Ernie Rideout Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 Okay, I'm an editor, so arguably, I can't help myself. Forgive me: Accordion only has one letter "a" in it. There. I feel better. As Steve said, I do in fact play accordion. I got into if because of my interest in world and roots music. I was an ethnomusicologist for several years, and I was fascinated by the incredibly grooving music that people in a wide variety of cultures played on their squeezeboxes. Then I got into Cajun and zydeco; I played in a band with the late Jim Boggio, who was one of the best accordionists I've ever heard; Art Van Damme hired him to play at Art's retirement party! (And three other mofo players, to be fair, but you get my point). Jim played the most amazing stuff, he really inspired me to take up the squeezebox seriously. When I lived in New York, I was amazed to find that instead of merely handing me the usual "go to jail" joke, people would respond to my accordion fixation with admiration and envy. In NYC, it's actually cool to play accordion! I met tons of incredible players there, people like Rob Curto, Brian Mitchell, Walter Kuhr, Will Holshouser, and tons of others. I played in the Columbia Klezmer Band, who were kind enough to let an old weirdo such as myself join the otherwise under-30 band. Klezmer is a total blast to play on accordion. Someone mentioned the V Accordion, which I got to review in the February issue of Keyboard. From the standpoint of sound: what an amazing instrument!!! From the standpoint of being able to create any accordion sound you could imagine: what an amazing instrument!!! From the standpoint of just playing the thing: My, what stiff bellows you have, Grandma. It is a mind-boggling instrument, and if you're after the ultimate studio squeezebox sound, you can't beat it. To be able to play it, you may in fact HAVE to beat it. I've got some insanely great accordion recordings. let me know if you'd like me to post some MP3s. And keep on squeezing! <> Ernie Rideout, Private Citizen Gee, that was quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 Originally posted by Ernie Rideout: Okay, I'm an editor, so arguably, I can't help myself. Forgive me: Accordion only has one letter "a" in it. There. I feel better. Here's hoping you take this in the purely teasing, tongue-in-cheek way it's intended, Ernie... but: I was an ethnolusicologist...a what? Sorry, had to be done. Cheers, SG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 Jethro Tull has a lot of accordion on their Warchild album. But, illegal? No !! Zorba the Greek can not be played on any other instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 (warning: poor taste alert!) OK, I just figured out why God allowed Katrina to level New Orleans -- it must have been the high concentration of accordions! (sorry) Seriously, accordion sounds incredible in zydeco & cajun music, styles which have to be experienced live to really appreciate. As well as tango, klesmer, and hosts of other styles. I'm no fan of polka, but no doubt that belongs on the list too. For me, operating the bellows while playing the keys or buttons is like trying to pat my head and rub my belly. Well, worse, really, because I CAN pat my head and rub my belly without any difficulty. It's not just a keyboard instrument like most others, that only takes a bit of acclimitization with the action and proper use of the timbre & dynamics -- it's a whole 'nuther instrument and needs to be LEARNED and PRACTICED to play well at all. I already stink at enough different instruments, no need to add another to the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erlic Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Quoted by dreamer Actually the accordion was my first instrument; I used to play it when I was maybe 8 or 9; then I started playing the piano and, when I was 14 or 15, switched to the guitar, because at the time it was cool being able to play one.Ditto here. Had to learn it, and learn it playing the polka, marches, waltzes, and some classical pieces (let's not forget the tarantella, being from an italian family). Got fed up with it when my teacher turned me on to "It's A Raggy Waltz" First question: How do you play a Diminished 7 on the left hand LOL. Anyway eventually took up piano and organ, got a vox double manual organ, joined a band and had fun. I did however learn to play that piano accordion inside and out. I also was able to get a cordovox which I used on gigs to save up enough money to buy the vox. _____________ Erlic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Hey guys (and gals) the question was can you play IN an accordian, not can you play an accordian. Given the size of the stages at some of the clubs round here, I should think the inside of an accordian would be relatively spacious. I can't play an accordian though. Don't understand why accordian players don't all come down with RSI given the wrist position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Originally posted by Byrdman: I can't play an accordian though. Don't understand why accordian players don't all come down with RSI given the wrist position. Because the action on an accordion is incredibly lightweight, so the muscle activity applied during playing is significantly less than a piano, resulting in less binding of the wrist muscles. Also, the wrist isn't severely angled, given a proper playing position. This isn't to say that RSI doesn't occur with accordion players... it definitely does... but at a lesser percentage than other keyboard instrument players, I would think. Cheers, SG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyBoy Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 I'm a 35-year old guy that's been a professional accordionist for 25 years. I've always been big into synthesizers starting with my Ensoniq Mirage I purchased new around 1985 with accordion gig money! I even midi'd my Mirage up to my Commodore Amiga computer for my college senior project. I still play accordion out and really enjoy it. It's a DAMN hard instrument to master. I studied under a master that studied under Art Van Damme, my personal hero. I don't like chromatic accordions (buttons on both sides) and love jazz on my piano accordion. Looking to purchase a Nord Electro 2 and Andromeda to round out my arsenal. Oh yeah, accordions ARE expensive! I bought my Excelsior 960 new two years ago and had it custom-made in Italy. I waited 6 months to get it. It is a beast and is acoustic only (only has a $250 Sennheiser 5-pickup mic system). No MIDI or anything. I paid over $8000 for it and the CASE was $600! Makes that darn Oasys look a little brighter, eh? The good news? Accordionists are massively in demand and command premium prices and almost every gig is solo. It paid for itself in no-time and I picked and choosed (gr?) the gigs on assorted weekends. Yeah you take a lot of ribbing for being and accordionist but as some intelligent person once said, "I laugh all the way to the bank" TommyBoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 Originally posted by TommyBoy: and I picked and choosed (gr?) ...and I was able to pick and choose... (well, you asked... ) ...but as some intelligent person once said, "I laugh all the way to the bank" Testify!!! Cheers, SG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 or "I picked and chose ..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyBoy Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 Hey thanks for the grammar lesson! A lot of people get all bent when people correct them but I was asking. Always helps to learn a little something. I thought about "Picked and chose" and that just didn't work for me. Choosed isn't a word. Didn't stop me! My Mom is an English teacher (now THAT apple didn't fall far from the tree, did it!) and my wife's Mom is a copy editor. I can't stand to email her. She actually edits my emails in her replies. And we're not talking "Don't use ain't" we're talking REWRITING your sentence structure and usage of that terrible gerund word. I swear I thought a gerund was a rodent. Thanks for the help. Looks like I picked and chose the right forum for assistance. Oh, sorry for hijacking this thread with off-topic info. Roland Sucks. TommyBoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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