Adjust the straps - Conquer the full size accordion

[breezybellows]

A lot of people get intimidated by full size accordions and their weight. Unless you stroll or have physical limitations, the weight shouldn't be a problem at all. Weight gets mentioned so often but it is so overrated. With properly adjusted straps, you can achieve a very comfortable fit that makes weight irrelevant.

With poorly adjusted straps, I get tired in a matter of minutes even if the accordion is only 15 lbs. On the other hand, when I achieve a good fit with the strap adjustment, I can play a 30 lbs accordion for 4 hours and still feel like I could play more.

I won't say that I've achieved my ideal fit yet. I discuss the steps I've taken to improve my strap adjustments. But I still have a problem keeping the keyboard under my chin when I use a back strap. But the back strap keeps the accordion so snug against my body. That makes the accordion feel much lighter and because of that I make the compromise with the keyboard position. it works out very well for me.

In the second half of the video, I mention some strong opinions I have about accordions with fewer bass buttons. That is also a very misunderstood option. I completely disagree with the popular opinions on that subject.

 

[JerryPH]

I still have a problem keeping the keyboard under my chin when I use a back strap.

An easy fix... that is posture/body position related.
I like my backstraps snug, and when I use poor posture the accordion wiggles around and needs readjusting often. Using proper posture, I can play for way longer and not need to re-adjust. Of course one of the reasons we hit a bad posture is excessive expressive body movement during playing, working on finding movements that don't do that is a real challenge for some.

 

[saundersbp]

What a nice video - you are the Pierian Spring!

 

[JKJ]

I’m sure video and other instruction can be helpful but for a beginner, a few minutes in the same room with an experienced person might also be useful.

What helped me as an accordion 1st-timer: a local accordion expert not only looked at the old existing straps (then immediately ordered some new very comfortable Italian straps, with backstrap) but adjusted and fitted the new straps and taught me about proper position and posture - what a difference! I was thankful to get such personal initial setup help (and on-going correction as needed!)

JKJ

 

[breezybellows]

An easy fix... that is posture/body position related.
I like my backstraps snug, and when I use poor posture the accordion wiggles around and needs readjusting often. Using proper posture, I can play for way longer and not need to re-adjust. Of course one of the reasons we hit a bad posture is excessive expressive body movement during playing, working on finding movements that don't do that is a real challenge for some.

I'm not sure why it doesn't work for me. I'm not sure if it's posture. I try to sit upright. The moment I put the back strap on, the keyboard gets tilted a little bit. It doesn't bother me when I'm playing. I usually play 2-4 hours and I feel very comfortable. The only thing that bothers me towards the end is the weight on my left leg.

 

[JerryPH]

Voice of a little experience here, so this is a bit of a pro tip :

Most people want to play with the accordion FLAT on their chests, but when I was a smaller lad, control for my near 35lbs Morino was not there. I was always adjusting, sometimes even while playing and the accordion was always slipping and moving around a bit.

When I was at the conservatory that is how they told everyone to sit, place the accordion and what posture to have, but I saw that it did not work for the ladies... Or me as a 110lb 13 year old.

I watched this lovely little lady pass her exam for the BA in music performance and I just happened to be at the perfect angle to catch it and noticed that she did something a touch different than the men. She also did not adjust her big Gola once in 40 minutes and her control was amazing.

I made this small adjustment, and it did take me about a month to get comfy with, but never again needed to adjust unless I did something more exotic in terms of movement or got lazy.

I've only taught this to 2 other people and they tell me it changed them for the better as well, both players of big boxes.

Sit in a chair that rotates for ease of testing this out... with proper posture facing fully frontward (next step is the magic sauce), turn the chair about 5 degrees to the left so the treble side is now slightly in front. Lock legs in place, DO NOT move them. Rotate your body to the right and the f the left side of your chest moves more in to the accordion and the right moves away a touch from the back of they keyboard.

FEEL the straps, tighten down where needed, rinse repeat 20 more times if needed... Lock in that position... and enjoy the control and less need to adjust ever again.

The explanation above is for the mental image, in real life, I do it backwards... Lock accordion forward so people can see both my hands, then twist body to move right pectoral muscle just off the keyboard.

