One of the greatest things about playing accordion is that there is so easy to find people to play with. Most people just love the sound and are happy to have an accordionist to play with since it seems exotic to them. It is also reasonably easy instrument to carry around.
My first tip to everone starting out is after you learn the basics, start playing with other people.
You dont have to start in a formal band just find a friend that play any instrument and team up with it. Myselt I have bought a cheap guitar that I dont play myself but is great for having when people are coming over. So many people know a little guitar so when some friend drop we often end up playing. It doesn't even have to be real song you play, just play around with some simple chords.
For example, make up a combination of C, G and F chords and play it around and around. Start taking turns improvising a melody on the chords. Just push around on the white buttons in the piano part and you will find something.
You are now officially improvising!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Advanced accordion techniques: Accentuating
There are basically three diffrent ways to play and end a note on the accordion.
1) Finger articulation. Fast start, hard stop.
Pull the bellows so you have some resistance then push the key. To stop release the button first and stop the bellows after you released the button. This will give a hard sharp sound.
2) Bellows articulation. Soft start, soft stop.
First push in the button you want to play then open the bellows. To end, first stop the bellow and later release the button. This will remind a little of the style many violinists play in.
3) Combination. Somewhere in between.
Push in the button at the same time you are opening the bellow. In the same way release the button and stop the bellow at the same time.
It can be helpfult to practice this by using the air release button instead of playing a note since this will pronounce the effect even more.
By experimenting with articulation you will be able to develop your own style of playing and get a lot more character out of you sound.
Best luck with your playing!
1) Finger articulation. Fast start, hard stop.
Pull the bellows so you have some resistance then push the key. To stop release the button first and stop the bellows after you released the button. This will give a hard sharp sound.
2) Bellows articulation. Soft start, soft stop.
First push in the button you want to play then open the bellows. To end, first stop the bellow and later release the button. This will remind a little of the style many violinists play in.
3) Combination. Somewhere in between.
Push in the button at the same time you are opening the bellow. In the same way release the button and stop the bellow at the same time.
It can be helpfult to practice this by using the air release button instead of playing a note since this will pronounce the effect even more.
By experimenting with articulation you will be able to develop your own style of playing and get a lot more character out of you sound.
Best luck with your playing!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Famous accordion makers
For the ones of you who try to buy accordions from ebay and know very little about what brands to look for here is a list of the most respected brands.
Gabbanelli
Bellini
Dallapé
Pigini
Paolo Soprani
Weltmeister
Giulietti
Scandalli
Ciao
Hohner
Petosa
Brandoni
Ventura
Tondesch
Verini
Lucchini
Bugari
Elka
Excelsior
Titano
Please note that buying an accordion just because it is on this list doesnt mean it neccessary will be a bargain however it may be worth paying a little extra for a well known brand.
Gabbanelli
Bellini
Dallapé
Pigini
Paolo Soprani
Weltmeister
Giulietti
Scandalli
Ciao
Hohner
Petosa
Brandoni
Ventura
Tondesch
Verini
Lucchini
Bugari
Elka
Excelsior
Titano
Please note that buying an accordion just because it is on this list doesnt mean it neccessary will be a bargain however it may be worth paying a little extra for a well known brand.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Left hand technique
Hi, a long time since I wrote in this blog but as I lately had more time to pursue music and other interest I am hoping to start to write more.
Today I am going to write about proper bellows tech
nique. It will be quite hard to explain in text but I do my best.
When playing pull out two measures and in two measures. Keep your left
elbow close to your side. The bellows pull out in a slight downward
movement and back as you go. Never lift up as you pull out; the bellows
move automatically downward slightly when pulling out. Make sure both
bellows straps are unlocked.
The bottom of the bellows act as a kind of hinge but will open more if you have to pull out a greater distance. Simply retrace your steps pushing in. Never lift up your
bellows when pushing in causing the top portion to become a hinge as
witnessed too often. This wastes air and probably
was only done to rest the arm a little but it is still very poor bellows
technique and looks ugly and cornball!
You do have you get used to the bellows strap being both loose and tight
feeling. Even "properly" adjusted the tension on your hand will vary during
push and pull, hand alignment and vertical placement - the farther vertically
from center you are the tighter you strap will be.
