Good pieces for bellows shake?

[TimeSwan]

I have a student who is beginning to get into the bellows shake and I am trying to find some good pieces that utilize it quite a bit. He plays mostly classical, quite well I might add. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[PhiliGol]

Hi Swan
Mozart and Haydn offer a lot of opportunity to practice bellow shake.
A good starting point is the well known serenade no. 13 in G aka "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" (KV525).

 

[Siegmund]

The ever-popular "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Barber of Seville features an abundance of bellows shakes in most arrangements of it for accordion. (Often titled as 'Cavatina Figaro' which frustrates your search for it if you're accustomed to searching for an opera number by its first words.)

A bunch of the Frosini standards are either played at such a tempo where it's optional whether to shake or reiterate with your fingers (Belfiore) or are written with ossias if you choose to shake (Gay Picador, Jolly Caballero, etc.)

 

[debra]

I have a student who is beginning to get into the bellows shake and I am trying to find some good pieces that utilize it quite a bit. He plays mostly classical, quite well I might add. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Bellows shake is used quite a bit in Vivaldi's four seasons. Generally I find that it is used more in ensemble-arrangements of classical music than in solo-arrangements. Quite a few of my ensemble-arrangements require bellows shake for fast repeating notes. Fast long sections of repeating notes are common in violin parts. The violinist rapidly moves the bow back and forth. The bow weighs close to nothing whereas the bass side of an accordion weighs between 10 and 15 pounds... so accordion players have a hard time...
Uwe Steger explains the different types of bellows shake (normal shake, ricoshet and quadrupel ricoshet) quite well, and the example he starts with is from Vivaldi's four seasons.

 

[TimeSwan]

Thanks all!

 

[JerryPH]

Your best friends for bellows shake, higher pitched notes and a very responsive accordion.

 

[debra]

Your best friends for bellows shake, higher pitched notes and a very responsive accordion.

And generally chords work better than single notes.
(And some weight on the lefthand side helps too. Bellows shake is hard on a bass accordion which has an empty lefthand side.)

 

[breezybellows]

Charles Magnate arrangements and compositions have bellows shake in a lot of endings.

This is the first song I learned with the bellows shake in it. Carnival of Venice arr by Magnante




I learned Pirates of the Caribbean and Espana Cani (Magnante arrangement) for the Accordion Star International competition in 2022. Both these songs have a bellows shake ending.

 

[vivdunstan]

I haven't tried bellows shake in it, but Libertango by Astor Piazzolla seems to be often performed with a hefty dose of bellows shake. At least if YouTube videos are any guide.

 

[Giovanni]

I had not seen bellow shakes in action until I went to the Las Vegas Accordion Convention and watched Dick Contino. and Tony Lovello perform bellow shaking .

 

[Thomas N]

I had not seen bellow shakes in action until I went to the Las Vegas Accordion Convention and watched Dick Contino. and Tony Lovello perform bellow shaking .

Literally two of the best in the world at it!

 

[noelekal]

Hmmmm...If I tried bellows shake at this time in life and with a dodgy, surgically repaired shoulder and a wired together sternum the accordion might shake me back!

Was trained to do bellows shake with "Lady of Spain" in the way back when.

 

[mtj]

Palmer Hughes Book 9 Stars and Stripes Forever

 

[Ffingers]

This chap is quite good at it - but I think that he has been practicing, which is a bit unfair