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#297329 - 10/23/10 01:20 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Senior Member
Registered: 01/31/06
Posts: 3354
Loc: The World
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Originally posted by Scottyee: Hi. I've recently toyed with the idea of possibly taking up the accordion. Which 'mid priced' brand/model accord is recommended for a beginner for eventually gigging with. Realizing that button keys are most popular in Europe, and that the button style key accordions lighter & smaller (aka more conveniently portable) than the piano type keyboard accordions, from the starting point if beubg of a piano/keyboard player ,is learning to play a button type accordion much more difficult to learn than a piano keyboard style accordion? In addition, any accordion music instruction books/videos to recommend, or am I wasting my time attempting to take up this instrument as an adult? Curious how difficult & how long it would be to learn to play it well enough to gig with. - Scott Hi Scott, first off, NEVER too late for anything !!!! Two things, as JCKeeys said learning the left hand can be "different as the patterns need to be learned for scales, BUT to learn basic chording, or the "oompah" is pretty easy. Your fingers soon learn where the roots and chord buttons are The fingering and chordal structures for the right hand are the same as any keyboard so NO issues there, but I say that with some caveats. 1. If you need to be constantly looking at the keys when you are playing you will find this difficult with the accordion. 2.The size of the keys are somewhat smaller than your average keyboard, even the PSR series. 3. Bellows technique is not particularly difficult to learn, but can take some time to master. If you want to perform, and you do not want to control other keyboards/arrangers from it, then any model (I usually recommend Italian, then German) with an audio pickup is fine. If you need to be able to control your arrangers, then you simply cannot go past the excellent Roland accordions. Expensive, yes, but worth every penny. As a minimum I would recommend 120 bass (my accordion was 140), but as these are pretty expensive, particularly Roland, an 80 bas would get you by for probably most of the stuff you would do, especially if using an arranger as well. Hope that brief info helps some, Cheers Dennis
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#297330 - 10/23/10 03:13 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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JC & Dennis: thanks for the valuable input you gave. Sounds like, coming from being a trad keyboard player that the best RH accord type option for me is 'keyboard style' vs 'buttons' giving better opportunity on focus on learing the button (chord progression changes) by touch, namely the most common: IV-V7-I, and II-V7-I in the most common keys, and hitting the associated bass notes by touch, no peeking. The reason I'm exploring the prospect of an accordion is because it's the only 'keyboard type' instrument I know of that doesn't require electrical power, and supports accomp and playing RH lead melody & fills while singing, as it appears to be the direct 'one man band' acoustic descendant of the arranger keyboard. To afford portability, I prefer something relatively compact & lightweight. Which 'piano key style' accords brand & models meet this criteria? Thanks to all for any additional information & advice. Scott
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#297331 - 10/23/10 03:18 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/23/05
Posts: 1002
Loc: Phila. 'burbs, Pa. USA
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#297332 - 10/23/10 03:53 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Jerry. Nice, thanks for those impressive demo vids. Interesting that both your links and the ones earlier in this thread demonstrate RH melody utilizing 'button style' keys vs 'piano style' keys. Other than the familiarity for people who come from a trad keyboard playing background, what (if any) are advantages of RH: 'buttons' vs 'piano keys'? In the meantime, I found this YouTube instructional " How To Play Accordion " Clip Series. Synthzone Accordion experts (Fran, DNJ, Musicman22, JC,miden, etc) : do you guys recommend this (or other) instructional video for an accordion wannabe beginner like myself?
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#297334 - 10/23/10 06:30 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
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#297340 - 10/25/10 12:14 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Member
Registered: 03/20/01
Posts: 847
Loc: Nashvville TN
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As a piano accordionist, I definitely see some advantages to playing the button style. One being, it's isomorphic. Learn to play in one key, and you know how to play in all keys. So suddenly you can start working a lot more on speed and other types of riffs rather than trying to work out how everything is going to lay in the different shapes using a piano accordion. Also, you get more range using a button accordion. The buttons are smaller, and though there are some repeats, you still get probably an octave's worth more of range in the right hand. Also, with the increased range, you can make wider spaced harmonies, because the notes are closer together, so reaching an octave and a half to 2 octaves isn't nearly as impossible as it is on a standard sized piano accordion. All that being said, I'm sticking with piano accordion as that's what I learned on and have played for 20 years.
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#297342 - 10/25/10 01:24 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Originally posted by FAEbGBD: As a piano accordionist, I definitely see some advantages to playing the button style. One being, it's isomorphic. Learn to play in one key, and you know how to play in all keys. So suddenly you can start working a lot more on speed and other types of riffs rather than trying to work out how everything is going to lay in the different shapes using a piano accordion. Also, you get more range using a button accordion. The buttons are smaller, and though there are some repeats, you still get probably an octave's worth more of range in the right hand. Also, with the increased range, you can make wider spaced harmonies, because the notes are closer together, so reaching an octave and a half to 2 octaves isn't nearly as impossible as it is on a standard sized piano accordion. All that being said, I'm sticking with piano accordion as that's what I learned on and have played for 20 years. Rorie: Many Thanks for your well outlined explanation of the benefits of buttons vs piano keys because coming a background of piano (not accordions) I would not have known about these obviously important advantages. The question now would be how long would it take (days/weeks/month/years) to master Rh button playing vs already proficient piano style key play. Has Anybody here made that transition? Scott
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#297346 - 10/25/10 08:18 PM
Re: Accordion Fans it don't get any better then this...!
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Member
Registered: 03/04/06
Posts: 533
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Scott.....don't pay attention to Donny's 5-10 years remark. There IS no set time frame for learning to play any instrument. But I must say, I've been told the accordion is the hardest of them all to pick up. My guess is the buttons on the left...you can't see them. So you're doing 3 things at once playing right hand keyboard, left hand bass, and working the bellows at the same time. A lot of the difficulty is in coordination.
I've been playing accordion since I was a child. It's 2nd nature to me now. What FAEbGBD said about the button accordion is 100% correct. If I had to do it all over again, I'd consider taking up the button rather than the piano keyboard. But only because I enjoy playing French musette music and that type calls for speed, speed, and more speed.
If you're only interested in strolling and portability, get yourself a standard piano keyboard. You already know music so it's only a matter of you practicing it regularly until it "takes."
As for the transition (piano to accordion) I can only say how I handled the change from accordion to piano (and synth). It took me close to a year before a "level" keyboard in front of me looked "natural." I was so used to looking at it from "bottom" to "top." Also, I had to re-learn to play the left hand. Then again, I think I'm a slow learner.
I've been playing more accordion lately than I normally do for the same reasons you mentioned you want to learn it. I can walk around...I'm not limited to a bandstand. I spent October doing Oktoberfests where you move around a lot. Last week at a restaurant Oktoberfest, I earned $110 just in tips for two nights from "strolling." In nursing homes I can go from room to room. On bus tours, I can walk the aisles. Also, "special events" agents are always looking for something different than your standard one-man-band. The accordion seems to be re-inventing itself. Great for me....no set-up time!
If you learn to play this instrument, consider that you'll have the field pretty much to yourself. Hardly anyone takes it up anymore, and those that do, play it as a novelty in a rock band.
Lucky
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