can i play an a flat instead of a g sharp on my accordion?

[Sunshinexxx]

Hi I don't have an a A flat bass button.
Can I play an G sharp instead?

 

[dunlustin]

Yes

 

[Rosie C]

Yes! For instruments like accordion and piano which can't play in-between notes, with modern tuning, A# and B♭ have the same pitch.

 

[Ventura]

you have to strap the accordion on switched left to right, then
the keyboard is upside down and they are all flats.. in normal position
they ae all sharps

 

[Alan Sharkis]

HOO-RAY FOR ENHARMONIC SPELLING!

 

[ColoRodney]

My stunt accordion is a 48 bass (4x12) accordion that (like many) has F# as the top row of the bass pattern. When I play a waltz with a C# minor (like Margaret's Waltz), I nick the bass note downbeat (C#) from the counterbass column of the A row, and blow off the chords. Technically, I could use the Db minor from the bottom of the bass end, but that's hell of a stretch... and why for concerts I use a larger accordion.

 

[dunlustin]

I wonder if Sunshine regrets asking the question?

 

[Sunshinexxx]

Thank you for everyone's reply although I didn't understand all of them. I did feel a wave of sarcasm but hey if you think taking the Mikey, what comes around goes around. Right back at you also called karma.
I didn't regret asking the question nor do I know what enharmonic spelling means. But don't need to know or get into it..
Thank you for yous who gave sincere answers.

 

[Dingo40]

what enharmonic spelling means.

Basically, it means calling (or writing) the same exact sound (tone?) by two different names, like A flat and G sharp.
See here:

Google Search

Google Search

I'm only a novice in these matters myself.
When playing, it doesn't appear to matter what you call it.
For a musicologist it seems to depend on the scale it's in and whether you're going up the scale or down it.
It's all too much for me, I just play them!

 

[JKJ]

A# and B♭

How do you make the ‘♭’ character in a message?

 

[cestjeffici]

I'm sure there is a keyboard sequence but I just cut and paste ♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭♭

Here's a little library I created for you to cut and paste from: ♭♯♮𝄫 𝄞 𝄢 𝇍

If you can get to an emoji table of symbols you can search "Music" and get these.

 

[Dingo40]

How do you make the ‘♭’ character in a message?

I simply use "b", standing for "bémol"= flat.
See here:

Google Search

 

[JKJ]

♭ ♯ ♮ 𝄫 𝄞 𝄢 𝇍

Thanks.

 

[Rosie C]

How do you make the ‘♭’ character in a message?

I have an Apple Mac, and if you do too, go to "System Settings" then "Keyboard" then "Text Input / Text Replacements" then copy/paste the flat & natural symbols from the internet giving them text tags

 

[JKJ]

I have an Apple Mac, and if you do too, go to "System Settings" then "Keyboard" then "Text Input / Text Replacements" then copy/paste the flat & natural symbols from the internet giving them text tags

No mac here but I see the same thing works on my iPad. thanks

 

[colinm]

How do you make the ‘♭’ character in a message?

You just did

 

[JKJ]

You just did

Yes, I copied and pasted that ‘♭’ character from the other post but wondered if there was another method, for example a code to type or a universal table of characters such as I’ve used in Windows for years.

I’ve not yet found that feature built into iPad but google search suggested what I had already done: make a Notes page with all the special symbols you might want to use and copy/paste as needed.

 

[dunlustin]

In Word, (or Libroffice) :
'Alt' key down and type 9837

When I do this here I get 'm'
???

Or type 266d then hold down Alt-X
Works as above but that doesn't work here either!
Apparently it depends on the font.

 

[debra]

Thank you for everyone's reply although I didn't understand all of them. I did feel a wave of sarcasm but hey if you think taking the Mikey, what comes around goes around. Right back at you also called karma.
I didn't regret asking the question nor do I know what enharmonic spelling means. But don't need to know or get into it..
Thank you for yous who gave sincere answers.

You'd be surprised how many accordion (or in general music) players do not know what enharmonic spelling means. In sheet music for beginners it is also quite common to have the music score contain an F# where it should use a G♭ just because beginners can read and find the F# more easily than the G♭. It's even worse with E# or F♭ (and B# or C♭). When someone asks me for instance how to play an E# I tell them that when they bought the accordion they only paid for the F key and they got the E# for free.
Whether a note should be sharp or flat really depends on the key the music is written in. a piece that's written in G♭ will require playing lots of flats and in F# lots of sharps, but on the accordion both sound just the same. A lot of music also gets transposed to make it easier to read and play. That's why you can get away for a long time with an accordion that does not have at least 12 bass rows (one for each note, so a 60 or 72 bass accorion) and can really just play everything with two repeated notes on each side (80 or 96 bass). I tend to not transpose music I arrange for my ensembles, but there are two exceptions: 1) sometimes the piece doesn't quite fit within the standard 41 key PA keyboard but does fit when transposed up or down by a half-note or perhaps a whole note, and 2) sometimes the piece is just quite hard to read and becomes a lot easier when transposed. (For instance, I transposed Dvorak's Humoresque nr. 7 from G♭ up to G and that makes it a lot easier.)

 

[Ventura]

Whether a note should be sharp or flat really depends on the key the music is written in.

a nice explanation.. you are more patient than i am..

i am sorry but my feeling is that whatever a person is,
whatever they think themselves to be, tinker tailor candlestick maker,
their teacher was obligated to impart to them the very basic's at LEAST

here is how you pick up an accordion, this is how you put it on,
here is the air button, this is a shift it changes the sound, etc.

the idea that ones teacher hasn't at least explained "keys"
and sharps and flats as part of the introduction to reading music
and learning your Seldon or Palmer..?

so OK Cb might catch the young student out, but Bb or A# should not
and reflects very badly on the teacher i feel

nevertheless, my apologies to the delightful SunshineX because
no question is a stupid one, ever, but i had no patience that morning\

ciao

ps: learning chords and how to make them in any key will
even lead you to Cbb and other double flats and strange things..
but they all follow logically so have no fear