The good: more control
The bad: creates an angle that makes looking at the keyboard harder, but we are. NOT supposed to be looking there anyway, right?

Even now that I am bigger, I still do this when I play the bigger accordions, it's worked for me for so long that it is a habit and I am comfortable with it. The accordion stays right where I want it, no adjustment needed!

Does it work for everyone? Don't know... it did for that lovely lady, me and the 2 others that I did share it with.

 

[breezybellows]

Voice of a little experience here, so this is a bit of a pro tip :

Most people want to play with the accordion FLAT on their chests, but when I was a smaller lad, control for my near 35lbs Morino was not there. I was always adjusting, sometimes even while playing and the accordion was always slipping and moving around a bit.

When I was at the conservatory that is how they told everyone to sit, place the accordion and what posture to have, but I saw that it did not work for the ladies... Or me as a 110lb 13 year old.

I watched this lovely little lady pass her exam for the BA in music performance and I just happened to be at the perfect angle to catch it and noticed that she did something a touch different than the men. She also did not adjust her big Gola once in 40 minutes and her control was amazing.

I made this small adjustment, and it did take me about a month to get comfy with, but never again needed to adjust unless I did something more exotic in terms of movement or got lazy.

I've only taught this to 2 other people and they tell me it changed them for the better as well, both players of big boxes.

Sit in a chair that rotates for ease of testing this out... with proper posture facing fully frontward (next step is the magic sauce), turn the chair about 5 degrees to the left so the treble side is now slightly in front. Lock legs in place, DO NOT move them. Rotate your body to the right and the f the left side of your chest moves more in to the accordion and the right moves away a touch from the back of they keyboard.

FEEL the straps, tighten down where needed, rinse repeat 20 more times if needed... Lock in that position... and enjoy the control and less need to adjust ever again.

The explanation above is for the mental image, in real life, I do it backwards... Lock accordion forward so people can see both my hands, then twist body to move right pectoral muscle just off the keyboard.

The good: more control
The bad: creates an angle that makes looking at the keyboard harder, but we are. NOT supposed to be looking there anyway, right?

Even now that I am bigger, I still do this when I play the bigger accordions, it's worked for me for so long that it is a habit and I am comfortable with it. The accordion stays right where I want it, no adjustment needed!

Does it work for everyone? Don't know... it did for that lovely lady, me and the 2 others that I did share it with.

This definitely sound like a magic sauce. I'll have to read this more carefully to see if I can replicate it. I might be asking too much, but if you could make a video about this, it will be fantastic.

 

[JerryPH]

I might be asking too much, but if you could make a video about this, it will be fantastic.

I'm starting a full time schedule back to work now, so it would not be easy as easy as before... we will see if I can find the time.

 

[breezybellows]

I'm starting a full time schedule back to work now, so it would not be easy as easy as before... we will see if I can find the time.

I hope your ease into your new schedule. In the mean time I'll try to interpret your instructions and I'll hope I don't get entangled in my straps.

 

[dak]

Voice of a little experience here, so this is a bit of a pro tip :

You make me wish I played piano accordion, just for trying this out. And frankly, I am somewhat taken aback by the somewhat frequent look of comparatively small players (often women) who slump half-hidden behind the piano keyboard of a 45-key instrument reaching over their chin if not their head. Making this work instead of switching early to CBA seems, well, not necessarily the best solution. Our youngest ensemble member was actually put on CBA during her juvenile career part with that rationale and it did work out pretty well for her, even though her teacher's principal instrument remains the piano accordion.

 

[LibraryJoe]

And in my case as a 69 year old who's been playing piano accordion for 50+ years, the switch to learning CBA is to keep this "older mind" active by trying to learn a half-way new instrument ( the treble side), as well as to reduce the size and weight.
And thank you Breezy for beginning this thread!

 

[matagamasi]

I have a small 20-lb Pigini 37/B3 CBA that was hurting my back a bit. I adjusted the straps several times and it was better but still causing some pain. I placed a short level on the top of my left thigh where the accordion sits. The top of my thigh was sloping about 10 degrees down towards the floor, but it looked level to me. This was causing the top of the accordion to lean forward and pull on the straps which was putting a strain on my shoulders and back. I put a thick dictionary under my foot to level out the top of my thigh and now I don't feel the straps pulling on my shoulders and back. Maybe this will help someone else too.

