http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=792LJQKZ6PU&feature=related


OMG!!! blazing finger speed on "Czardus". watch it all....



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-23-2010).]

That's not difficult, give me 20 fingers on each hand and I could do it, no problem.

Hey Donny,

I didn't hear Czardas.....I heard Hungarian Dance #5.



I can't help but wonder if just a tincy, wincy part of the speed comes from pressing buttons instead of keys. I don't know, I've never tried a button accordion. And I ain't tryin' to take anything away from this guy's ability. He's fast!

-mike

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

Scott .... I started playing the Accordion at 9 yrs old, that was 50 yrs ago! Have not played one in 20 yrs. I would think your challenge would be the left hand. You need to learn the scales and fingering and your all set!! Of course the "Bellows" .. that's where the "Feel" comes from. Go for it!!

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

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

Here 2 of my fav Roland demo vids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jfJJOdWsAQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfKFGEgePtg&feature=related

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?

The vids show accordions with the Free-Bass system as opposed to the most common Stradella Bass system. Here are a couple of examples of the same piece using the Free-Bass system. The first vid is Uwe (Oove) Steger, the same guy in the other vids. The second is my friend Joe Natoli using a harpsichord sound rather than traditional accordion sound on a piano keyboard accordion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKxI_mOHoQw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v19edtyl8lo&feature=related