ mariachi band playing parts . Perhaps I could even double on keys in cumbia/ tropical Latín type group. I realize that the button accordion is more typical in the Latin styles, but I’ve seen a few guys playing norteña, tejano, mariachi etc to know it can done on a “ piano” accordion. I’m buying from a pro drummer friend a used Hohner 37 key 96 bass , Tango accordion that has been recently tuned. He got good enough to join a pro mariachi band that works all time, but he got a good drumming tour gig, so he selling off the accordion. I really wanna learn this instrument right, so I found a classical Russian accordion teacher. She’s hip to jazz other styles too, so I think she’ll be a very good fit. These will be in person lessons at a local college. I’m really excited about this new journey! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesB3 Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 Good on you amigo. I've got a guitar player friend who has a old (40-50's) country band but also plays excellent button accordion in his Cajun band. It's a unique sound and adds a lot to certain tunes. Ry Cooder has a cool version of "He'll Have to Go" (Jim Reeves?) with Flaco playing the fills and solo. I'm not as ambitious as you so I'll be covering this with my Musette patch on the CP76. 1 Quote Yamaha CP73; 145 gig Leslie; Nord Electro 61; Oberheim OB3^2; Wurlitzer 200A; Ampeg Gemini I amp; Speakeasy Leslie preamp; QSC K-10 (dearly departed, '58 B3, Bob Schleicher 50C Leslie now serving the Lord in Bryant AR) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PianoMan51 Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 It’s not OT. There’s a lot of accordion threads on this forum. Do some searching! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 I’ve been gigging professionally with accordion for 13.5 years now. It’s my second instrument after piano/keys. A Russian classical teacher should be excellent - those folks really know the instrument. 1 Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76| Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT, Kurzweil PC4 (88) Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted July 27 Author Share Posted July 27 8 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said: I’ve been gigging professionally with accordion for 13.5 years now. It’s my second instrument after piano/keys. A Russian classical teacher should be excellent - those folks really know the instrument. Good to hear. Do you play piano accordion or button? How long did it take to feel ready to perform? Yes, the Russian teacher is a beast ! She plays both button and piano accordion at a virtuoso level. She’s a bad ass piano player too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 Just now, Montunoman 2 said: Good to hear. Do you play piano accordion or button? How long did it take to feel ready to perform? Yes, the Russian teacher is a beast ! She plays both button and piano accordion at a virtuoso level. She’s a bad ass piano player too! I play piano accordion; I do have a chromatic accordion but never learned it and it needs some work. Diatonic accordions are a struggle for me but I have my great grandfather’s. If you’re coming from a strong keys background, I’d say give yourself a year or two - the biggest thing that helps is remembering that the left hand (stradella system) is based on the circle of fifths - sharps up from C, flats down from C. I picked it up faster than that because I have a strong ear and was a lot younger then (8). Not sure for Latin styles what you’d be needing for technical skills - my background is Russian, Balkan, and jazz music mostly…plus the traditional Midwest polkas and so forth. 1 Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76| Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT, Kurzweil PC4 (88) Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 I wish I did. All my Italian cousins in Canada played. 1 Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterpoint Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 For me it was accordion first as a child and piano second as the accordion became very uncool as I was coming of age in the 1970's. Competed in state and national ATG-sponsored competitions...the AAA is the other large organization. I still pull it out occasionally...actually last week to lay down a track for a friend doing some recording. Below is a picture of an alt pop trio I was in about 15 years ago. Addressing your questions, coming from the piano, it will be much easier to play a piano accordion rather than one with buttons on the right hand. The keys are smaller and at a weird angle but you'll adjust. Agree with Max that the "stradella" oom pah pah system on the left side (which the Hohner has) is easier than a "free bass" single note system (the accordion in the picture is a Giulietti Converter so it does both...but I can't really play the single note system it has). Getting beyond those things, the tricky part is coordinating the movement of the bellows while you're playing...that is an extra activity compared to the piano that may tax your brain...but after some time it should hopefully become second nature. Good luck! