Joe's accordion history

[LibraryJoe]

Hello all

I've recently purchased my sixth or seventh accordion, although all of these purchases came over the last 25 years. Perhaps forum members from Europe and other parts of the world didn't experience "accordion anxiety", as I did way back in 1967-- two years after my first lesson.

My friends were playing guitar, my Italian American parents decided the accordion would be the instrument for me. My music teacher had a small advertisement in our church bulletin. JoJo, you're learning accordion!
My latest accordion arrived from Petosa today.

So, for historical purposes, and to perhaps to understand why the accordion stayed in the closet 30 years...

First lesson, Palmer Hughes, Book 1 to pg 11 " Batter Up". 4/12/65

In fourteen days, I would turn 11 years old

I was two months away from graduating grade 6

(Back in the day--if you could read at gr 1, you were moved to gr 2. A dreadful decision for a kid who was not very big to begin with, kind of crappy in sports, and then spent the rest of his public school years with crushes on girls one to two years older than he)

Last lesson

Palmer Hughes Book 4, 8/14/67 --- "The Thunderer" a Sousa march

Graduate of junior high school.


Future music to look forward to: Comedian's Dance, (pictured with a doofuys young man trying to woo a

girl, while dressed as a scarecrow, among regular looking (for 1955! )teens dancing boy-girl

Next, La Cucharacha-- pictured with a banjo playing cockroach

End of accordion method book 4. Looking ahead to book 5...

Book 5 started out with The Glow-worm, originally written in 1902, and would became a hit in 1952 when recorded by The Mills Brothers Even at age 13, I knew this wasn't going to happen.


And for historical context--the top hits for August 5, 1967

1Light My Fire The Doors

2 I Was Made To Love Her Stevie Wonder

3 All You Need Is Love The Beatles

4 Windy The Association

5 Whiter Shade Of Pale Procol Harum

6 Can't Take My Eyes Off You Frankie Valli




In 1967, I was in junior high. I had friends, and was never locked into my school locker...

But hell if I knew me better, I wouldn't hang around with me.

What were my parents thinking?

And to make matters worse, my lessons were on Monday night at 7 Pm.

Guess what show began at 7:30, forcing me to miss it? The Monkees !


Accordion lessons and the accordion returned almost exactly 30 years later.

I was now 43 years old... married 22 years and had a 12 year old son and 10 year old daughter.

It was ok to take accordion lessons... but they were taken quietly, and my accordion and I became an object of curiosity. Better than an object of ridicule.


2004...Widowed two years. On Match.com. Future wife becomes curious about man who writes on his profile, he plays accordion, but definitely no polkas !

No one much younger than this 67 year old remembers Lawrence Welk. The few who remember Steve Urkel remember him pretty fondly. Weird Al Yankovic was profiled about a year ago in the New York Times.
Friends and neighbors want to hear me play. You play accordion--Great! It really does look like a very cool air conditioner!



jm

 

[Scuromondo]

Sounds familiar! My story is similar, though my teacher used Sedlon rather than Palmer-Hughes.

Welcome!

 

[dunlustin]

So much suffering -- so much humour (humor) - welcome, but there must be more.

 

[Tom]

Welcome Joe!

 

[Valski]

Hello all

I've recently purchased my sixth or seventh accordion, although all of these purchases came over the last 25 years. Perhaps forum members from Europe and other parts of the world didn't experience "accordion anxiety", as I did way back in 1967-- two years after my first lesson.

My friends were playing guitar, my Italian American parents decided the accordion would be the instrument for me. My music teacher had a small advertisement in our church bulletin. JoJo, you're learning accordion!
My latest accordion arrived from Petosa today.

So, for historical purposes, and to perhaps to understand why the accordion stayed in the closet 30 years...

First lesson, Palmer Hughes, Book 1 to pg 11 " Batter Up". 4/12/65

In fourteen days, I would turn 11 years old

I was two months away from graduating grade 6

(Back in the day--if you could read at gr 1, you were moved to gr 2. A dreadful decision for a kid who was not very big to begin with, kind of crappy in sports, and then spent the rest of his public school years with crushes on girls one to two years older than he)

Last lesson

Palmer Hughes Book 4, 8/14/67 --- "The Thunderer" a Sousa march

Graduate of junior high school.


Future music to look forward to: Comedian's Dance, (pictured with a doofuys young man trying to woo a

girl, while dressed as a scarecrow, among regular looking (for 1955! )teens dancing boy-girl

Next, La Cucharacha-- pictured with a banjo playing cockroach

End of accordion method book 4. Looking ahead to book 5...

