ericnathan811
Newbie
I've been lurking these forums for a while and figured its time I probably make an account haha!
I am a music-ed student at UW-Milwaukee, and was gifted 2 piano accordions a long while ago from my family that have been passed down for a number of years. They were in pretty poor shape, and a professor here recommended upgrading and pursuing classical rep (or any rep beyond polka ha!)
About a year ago I purchased a cheap student/learners 3 row Bayan with stradella bass off marketplace for $100, it needed some repairs and I figured it was time to learn, I re-waxed a few reeds that fell out, redid all the leathers, and glued a crack in the frame. Since then I've been self teaching using any and all online resources I could find. I think under normal circumstances getting lessons is the best path forwards, however this is like the 12th instrument I've learned at this point... and well, skills transfer. There's a lot of good resources online that cover any gaps in my knowledge, including this wonderful forum.
The last year has been very fun! Started with major/minor/chromatic scales in both hands, then getting used to new chord shapes, then quickly falling in love with the button layouts. If I had a million dollars I'd have someone build me a piano with the b-sytem layout! It's so efficient. Anyways, then I started with my familiar, polkas/waltzes, moved on to the new with tangos, and finally real classical rep. Spent the last 2 months learning Mozart's Clarinet Concerto mvt. II and Vivaldi's winter mvt. I. I feel like those two pieces alone helped me really understand and internalize the instrument, and have now spent time working polka gigs sight reading everything! This has quickly become my favorite instrument, second only to organ, but easily takes the cake for the most hours played per week.
Just last week I had my first real solo performance onstage through university connections and played La Foule... and it went alright. I messed up the first few measures because of nerves (it was a bigger crowd than I thought), but I just refocused, and recovered real well and the rest went swimmingly. In fact it's that performance that has brought me here again. I think it's time for me to take the instrument more seriously, and coming here is probably a good start. I would like to get an instrument better suited for concert, and classical rep. Specifically having a full 5 row treble, converter bass/freebass so I can tackle Bach, and stops/register switches (of which my current has none). I was thinking one of the Roland 3x or 4x since they would also allow me to practice or play silently at home in the apartment complex, and also eliminate the need for all the convoluted micing for gigs. Plus I really dont have the budget to throw 10k at an instrument yet. Only concern is that I couldn't play Vivaldi without bellows shake. But maybe that would force me onto new rep haha!
It's possible I may pursue lessons for Bayan, unfortunately my university does not offer them anymore, as the professor (Yehuda Yannay) recently passed away. I don't think my current budget will be able to support it on top of tuition and other necessary lesson/accompanist fees. On that topic, there is a concert coming up celebrating the professor/composer, and a local legendary Bayanist Stas Venglevski will be preforming in it, which I am excited to see a professional on the instrument live!
This is just a long ramble at this point. I guess I'm just trying to say hello, nice to meet all of you!
I am a music-ed student at UW-Milwaukee, and was gifted 2 piano accordions a long while ago from my family that have been passed down for a number of years. They were in pretty poor shape, and a professor here recommended upgrading and pursuing classical rep (or any rep beyond polka ha!)
About a year ago I purchased a cheap student/learners 3 row Bayan with stradella bass off marketplace for $100, it needed some repairs and I figured it was time to learn, I re-waxed a few reeds that fell out, redid all the leathers, and glued a crack in the frame. Since then I've been self teaching using any and all online resources I could find. I think under normal circumstances getting lessons is the best path forwards, however this is like the 12th instrument I've learned at this point... and well, skills transfer. There's a lot of good resources online that cover any gaps in my knowledge, including this wonderful forum.
The last year has been very fun! Started with major/minor/chromatic scales in both hands, then getting used to new chord shapes, then quickly falling in love with the button layouts. If I had a million dollars I'd have someone build me a piano with the b-sytem layout! It's so efficient. Anyways, then I started with my familiar, polkas/waltzes, moved on to the new with tangos, and finally real classical rep. Spent the last 2 months learning Mozart's Clarinet Concerto mvt. II and Vivaldi's winter mvt. I. I feel like those two pieces alone helped me really understand and internalize the instrument, and have now spent time working polka gigs sight reading everything! This has quickly become my favorite instrument, second only to organ, but easily takes the cake for the most hours played per week.
Just last week I had my first real solo performance onstage through university connections and played La Foule... and it went alright. I messed up the first few measures because of nerves (it was a bigger crowd than I thought), but I just refocused, and recovered real well and the rest went swimmingly. In fact it's that performance that has brought me here again. I think it's time for me to take the instrument more seriously, and coming here is probably a good start. I would like to get an instrument better suited for concert, and classical rep. Specifically having a full 5 row treble, converter bass/freebass so I can tackle Bach, and stops/register switches (of which my current has none). I was thinking one of the Roland 3x or 4x since they would also allow me to practice or play silently at home in the apartment complex, and also eliminate the need for all the convoluted micing for gigs. Plus I really dont have the budget to throw 10k at an instrument yet. Only concern is that I couldn't play Vivaldi without bellows shake. But maybe that would force me onto new rep haha!
It's possible I may pursue lessons for Bayan, unfortunately my university does not offer them anymore, as the professor (Yehuda Yannay) recently passed away. I don't think my current budget will be able to support it on top of tuition and other necessary lesson/accompanist fees. On that topic, there is a concert coming up celebrating the professor/composer, and a local legendary Bayanist Stas Venglevski will be preforming in it, which I am excited to see a professional on the instrument live!
This is just a long ramble at this point. I guess I'm just trying to say hello, nice to meet all of you!
