Just inherited an accordion. No idea how to play it

[Dragz]

Hi I'm Kathrine, 23 years old. I've never played an instrument before, but I just got my grandads old accordion an Baile, I think clanman 120 bass? But I'm not sure, I did add some pictures in hopes that someone in here would have an better idea.

I need some help identifying all the buttons, just some charts to start with would be great, and anything else would also help alot

 

[JeffJetton]

The left hand bass buttons are standard Stradella: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradella_bass_system

The switch thingies turn different reed sets on and off. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accordion_reed_ranks_and_switches

If you have an accordion teacher near you, that would be the best way to at least get started.

 

[Chickers]

Hello Katherine:
I cannot offer much information regarding your Baile accordion, (the name sounds French) but it appears to be a nice instrument with good capabilities. The switches \ shifters gives player the ability to select the reeds---offering the tone desired-----.
There are plenty of used beginner accordion "lesson" books available through E-Bay and various book stores. Good lesson book names
to look for would be Sedlon. Palmer-Hughes for starters. YouTube also offers some good beginner tutorials.
I hope this helps.
I wish you the best in your new venture.

 

[dunlustin]

Searching will give you information:

Scrap of History:

Bringing Back Baile

Nearly 50 years ago, Shen Jian got a job making Baile-brand accordions at the Shanghai Accordion Factory. The factory is long gone — closed during a round of state-owned enterprise consolidation in the early 2000s — and demand for accordions has shrunk, but Shen remains, running a factory on the...

www.sixthtone.com

Here:

https://scotlandaccordions.co.uk/
for an example of your Clansman.

I have never played a Baile but I believe they were reasonable 'workhorse' type instruments.
I hope you decide to learn to play.
Happy Hunting!

 

[Dragz]

The left hand bass buttons are standard Stradella: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradella_bass_system

The switch thingies turn different reed sets on and off. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accordion_reed_ranks_and_switches

If you have an accordion teacher near you, that would be the best way to at least get started.

Thank you so much!
What about the 2 big buttons over the bass buttons? And I found one small button on the left side of the bass buttons I also have no idea what is used for.

I haven't researched if there are Any teachers yet, but I will do so

 

[Dragz]

Searching will give you information:

Scrap of History:

Bringing Back Baile

Nearly 50 years ago, Shen Jian got a job making Baile-brand accordions at the Shanghai Accordion Factory. The factory is long gone — closed during a round of state-owned enterprise consolidation in the early 2000s — and demand for accordions has shrunk, but Shen remains, running a factory on the...

www.sixthtone.com

Here:

https://scotlandaccordions.co.uk/
for an example of your Clansman.

I have never played a Baile but I believe they were reasonable 'workhorse' type instruments.
I hope you decide to learn to play.
Happy Hunting!

Thank you so much.
I did try to search abit about Baile and ended up on this site. I were kind of scare to find out that the quality went down around the late 80s but it seems like the one I got is pretty good.

I'm totally gonna learn to play it feels so good just to stand with it and it's a childhood dream of mine to learn to play

 

[Ben-jammin]

The two big buttons on the bass side should be registers to change which sets of reeds are used on the bass side. The notes should all be the same but will have different sound qualities depending which one is pressed. Just pick the one that sounds best to you.

The small button on the side is an air release to open or close the bellows without making much of a noise.

 

[John Doe]

Heck Ms K- I have a house full of the things, make noise regularly, and have no idea how to play them.

All good suggestions above. Muddle about, play as pleases you (mastering the basics will surely help you in doing that) and may good fortune smile upon your endeavours.

Henry

 

[dunlustin]

This may sound silly, but before too much dabbling, find a video showing how to climb into your machine, and how to sit/adjust straps and so on

 

[Tom]

There are people on here that will show you how to get started on zoom for free…. Just ask!

 

[Dingo40]

I just got my grandads old accordion an Baile, I think clanman 120 bass

As I remember it, the Baile was an
early Chinese make, already quite popular hereabouts (Australia) by the early 1970s.
I remember examining one inside and out and marvelling at the solid construction and detailed attention to finish even where nobody would normally see it: seemingly superior to many Italian products of that time. (Many used examples are still bobbing about in the market place.)
Even the storage cases were solidly made ( I have a 50+year old Baile case for my 70+year old Busilacchio).
Purely on first acquaintance, the Baile appeared at least equal to Italian makes in the same price range at that time, so I was puzzled by the negative vibes emitted by some of my accordion technician acquaintances .
Some of my friends actually owned Bailes at the time (1970s) and I never heard any specific complaints from them.

 

[Dragz]

As I remember it, the Baile was an
early Chinese make, already quite popular hereabouts (Australia) by the early 1970s.
I remember examining one inside and out and marvelling at the solid construction and detailed attention to finish even where nobody would normally see it: seemingly superior to many Italian products of that time. (Many used examples are still bobbing about in the market place.)
Even the storage cases were solidly made ( I have a 50+year old Baile case for my 70+year old Busilacchio).
Purely on first acquaintance, the Baile appeared at least equal to Italian makes in the same price range at that time, so I was puzzled by the negative vibes emitted by some of my accordion technician acquaintances .
Some of my friends actually owned Bailes at the time (1970s) and I never heard any specific complaints from them.

Thank you for the information.
I'm not sure what year mine is from. I only know that my grandad bought it used in the early 90s and that my mother in law made a guess that it might be from the 70s. I'm still trying to find one that looks close to mine and find it's Age

 

[tcabot]

I'd second what dunlustin said.
If you were going to get one lesson, make it about proper posture, hand position and instrument position/straps adjustment. Also, it's very easy to injure your right wrist/elbow in a matter of months if your hand position is incorrect, or if the accordion is not held properly.
Also bellows action - the bigger & heavier the box, the more important the correct bellows technique.

If your neighbours ever complain about the noises you make while learning the accordion, tell them that you're only trying it out and you're planning to get a banjo next. They will never complain again.

 

[John M]

Hi I'm Kathrine, 23 years old. I've never played an instrument before, , ,

I just sent you a "Direct Message". Take a look at it and let me know what you want to do.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

Baile was once a well-known brand in China. I've never known it was also popular overseas.
Your post brought me back to the old days when I first touched a smaller Baile.

 

[Dragz]

Thank you all for the help and kindness.
I do have two more question.

The first one is:
Would it be a good idea to learn some piano before jumping into learning the accordion or can I just straight up start with the accordion?

The second one is:
The Keys on the piano side. I'm not sure why it's so orange. When my grandad still were playing it, they only had abit of yellow stains. My family and I thought it might just be from smoking around it. But non of us have seen it so orange as it is now. Any idea why, and how to get it off? I haven't tried to clean it off yet since I'm scare it might be ivory and will end up damage it

 

[tcabot]

Would it be a good idea to learn some piano before jumping into learning the accordion

1: Only if you want to learn the piano before you learn to play the accordion.

2: Just enjoy the patina.

 

[Rosie C]

The first one is:
Would it be a good idea to learn some piano before jumping into learning the accordion or can I just straight up start with the accordion?

I could play the piano to a modest standard before playing accordion. It helped a bit - I was able to pick up an accordion and rattle off a tune at the seller's house (right-hand only). But it also hindered - leading me into bad habits and lulling me into thinking accordion was easier to learn than it is. So, no I would jump straight on to accordion.