Hopefully I am going to be able to show this in pictures later.
Cheers!
Today I am going to write about proper bellows tech
nique. It will be quite hard to explain in text but I do my best.
When playing pull out two measures and in two measures. Keep your left
elbow close to your side. The bellows pull out in a slight downward
movement and back as you go. Never lift up as you pull out; the bellows
move automatically downward slightly when pulling out. Make sure both
bellows straps are unlocked.
The bottom of the bellows act as a kind of hinge but will open more if you have to pull out a greater distance. Simply retrace your steps pushing in. Never lift up your
bellows when pushing in causing the top portion to become a hinge as
witnessed too often. This wastes air and probably
was only done to rest the arm a little but it is still very poor bellows
technique and looks ugly and cornball!
You do have you get used to the bellows strap being both loose and tight
feeling. Even "properly" adjusted the tension on your hand will vary during
push and pull, hand alignment and vertical placement - the farther vertically
from center you are the tighter you strap will be.
Hopefully I am going to be able to show this in pictures later.
Cheers!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
About Myself
About a year ago i found my grandfathers old accordion while cleaning out my parents house. Since i love the sound of Klezmer and Balkan music I decided to learn playing it myself. Since the squeezebox isn't really the most popular instrument among people in my age i had a lot of trouble finding out how to get going. The journey has been hard but fun, from knowing nothing about music or instruments in general i can now read sheet music and learn most songs within a few sessions. But the most fun thing is that i have started to learn how to improvise making up music on the fly while playing. My goal with this page is therefore to help out newbies in similar situation and hopefully get some .
How to get started on the accordion
So you have an accordion and now you want to learn how to play it. The main trouble for the buddying accordionist is that good material is really scarce. Pretty much the only free tutorial i have found on the net is this 4 page instruction on how to play lady of spain. It won't get you very far but hey its a start. The other problem is that learning to play from a book is almost impossible even if you know how to read sheet music. It is very important to get the left hand technique right from the beginning since bad technique will make it very hard to play the right hand at the same time and will slow your learning speed conciderably.
The best thing is of course to learn from a real teacher. Good accordion teachers are however not that easy to find in the 21th centhury and expect to pay $30 - $50 for a 20 minute lesson.
If you aren't able to get a teacher the next best thing is to get some kind of video. Myself i learned from Enzo Giribaldi's Downloadable Accordion lessons wich i think is very good since you get close up video on how you should play both hands. The webpage looks pretty amateurish but the material is solid. It also teaches you to read basic sheet music so you can graduate to books.
Another option is to get a VHS or DVD but most i have found seems to be geared for players who know the basics and music theory and are therefore not too useful for the beginner.
After you have the fundamentals down either by lessons or training by yourself I recommend buying a beginners book like "You Can Teach Yourself Accordion". Make sure you get the one with the CD otherwise it will be hard to get anything out it on the songs you dont know. The advantage with books is that you will get many songs to play, the disadvantage is that you will be left on your own to figure out lots of things. After playing through your beginners book i cant give you more recommendations because its now up to you to decide what you want to play. Hopefully you should be able to just grab any piece of sheet music and play it in a few tries. Or why not make you own compositions!
The best thing is of course to learn from a real teacher. Good accordion teachers are however not that easy to find in the 21th centhury and expect to pay $30 - $50 for a 20 minute lesson.
If you aren't able to get a teacher the next best thing is to get some kind of video. Myself i learned from Enzo Giribaldi's Downloadable Accordion lessons wich i think is very good since you get close up video on how you should play both hands. The webpage looks pretty amateurish but the material is solid. It also teaches you to read basic sheet music so you can graduate to books.
Another option is to get a VHS or DVD but most i have found seems to be geared for players who know the basics and music theory and are therefore not too useful for the beginner.
After you have the fundamentals down either by lessons or training by yourself I recommend buying a beginners book like "You Can Teach Yourself Accordion". Make sure you get the one with the CD otherwise it will be hard to get anything out it on the songs you dont know. The advantage with books is that you will get many songs to play, the disadvantage is that you will be left on your own to figure out lots of things. After playing through your beginners book i cant give you more recommendations because its now up to you to decide what you want to play. Hopefully you should be able to just grab any piece of sheet music and play it in a few tries. Or why not make you own compositions!
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