Absolute Beginner in NB, Canada

[krisrichard]

Hello,

I am a hobby musician from NB, Canada who recently acquired an accordion that is in very rough shape. (Got it free, it had been sitting in its case untouched for who-knows-how-long.) I could still noodle around with it a bit but it needs a lot of work.

Since I got it I have become enamoured with the idea of pursuing learning the piano accordion. There are no local clubs that I can find and my contact with music stores locally have also been kind of fruitless so I have been entirely dependent on online resources and communities so far.

My plan is to purchase a more usable instrument to learn on while reading up on how to potentially do a restoration of the found accordion. I already do some hardware repair on computers so I hope some skills translate! I really appreciate the folks who put things online; I have been reading a lot in the last couple weeks and I hope to be a contributor in the future.

 

[JeffJetton]

Welcome and congrats on your accordion "adoption"!

There are people who give lessons via Skype. Maybe that's the route to go for you?

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello & Welcome,

I look forward to reading your future contributions, and fervently hope that you enjoy the journey on which you have embarked.

Accordions are a specialised instrument, and very few ordinary music stores know much, if anything, about them. Help is at hand, however, as a number of our Canadian members will doubtless rally round to assist you.

Knowing more about your musical aspirations would help to shape the advice our fellow members can offer, especially in regard to the type of music you are keen to play.

Good luck with all your endeavours.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[krisrichard]

Thank you very much!

I didn't expect my local stores to know anything but I was hoping to get a referral through them. They told me the nearest they could find is in Ontario, but by searching in French I was able to find at least one place closer in Quebec, so that's probably the way to go.

A couple accordions are listed within a couple hours' drive and I'll be going this weekend to look at them. Both are 120-bass piano accordions and thankfully listed in the same city. Once I get one I will definitely look into a video lesson.

I am interested in French folk and French-Canadian music. I am also interested in pop! The original thing that put the accordion in my hands was seeing John Linnel from They Might Be Giants play it live. One of the people I went with mentioned after that as a teenager he'd inspired her to get one herself, but of course, as a teenager, she didn't stick with it and it had been gathering dust since.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Again,

JerryPH lives in Quebec, and he knows a great deal about accordions. He also has his own website. Maybe you should send him a PM.

Have fun with your new project.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[JeffJetton]

I am interested in French folk and French-Canadian music. I am also interested in pop!

I myself am a keen fan of the music of your neighbors on Cape Breton. As you may know, its strongly influenced by Scottish traditional music, due to the large number of Scots who settled there and brought their fiddles along.

Interestingly, while traditional musicians back in Scotland wound up embracing the accordion (and, indeed, there are accordion and fiddle clubs all over the country now), on Cape Breton they instead settled on the piano as the accompanying instrument of choice.

Still, I think a lot of Cape Breton trad music works well on accordion, even if its not idiomatically correct.

 

[JerryPH]

They told me the nearest they could find is in Ontario, but by searching in French I was able to find at least one place closer in Quebec, so thats probably the way to go.

There is a pretty decent place here for accordions and the owner is also the guy that is president of the local accordion club and I know the gent personally, though only as myself as a participant of the Quebec accordion club. I was a member there last year but decided to not participate this year.

A couple accordions are listed within a couple hours drive and Ill be going this weekend to look at them. Both are 120-bass piano accordions and thankfully listed in the same city. Once I get one I will definitely look into a video lesson.

Definitely the best thing you can do is try before you buy.

I am interested in French folk and French-Canadian music. I am also interested in pop!

Neither are styles that really attract me a lot, though if you time things right and you come visit Montreal, during your visit, I could take you to the monthly accordion meet that happens here. We may even get lucky and hear a little traditional French Canadian accordion!

If you ever decide to do this, let me know and Ill put you in contact with the main man who runs them both and if you want, we could even set up a little jam session at my home just south of Montreal... after supper and maybe a drink, of course.

 

[Alans]

Hi Alan from Toronto here. We have probably the best dealer for accordions here in Toronto,Musical Instruments of Canada. They have videos of some visitors playing which are wonderful. They are a huge dealer and repair shop.
I bought two accordions through Liberty Bellows in Phillie and I’m happy with them. They have many videos where they demonstrate the instruments for sale and that helps. They will ship to Canada but of course everything is in U S dollars. They also have one of the largest sheet music stores online that I have yet seen. So there is much to browse there.

I realize you are much closer to Quebec than Toronto but if you can sometime swing by Toronto Musical Instrumements is totally open to people trying out instruments for hours at a time. They Are very patron friendly. Also,there is I believe an accordion festival every August near Quebec City. They may have dealers there.
Good luck. An amazing pop accordionist,he even plays rock like led zeppelin , is Bruce Gassman. He performs at festivals through the US. He is very much into playing hard rock on the box and you can find videos of him on YouTube. It’s not my favourite style but the man is a brilliant performer.

 

[Hoodoo]

Hello,

I am a hobby musician from NB, Canada who recently acquired an accordion that is in very rough shape. (Got it free, it had been sitting in its case untouched for who-knows-how-long.) I could still noodle around with it a bit but it needs a lot of work.

Since I got it I have become enamoured with the idea of pursuing learning the piano accordion. There are no local clubs that I can find and my contact with music stores locally have also been kind of fruitless so I have been entirely dependent on online resources and communities so far.

My plan is to purchase a more usable instrument to learn on while reading up on how to potentially do a restoration of the found accordion. I already do some hardware repair on computers so I hope some skills translate! I really appreciate the folks who put things online; I have been reading a lot in the last couple weeks and I hope to be a contributor in the future.

Other New Brunswicker here, whereabouts are you from?

 

[Hoodoo]

While on a recent roadtrip, I came across a sign advertising this place in Montmagny, Quebec, about a 2h drive from Edmundston, NB. Perhaps they could assist you

http://www.accordeonmontmagny.com/mda/