Book 5 started out with The Glow-worm, originally written in 1902, and would became a hit in 1952 when recorded by The Mills Brothers Even at age 13, I knew this wasn't going to happen.


And for historical context--the top hits for August 5, 1967

1Light My Fire The Doors

2 I Was Made To Love Her Stevie Wonder

3 All You Need Is Love The Beatles

4 Windy The Association

5 Whiter Shade Of Pale Procol Harum

6 Can't Take My Eyes Off You Frankie Valli




In 1967, I was in junior high. I had friends, and was never locked into my school locker...

But hell if I knew me better, I wouldn't hang around with me.

What were my parents thinking?

And to make matters worse, my lessons were on Monday night at 7 Pm.

Guess what show began at 7:30, forcing me to miss it? The Monkees !


Accordion lessons and the accordion returned almost exactly 30 years later.

I was now 43 years old... married 22 years and had a 12 year old son and 10 year old daughter.

It was ok to take accordion lessons... but they were taken quietly, and my accordion and I became an object of curiosity. Better than an object of ridicule.


2004...Widowed two years. On Match.com. Future wife becomes curious about man who writes on his profile, he plays accordion, but definitely no polkas !

No one much younger than this 67 year old remembers Lawrence Welk. The few who remember Steve Urkel remember him pretty fondly. Weird Al Yankovic was profiled about a year ago in the New York Times.
Friends and neighbors want to hear me play. You play accordion--Great! It really does look like a very cool air conditioner!



jm

Welcome Joe,

Your story was very well written and a joy to read. Many of us can identify with your travails. I was lucky enough to have avoided the Palmer-Hughes accordion method lessons although plenty of my friends were enrolled in musical odyssey. I agree that most of the material in these books was not exactly inspiring but in hindsight these songs were chosen because the copyright made them cheap to purchase.

My music teacher would choose songs for me to learn that were age appropriate and would challenge me to learn. He even went as far as creating orchestrations of popular music geared to my abilities. This way I was learning and it was fun. I didn't appreciate him at the time but now realize that I was very lucky to have such a special mentor. Don’t misunderstand, I am not a virtuoso by any measure but can play well enough to fool most members of the audience.

Also living in the "rust belt" where ethnic groups were prevalent made the accordion acceptable. From your story it seems that you have lived in the south all along so that may have had some impact on the perception of the accordion.

One thing that I do know is that most of my friends who learned to play in those days have long ago given up and only some of us still own an accordion and play it now. I also put my accordion away for a decade or so and had to rea quaint myself with it. I plan to retire in the next few months and hope to devote more time to this wonderful instrument.

 

[LibraryJoe]

Welcome Joe,

Your story was very well written and a joy to read. Many of us can identify with your travails. I was lucky enough to have avoided the Palmer-Hughes accordion method lessons although plenty of my friends were enrolled in musical odyssey. I agree that most of the material in these books was not exactly inspiring but in hindsight these songs were chosen because the copyright made them cheap to purchase.

My music teacher would choose songs for me to learn that were age appropriate and would challenge me to learn. He even went as far as creating orchestrations of popular music geared to my abilities. This way I was learning and it was fun. I didn't appreciate him at the time but now realize that I was very lucky to have such a special mentor. Don’t misunderstand, I am not a virtuoso by any measure but can play well enough to fool most members of the audience.

Also living in the "rust belt" where ethnic groups were prevalent made the accordion acceptable. From your story it seems that you have lived in the south all along so that may have had some impact on the perception of the accordion.

One thing that I do know is that most of my friends who learned to play in those days have long ago given up and only some of us still own an accordion and play it now. I also put my accordion away for a decade or so and had to rea quaint myself with it. I plan to retire in the next few months and hope to devote more time to this wonderful instrument.

Welcome Joe,

Your story was very well written and a joy to read. Many of us can identify with your travails. I was lucky enough to have avoided the Palmer-Hughes accordion method lessons although plenty of my friends were enrolled in musical odyssey. I agree that most of the material in these books was not exactly inspiring but in hindsight these songs were chosen because the copyright made them cheap to purchase.

My music teacher would choose songs for me to learn that were age appropriate and would challenge me to learn. He even went as far as creating orchestrations of popular music geared to my abilities. This way I was learning and it was fun. I didn't appreciate him at the time but now realize that I was very lucky to have such a special mentor. Don’t misunderstand, I am not a virtuoso by any measure but can play well enough to fool most members of the audience.

