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Accordions |
The Italian Accordion Music
When it comes to accordion music, Italy is the leader. In fact, Italy has been considered as the worldwide leader in quality and production of accordion. This title has remained undisputed for a long period of time, and Italy should say “thank you” to the high quality of this instrument for which the production first began in 1863.
As you may have known, the history of accordion music has been written by the Italian manufacturers. The names Paolo Soprani, Mariano Dallape, Sante Cruncianelli and Silvio Scandalli are all names that have contributed to the fortunes of accordions, which has been making its own way to almost every corner of the world. Perhaps the development of accordion music in the classical genre is due to a large number of Italian musicians and manufacturers who possess great skills in creating samples of outstanding artistic and technical value.
It is further worth noting that although the accordion musical trends over the past decade have identified a somewhat decrease in the demand for these instruments and its quality music, the Italians still continue to manufacture accordions. The products are generally created for those professional musicians who wanted to express themselves through their music and entertain the people at all cost. It is with this continuing production that Italy continues to enjoy an excellent reputation. The tone of the Italian accordion music has in fact been universally considered as the best currently available on the market. And, I guess there is no concert performer anywhere in the world, who doesn’t own, or hopes to own, an Italian accordion music.
Today, it is interesting to know that even though the areas of production in Italy have remained the traditional ones, the technological development has reached some companies in the country that have gone into the production of the fine electronic, coupled with the traditional accordions. This has also been coupled with a number of different creative uses which has been possible to extend with the application of MIDI devices.
The accordion instruments and the accordion music now hold the second place in the line-up of the Italian musical instruments and products that have been exported abroad. And, with the ever growing popularity of Italian accordion music, it’s no wonder that at present there are about 30 accordion manufacturers just in the province of Ancona, which employ 600 people. It is further interesting to know that according to some records, the number of pieces produced for the instrument is a little higher then 12.000 units for a total value of US$11 millions, 89 percent of which are destined to foreign markets, like Japan, European Union and the United States.
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Accordion Music Memories
It's every kid's dream to play the accordion in a local talent show, right? OK, well, maybe not so much a dream as something that seems like fun at the time, but a memory that will make you cringe in horror years later when you look back at the pictures.
This story is a memory and tip / warning for accordion players everywhere. Actually, it is a valuable tip for anyone playing a musical instrument on stage where a spotlight will be in use during the show.
We started having meetings and rehearsals for the local talent show about a month and a half before the scheduled date of the show. The organization putting on the talent show had to rent the spotlight so they planned to only get it in time for the dress rehearsal, which was the day before the actual show. Therefore, during all the other rehearsals, we only had the regular fluorscent lighting in the room and the general stage lighting.
On the night of the final dress rehearsal, the person in charge of operating the spotlight could not get it to work so we went through the rehearsal without it. I had been practicing my accordion faithfully and played a medley of several songs flawlessly during the rehearsal.
The next day, on the night of the actual talent show, the spotlight was working properly. When it was my turn to perform, the audience applauded as I walked out on to the stage with my accordion strapped to my chest carrying my accordion sheet music. I sat down and placed the sheet music on the stand. The general house lights dimmed and the spotlight came on.
That's when I realized it was time to panic. Stage fright, you think? Not at all, I loved being on the stage with an audience of hundreds. The reason for panic was because the spotlight was so strong that it shone right through the sheet music! I couldn't see any of the notes on the pages.
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