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 A lot of people just assume keyboard accordion is easier because they know where the notes are. I went through two models (the second one being an 80-bass or maybe it was a 120-bass) but just couldn't hack the ergonomics due to my tiny frame. Larger people may not have this issue. Anyway, I don't think keys vs. buttons affects the sound per se, except maybe on one-row cajun accordions (also called musettes) which have (for most but not all models) unusual mechanisms compared to every other type of accordion. There are so many types of accordions, so you should become aware of what kind of sound you want, but I think there's less variety in keyboard accordions on that score, even when I check specialty sites. I am referring to stylistic distinguishing marks such as whether the reeds are dry-tuned or wet-tuned, how many reeds per note, etc. The accordion used in Colombia is VERY wet, but this type is also popular in certain regions or genres in Mexico. Near the Texas border, you're more likely to see three-row GCF button accordions and the like, usually fairly dry-tuned, a common "budget" example being the Hohner Compadre but there are specialty sites selling custom models that start at $3K to $4K and up! The least subtle of the differences in accordion sounds is the dry vs. wet tuning issue. Plenty of people play accordions "outside the genre", or play piano accordion in genres that are primarily driven by button accordions, but how you blend with voice and other instruments is what the audience and other players will notice. Of course, accordion maintenance is another ball of wax and not cheap, plus the number of experts and their locality is shrinking annually. 2 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 My favorite accordion seller stopped selling during COVID and now does only repairs. I had hoped to visit as they are just a few miles from my sisters in Western MA. I bought a wonderful Hohner two-row diatonic button accordion from them (Merlin, or something like that -- I can't remember as the model name varies by country). Great setup! Although there are some excellent sources overseas, and some of them are even affordable after customs and shipping, probably the best remaining source in the US is Liberty Bellows (cute name!) in the Philadelphia area. My next purchase will be through them. Down near the Texas/Mexico border there are also plenty of great shops, but they tend to sell mostly super-expensive boutique custom-made models/brands. 1 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyMoe Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 I play accordion in a country band here in the DFW area. 1 Quote Montage 7, Mojo 61, PC-3, XK-3c Pro, Kronos 88, Hammond SK-1, Motif XF- 7, Hammond SK-2, Roland FR-1, FR-18, Hammond B3 - Blond, Hammond BV -Cherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 18 hours ago, KeyMoe said: I play accordion in a country band here in the DFW area. That’s awesome! I live in Dallas I’d love to see your act. Let me know how to look you guys up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Danny Federici was awesome. He was a prodigy on accordion. 1 Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 52 minutes ago, Outkaster said: Danny Federici was awesome. He was a prodigy on accordion. Thanks, I’ll check him out! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garubi Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 I too play accordion in a folk-rock band here in Italy (if you are curious all the links a s usual are in the signature below). I came to accordion from keyboards and piano, and to me was easier to go with a piano accordion. For years I haven't played the basses: the band was a 5 pieces one: with 2 guitars and a bass the accordion's basses weren't needed. This gave me plenty of time to learn the Stradella system and now that I play mostly in trio (accordion, guitar and percussions) I can (in some way..) support with basses too. To me the coordination between keys and bellows was pretty "natural" but keep in mind that standing one or two hours with the accordion, pushing and pulling that bellows requires some training 😉 Speaking of "genres" the fact the accordion is a piano one or a button one is not relevant. As other said is more important the kind of "tunig" of the reed: more or less "wet": but these are subtleties that you learn little by little... Two anecdotes: I'm now in my 50s, and here in Italy for those of my generation, raised with rock and/or singer-songwriters (often political) songs, the accordion was really for old people and for losers... a thing of the past tied to the "liscio" genre: a kind of traditional and stereotyped dance music, a little naive... But in the early '90, thanks also to other european bands like The Pogues, Mano Negra, Les Negresses Vertes, etc.. an entire new scenes emerged in Italy too where rock merged with tradional folk and acoustic instruments and the accordion suddenly regained his dignity. Luckily I was there when it started and I wasn't too picky to try 🤣 My trusted accordion repairman and tuner has his workshop exactly in Stradella, the small town in the north of Italy where the "Stradella bass system" was invented. Unfortunately the accordion industry is declining and just a few workshop remained... 2 Quote My band: www.tupamaros.it Our music: https://tupamaros-it.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/intl-it/artist/7GP4CEx224ccPgW6paHQwQ https://music.apple.com/it/artist/tupamaros/1468527891 Galanti Accordion + Voicelive Play | Roland FA-07 | GSI Gemini Rack | MIDI Drawbars controller (custom made) | IK Multimedia UNO Synth Pro | Roland VR-09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 7 hours ago, Montunoman 2 said: Thanks, I’ll check him out! Thats a sad video. It was his last show. they air lifted him in from Sloan Kettering to play this show and the cancer had gotten into his hands. He'd lost a lot of weight at that point in 2008. He passed a month later. 