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Accordions |
How to Play the Accordion
Love to play the accordion? Well, I have here a few information for you to consider while you are learning how to play the accordion.
The Fundamentals of Accordion
First things first – know the fundamentals of accordion: Sit down on a chair. Set the accordion on your left knee. The right hand operates the keyboard, while the left hand pumps the bellows. Place the straps over your shoulders, and adjust them if necessary. Slip your left hand under the strap on the button side, and don’t forget to adjust the strap as necessary.
The Basses
The accordion has actually a number of bass buttons, but there’s no need to worry because you only need four or six of them to start with. Note that a normal accordion can have up to 120 basses which are arranged in up to 20 columns and up to 6 rows. Also, in learning how to play the accordion, you should know that there are two bass rows and four chord rows in an accordion. The first row, the one closest to the bellows, is the counterbass row which is denoted by underlined capitals. On the other hand, the second row is the fundamental row which is denoted by capitals.
The Keyboard
In learning how to play the accordion, one should know that the white keys on the accordion keyboard are named from A through G, while the black keys are named after the white keys, depending on whether they are a half step higher (sharp) or lower (flat) than the adjacent white key. Perhaps the best thing to consider here, in learning how to play the accordion is to play the C Major scale. You should begin on a C near the low side of the keyboard (towards your chin) and lay adjacent white keys until you get the next C an octave higher, which is towards the base of the keyboard.
Reading the Music
When you wish to learn how to play the accordion, you should know how to read the music. Basically, the melody is located on the upper staff of the printed music, and the bass line is on the lower staff. Note that the melody is usually shown in treble clef, while the bass part is shown in the Bass clef. Well, for some people reading the music while learning how to play the accordion seems confusing, but actually that is how music works. You will just be surprised later that after a while is almost makes some sense. Just note that in learning how to play the accordion, locate C, which is the first note and just follow the music. After all, the melody is relatively straightforward to play.
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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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