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Accordions |
Piano Accordion
The piano accordion is one of the well-known families of accordion instrument that have been used in a number of musical concerts in the whole world. It is most often indicated by the term “accordion”, but it is actually one of the most recent inventions among the types of accordion.
As numerous resources hold, the piano keyboard was first placed on accordion in 1852 by Bouton of Paris. From that time until the early the 1900s, this instrument was not given much attention or any improvement, until the year 1910 onwards when the piano accordion came into prominence almost worldwide and remains the most popular type of accordion used.
A new development with piano accordion came into being with the development of the Stradella bass system. This system is commonly noted as a standardization of the bass button layout, thus the piano accordion became the first truly standardized universal type of accordion ever developed. This means that the player of this instrument has the opportunity to play any type or make of piano accordion without any adjustment in the system. Well, this had not been possible before as there were a number of varying button accordions with a number of different systems.
The piano accordions come in a variety of sizes. It is necessary to note in the first place that they are sized by the number of basses they have, anywhere from 12 basses for a student instrument up to the standard 120bass full-sized instrument. There are also some vintage models and toys that are much smaller, such as the oddball instruments with extra basses or fewer basses; however, most of the accordions will fall in that range.
So, when you are opting for a piano accordion, it is perhaps necessary to check the width of the treble keyboard and the width of every white key, in particular. Note that the standard size keys are just a little narrower than the piano keys, which is about 3/4”. Thus, if you are used to playing the piano, or maybe you have larger hands, then you may have difficulty playing an accordion with smaller than standard keys.
Here are the standard reed specifications of the piano accordion:
* 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 treble reeds
* 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 bass reeds
Finally, it is worth noting that piano accordions are generally the same as that of the chromatic, except for a different shape to the keyboard notes as well as the keyboard layout. And, since it has a universal note system, it’s no wonder that the production of this instrument has far exceeded that of any form of button accordion from the early 1920s up to these days.
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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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