Also living in the "rust belt" where ethnic groups were prevalent made the accordion acceptable. From your story it seems that you have lived in the south all along so that may have had some impact on the perception of the accordion.

One thing that I do know is that most of my friends who learned to play in those days have long ago given up and only some of us still own an accordion and play it now. I also put my accordion away for a decade or so and had to rea quaint myself with it. I plan to retire in the next few months and hope to devote more time to this wonderful instrument.

Hi !

Actually I grew up on Long Island, NY, and taught school in the DC area for 41 years. Now retired, trying to learn classical guitar-- and find it so much harder than accordion.
Love retirement, and believed I would have tons of time to devote to musical interests. All of a sudden, without work, so many other opportunities to explore open up. But still make time for accordion, and try to make time for guitar.

 

[Ffingers]

Do you really mean to say that you are not bored in retirement ;-)

I'm another of those who often wonders how he/she/it ever found sufficient time to actually go to work!

 

[Dingo40]

Ffingers,
"I'm another of those who often wonders how he/she/it ever found sufficient time to actually go to work!"
Same here !??

 

[stickista]

Wow… ‘Batter-Up’ stirs memories. ?
I recently came across (and have since lost again) tapes my dad made of me playing at age 8-ish. In my memory I am apparently much more advanced than I actually was. More impressive is my Mom’s playing.
Went on to guitar in teens thru 30s, then Chapman Stick and piano, and now in retirement, bandoneon and accordina, accompanied now by college theory and composition studies.
Been a good musical life. Regret dropping out of music in my 40s/50s, but you know… money, food, little things like that. But I’m a better musician now than I’ve ever been. Just not enough time left now. ?
And playing Coltrane on bandoneon overcomes a few preconceptions.

 

[Tom]

Ffingers,
"I'm another of those who often wonders how he/she/it ever found sufficient time to actually go to work!"
Same here !??

Honeydew list expansion.

 

[Ffingers]

Honeydew list expansion.

As an infamous Australian Senator was heard to say: "Please explain." (Dingo will get the reference )

 

[Tom]

Honeydew is a type of melon. A "honeydew list" refers to the list of, "Honey, do this... Honey, do that...."

 

[Valski]

Honeydew is a type of melon. A "honeydew list" refers to the list of, "Honey, do this... Honey, do that...."

I think that if you spelled the term "honey-do" the double meaning might be more evident. Yes honeydew is a mellon while honey-do would be a hononym. Jokes lose some of their appeal whenever they need to be explained but this helps to illustrate the differences between American and British English.

 

[KTD737]

I’ve just joined the forum and really like what I’ve seen.
Library Joe’s story strikes a real chord with me. My mother was a classical music piano teacher, and when I rebelled she eventually sent me to a “modern” (jazz) piano teacher who also played accordion. (This was Adelaide, 1967ish - his name was Frank Buller). Mum bought me a Hohner accordion (still plays well) and I learnt the basics. The accordion then stayed in its case for about 50 years, being taken out every 5 years or so, for a little play, before being put back and attention returning to the piano - although not as much attention as it should have got. Fast forward to about 6-7 years ago and my partner’s daughter came back for a visit from the US playing bluegrass fiddle, and I got the accordion out to play with her (not well, given no practice!). That convinced me to pay some attention to the accordion, including buying a few more over the time since, partly with the objective of restoring them. (Luckily my partner is very tolerant, and also claims to enjoy my playing). I’m pretty good at pulling them apart, the tasks after that have not really been perfected yet - but getting there gradually. And I prefer playing (jazz, folk, 70’s type music) to the restoring - so it’s a relatively slow process. Now being in retirement (sort of), and a lot of time in Covid lockdowns here in Melbourne, there’s plenty of time to play, and it makes me think I should have spent much more time doing so over the last 50 years or so. Maybe I could have been a muso, but enjoyed my work and it was better remuneration (so now I can afford to buy more accordions - storage is the problem, but reluctant to sell). Currently playing a Hohner Verdi iii probably almost as old as me. I reckon it’s good for another 20 years or so and I hope I’m able to keep playing it for that long. I’ve put a sting in the tail of my will that my son will inherit all my accordions (and other musical instruments), he’s resisted all my offers to take one of my spares to learn what a marvellous instrument it is.