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Left-hand accordion

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Ric46

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I saw, for the first time a left-hand accordion in this video. Sorry, it's on FB. https://fb.watch/i6gwGffM52/
I am confused. I can't understand if it's a left-hand accordion or a "normal" accordion played "upsidedown".
 
Last edited:
It's upside down; he plays high-pitched notes on the upper part of the keyboard.
 
Quick story: I'm left handed and when I was about to start taking accordion lessons, my Dad ( my teacher) asked me if I wanted to learn left handed. I was 6 yrs old; what did I know. I said, let's do it the proper way. But I always thought there were left handed accordions out there, but had never seen one. My wife and I have taken numerous trips to Italy and on one trip in 2010, I cam across a fellow busking in Firenze with the treble on the left side. I was ecstatic; I finally found a left handed accordion; until I got closer and realized he was playing a regular PA upside down. Oh well.... I suppose if you've never played the instrument and started to learn upside down, it wouldn't be upside down to you, nor would it be odd. I, on the other hand, have always played with the treble on the right and pretty much everyone in this forum.
 
There is a user here on our forum that plays the button accordion "up side down", at first I thought they were recording with the front camera of a cell phone, those often invert the image (we see those often enough... all lettering in the video is inverted ), but no, the lettering is upside down, and it is interesting to watch for sure.
 
As an accordion has two keyboards, I cannot understand why anyone would want to have a left handed accordion - though I have seen one.

I am actually left handed. Maybe the bass is easier... I don't know. However, I would positively encourage left handed accordionists to try free bass - it can be a most liberating and exhilerating musical experience. It is not easy and means leaving the comfort zone, but for me anyway, the satisfaction is on a different level.
 
Walker said:
As an accordion has two keyboards, I cannot understand why anyone would want to have a left handed accordion - though I have seen one.

I am actually left handed. Maybe the bass is easier... I don't know. However, I would positively encourage left handed accordionists to try free bass - it can be a most liberating and exhilerating musical experience. It is not easy and means leaving the comfort zone, but for me anyway, the satisfaction is on a different level.
Click to expand...
We live in a world where 90% of people are right handed but use QWERTY keyboards that heavily favours the left hand and most people don't seem to take issue with that!
 
EMan said:
Quick story: I'm left handed and when I was about to start taking accordion lessons, my Dad ( my teacher) asked me if I wanted to learn left handed. I was 6 yrs old; what did I know. I said, let's do it the proper way. But I always thought there were left handed accordions out there, but had never seen one. My wife and I have taken numerous trips to Italy and on one trip in 2010, I cam across a fellow busking in Firenze with the treble on the left side. I was ecstatic; I finally found a left handed accordion; until I got closer and realized he was playing a regular PA upside down. Oh well.... I suppose if you've never played the instrument and started to learn upside down, it wouldn't be upside down to you, nor would it be odd. I, on the other hand, have always played with the treble on the right and pretty much everyone in this forum.
Click to expand...
Afaik only one true left handed accordion was ever made, a custom build by Hohner for Rudolf Würthner. Würthner was missing some fingers on his right hand, but by using his left hand for the treble side he could still play very well. It may be hard to see in pictures that it really is a left-handed accordion (because he played CBA with buttons all the same color, so you have to pay attention to the orientation of the Hohner label which is not upside down and not mirrored).
 
His accordion is in the German "Harmonikamuseum)

1674058094068.png

I believe there was more than 1 left handed accordion made for him by Hohner? A few pics seem to suggest this. :)
 
One of the standard leg-pulls played on young apprentices by old hands was to send the tyro to the tool store for a left handed hammer or screwdriver.🙂
 
Left-handed accordions are one of those things that seemed much more interesting before there were a million incompetent photographers posting uncorrected mirror-image selfies online. Now you can see thousands upon thousands of left-handed accordion clips on youtube, made by Renhoh, Airotciv, Retsiemtlew, and many other fine firms. I can't bear to watch them, and if they are instructional videos, I tend to assume that if they can't read camera instructions they probably shouldn't be teaching either.

Come to think of it, "Air-octiv" actually WOULD be a great name for an accordion company.
 
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