 

[JerryPH]

I hope your ease into your new schedule. In the mean time I'll try to interpret your instructions and I'll hope I don't get entangled in my straps.

Thats funny!

I've been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for a good while now, and all of us know that it doesn't work on bears... in Brazil, the RNC is called the "Matta Leao"... the Lion killer!

 

[JerryPH]

Now how do you know when the technique for strap adjustment above works? When the straps have a slight tension on them when sitting slightly foward. Lean back and some of the weight comes off the front edge of the bellows and more on to the rear and the weight on the shoulders increases.

For the times you play "easy" there is no pressure on the shoulders. For the times you need tightly controlled bellows/accordion control, lean back that 2-3 inches.

 

[OuijaBoard]

I'm always amazed when people announce that what works for them "shouldn't be a problem at all" for anyone else, and is "so overrated" as a concern or factor in the decision-making process of other thinking adults.

 

[RowanSumner]

A lot of people get intimidated by full size accordions and their weight. Unless you stroll or have physical limitations, the weight shouldn't be a problem at all. Weight gets mentioned so often but it is so overrated. With properly adjusted straps, you can achieve a very comfortable fit that makes weight irrelevant.

With poorly adjusted straps, I get tired in a matter of minutes even if the accordion is only 15 lbs. On the other hand, when I achieve a good fit with the strap adjustment, I can play a 30 lbs accordion for 4 hours and still feel like I could play more.

I won't say that I've achieved my ideal fit yet. I discuss the steps I've taken to improve my strap adjustments. But I still have a problem keeping the keyboard under my chin when I use a back strap. But the back strap keeps the accordion so snug against my body. That makes the accordion feel much lighter and because of that I make the compromise with the keyboard position. it works out very well for me.

In the second half of the video, I mention some strong opinions I have about accordions with fewer bass buttons. That is also a very misunderstood option. I completely disagree with the popular opinions on that subject.

Very interesting. I'm just dipping my toes into PA following a years experience with CBA and have found positioning really difficult, where previously it didn't bother me at all. I've sat with a teacher, but I'm still not happy with it. When the trebel board is sitting nicely below the chin, I find the right strap digs into my neck. I've ordered a second strap fixture for the top of the accordion and a back strap, inspired by the following https://joelseastbayaccordionlesson...accordion__revised__2018_with_cover_email.pdf

I'm quite broad and find I need most straps at the longest setting. Even with this, it often forces my hand into a difficult position for the lower notes. I'm still not sure if I'm just making a fuss and this is just something you need to get used to, or I'm doing something wrong. Any electric guitarists will remember months/years of pain from the strings, my friend who plays double bass complained a great deal while building up the calluses and finger strength required for the instrument

I have to constantly remind myself and correct my hand/wrist position while playing when seated. I assumed that being big and broad I wouldn't have these issues with a full sized PA but here we are!

 

[Pipemajor]

When the trebel board is sitting nicely below the chin, I find the right strap digs into my neck.

I have exactly the same problem, yet I'm built like the proverbial racing snake. The extra strap fixing seems a good idea

 

[JerryPH]

I have a small 20-lb Pigini 37/B3 CBA that was hurting my back a bit. I adjusted the straps several times and it was better but still causing some pain. I placed a short level on the top of my left thigh where the accordion sits. The top of my thigh was sloping about 10 degrees down towards the floor, but it looked level to me. This was causing the top of the accordion to lean forward and pull on the straps which was putting a strain on my shoulders and back. I put a thick dictionary under my foot to level out the top of my thigh and now I don't feel the straps pulling on my shoulders and back. Maybe this will help someone else too.

When I was in the accordion orchestra, many members used an adjustable guitar player’s foot raiser. Back then I was a small kid with a huge accordion, raising it was not feasible. Today when I play my Morino downstairs, I use nothing and am comfortable, but when playing upstairs using the chairs from the dining room, I use a 3X3 inch block of wood (covered in jean material), that is about 10 inches long to raise the accordion and remove shoulder pressure to match the feel that I have while playing downstairs.

Length of one’s leg, body size and type as well as chair height are all factors too.