davidplaysaccordion
Active member
First post so thought I'd just say hi and say a bit about myself.
Brit by birth, American by choice. Retirement age but not retired. I am a software guy and work from home so it's not like work is a hardship, plus my accordions are right behind me in my 'office' so plenty of opportunity to play a song or two when I need a break (which is often LOL).
My mother played accordion back when I was a kid. She later switched to the organ when they became more popular in the clubs where she played. I have played some sort of keyboard all my life with varying degrees of success. I even took piano lessons again when I was in my late 50's but I just got to the point where it wasn't as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. But I had fun along the way, played in a couple of bands, did some solo stuff but mostly I just enjoy busking down town or playing at Farmer's Markets.
Given my history, going back to the accordion was the only choice really. Thankfully my mother showed me the basics of the bass side back then and even though it's been 50 years, it is surprising how much of it I remembered when I picked up the accordion again.
I bought my first (because you cannot have only one) accordion about 5 years ago, A Titano Stroller from someone fairly local who also plays (so not just a take your chances eBay purchase!) and had a lot of fun with it. I still have it but will probably sell it soon for reasons that shall become clear momentarily .
Once I was a 'up to speed' on the Titano I hankered for something else, in particular with musette tuning and finally bought a nice Borsini which is my main instrument now.
I also bought a ladies size Settimio Soprani 80 bass box a couple of years ago (it was cheap and needed a bit of work). I got it just to see if I could play something that small because I am a big guy. It's tight on the hands with the fingering but surprisingly fun to play, although it take a lot more pumping of the bellows than the other two boxes.
Which brings me to now.
After a LOT of "should I, shouldn't I", back and forth for probably over a year I am finally getting a Roland FR-4x which explains why I may soon sell the Titano. In my keyboard/piano life I've accumulated plenty of electronic gear and a PA so I am well set up to have some fun with the 4x. I also dabble with electronics when in the mood, so I can build/program any custom pedals I might need/want to use with it although I probably have enough 'gear' for now at least.
Musically I am all over the place. Oldies, pop, the usual French and Italian stuff, Mexican folk, English folk, Irish, Scottish, even classical as best as you can on a Stradella bass. Just got into Czardas which is fun. I can 'JUST ABOUT' battle my way through Vivaldi's Winter although I've not touched it for a while so I can probably not play it at all now. One of the problems of getting old(er) is that I forget stuff pretty quickly unless I play it a lot. So, I play a LOT. The wife works so when she's out of the house it's just me and the dog. Or just me once I pick the accordion up LOL!
Where I live in the US, there's actually a pretty decent number of accordion players in the area. We have a meetup group where we try to get together about once a month at someone's house and play although it's been virtual lately because of 'that' virus but hopfully, we will all be able to get out and play sometime soon. I've even taken the box downtown a couple of times, sat on a bench and played, just to scratch the itch as it were.
Any way, that's me. Just wanted to introduce myself and hope to be here a lot more in the future.
Brit by birth, American by choice. Retirement age but not retired. I am a software guy and work from home so it's not like work is a hardship, plus my accordions are right behind me in my 'office' so plenty of opportunity to play a song or two when I need a break (which is often LOL).
My mother played accordion back when I was a kid. She later switched to the organ when they became more popular in the clubs where she played. I have played some sort of keyboard all my life with varying degrees of success. I even took piano lessons again when I was in my late 50's but I just got to the point where it wasn't as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. But I had fun along the way, played in a couple of bands, did some solo stuff but mostly I just enjoy busking down town or playing at Farmer's Markets.
Given my history, going back to the accordion was the only choice really. Thankfully my mother showed me the basics of the bass side back then and even though it's been 50 years, it is surprising how much of it I remembered when I picked up the accordion again.
I bought my first (because you cannot have only one) accordion about 5 years ago, A Titano Stroller from someone fairly local who also plays (so not just a take your chances eBay purchase!) and had a lot of fun with it. I still have it but will probably sell it soon for reasons that shall become clear momentarily .
Once I was a 'up to speed' on the Titano I hankered for something else, in particular with musette tuning and finally bought a nice Borsini which is my main instrument now.
I also bought a ladies size Settimio Soprani 80 bass box a couple of years ago (it was cheap and needed a bit of work). I got it just to see if I could play something that small because I am a big guy. It's tight on the hands with the fingering but surprisingly fun to play, although it take a lot more pumping of the bellows than the other two boxes.
Which brings me to now.
After a LOT of "should I, shouldn't I", back and forth for probably over a year I am finally getting a Roland FR-4x which explains why I may soon sell the Titano. In my keyboard/piano life I've accumulated plenty of electronic gear and a PA so I am well set up to have some fun with the 4x. I also dabble with electronics when in the mood, so I can build/program any custom pedals I might need/want to use with it although I probably have enough 'gear' for now at least.
Musically I am all over the place. Oldies, pop, the usual French and Italian stuff, Mexican folk, English folk, Irish, Scottish, even classical as best as you can on a Stradella bass. Just got into Czardas which is fun. I can 'JUST ABOUT' battle my way through Vivaldi's Winter although I've not touched it for a while so I can probably not play it at all now. One of the problems of getting old(er) is that I forget stuff pretty quickly unless I play it a lot. So, I play a LOT. The wife works so when she's out of the house it's just me and the dog. Or just me once I pick the accordion up LOL!
Where I live in the US, there's actually a pretty decent number of accordion players in the area. We have a meetup group where we try to get together about once a month at someone's house and play although it's been virtual lately because of 'that' virus but hopfully, we will all be able to get out and play sometime soon. I've even taken the box downtown a couple of times, sat on a bench and played, just to scratch the itch as it were.
Any way, that's me. Just wanted to introduce myself and hope to be here a lot more in the future.