1 Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Gil Goldstein on accordion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannis D Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 8 hours ago, Garubi said: I too play accordion in a folk-rock band here in Italy (if you are curious all the links a s usual are in the signature below). I came to accordion from keyboards and piano, and to me was easier to go with a piano accordion. For years I haven't played the basses: the band was a 5 pieces one: with 2 guitars and a bass the accordion's basses weren't needed. This gave me plenty of time to learn the Stradella system and now that I play mostly in trio (accordion, guitar and percussions) I can (in some way..) support with basses too. To me the coordination between keys and bellows was pretty "natural" but keep in mind that standing one or two hours with the accordion, pushing and pulling that bellows requires some training 😉 Speaking of "genres" the fact the accordion is a piano one or a button one is not relevant. As other said is more important the kind of "tunig" of the reed: more or less "wet": but these are subtleties that you learn little by little... Two anecdotes: I'm now in my 50s, and here in Italy for those of my generation, raised with rock and/or singer-songwriters (often political) songs, the accordion was really for old people and for losers... a thing of the past tied to the "liscio" genre: a kind of traditional and stereotyped dance music, a little naive... But in the early '90, thanks also to other european bands like The Pogues, Mano Negra, Les Negresses Vertes, etc.. an entire new scenes emerged in Italy too where rock merged with tradional folk and acoustic instruments and the accordion suddenly regained his dignity. Luckily I was there when it started and I wasn't too picky to try 🤣 My trusted accordion repairman and tuner has his workshop exactly in Stradella, the small town in the north of Italy where the "Stradella bass system" was invented. Unfortunately the accordion industry is declining and just a few workshop remained... I love Italian accordions and your rich accordion tradition. I used to love this accordion guy recording for ECM records (can't recall his name, but he did some wonderful work with orchestras, clarinet etc) and another American Gut Klucevcek (coming from the central European background and the free jazz US tradition).... So much beauty on this thing and you can cover so many different genres and styles. 2 Quote Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyMoe Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 16 hours ago, Montunoman 2 said: That’s awesome! I live in Dallas I’d love to see your act. Let me know how to look you guys up. Here are a few dates coming up. Message me when you plan on coming out. Aug 15-17 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Aug 22-24 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Sep 12-14 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Sep 26-28 Rodeo Exchange Fort Worth Oct 10-12 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Oct 17-19 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Oct 24-26 Rodeo Exchange Nov 14-16 Rodeo Exxhange Dec 6-7 Good Vibes Richardson Tx Jan 2-4 Rodeo Exchange 1 Quote Montage 7, Mojo 61, PC-3, XK-3c Pro, Kronos 88, Hammond SK-1, Motif XF- 7, Hammond SK-2, Roland FR-1, FR-18, Hammond B3 - Blond, Hammond BV -Cherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 On 7/29/2024 at 6:47 PM, KeyMoe said: Here are a few dates coming up. Message me when you plan on coming out. Aug 15-17 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Aug 22-24 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Sep 12-14 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Sep 26-28 Rodeo Exchange Fort Worth Oct 10-12 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Oct 17-19 Billy Bobs Fort Worth Oct 24-26 Rodeo Exchange Nov 14-16 Rodeo Exxhange Dec 6-7 Good Vibes Richardson Tx Jan 2-4 Rodeo Exchange What model accordion are you using? It looks quite compact, which I think I'd like.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipeb3 Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 Afraid so... nothing to be ashamed of. Hey, work is work... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 6 hours ago, zxcvbnm098 said: What model accordion are you using? It looks quite compact, which I think I'd like.... Same question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyMoe Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 10 hours ago, zxcvbnm098 said: What model accordion are you using? It looks quite compact, which I think I'd like.... Roland FR-1. I also have the Roland FR-1X in black. Both sound great. I also use a Line 6 wireless system. 1 Quote Montage 7, Mojo 61, PC-3, XK-3c Pro, Kronos 88, Hammond SK-1, Motif XF- 7, Hammond SK-2, Roland FR-1, FR-18, Hammond B3 - Blond, Hammond BV -Cherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garubi Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 17 hours ago, KeyMoe said: Roland FR-1. I also have the Roland FR-1X in black. Both sound great. I also use a Line 6 wireless system. I'm very intrigued by Roland accordions, but never had a chance to try one... can you tell us something more about them? Have them physical reeds too or are pure digital? Do they play even if not connected to an ampli? How are the accordion sounds? and the bellow expressivity? Thank you 1 Quote My band: www.tupamaros.it Our music: https://tupamaros-it.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/intl-it/artist/7GP4CEx224ccPgW6paHQwQ https://music.apple.com/it/artist/tupamaros/1468527891 Galanti Accordion + Voicelive Play | Roland FA-07 | GSI Gemini Rack | MIDI Drawbars controller (custom made) | IK Multimedia UNO Synth Pro | Roland VR-09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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