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Long-term piano accordionist newly learning CBA - experiences?

Walker said:
Well that's a good point. I don't know, but I wonder if changing keyboard system is more beneficial than retaining the existing system and learning a new style of music or playing more technically challenging music. Whilst learning a new keyboard would be a fantastic challenge, it might lead to a lot of frustration if finding suitable learning materials is as difficult as others suggest.
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I agree with Walker. Changing to a complex button system is giving you as a mature man a steep hill to climb . Start working on new music on the PA, I think that would as good as learning what is almost basically a completely new instrument.
 
saundersbp said:
I don't agree. Changing to a logical and ergonomic button system is giving you as a mature woman a new garden of delights to explore!
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It's nice to see someone acknowledging what I have experienced on the CBA, that it is a more logical and ergonomic system. Of course I am not as advanced as most people on this forum. Still, even at my level (Book #2 of Palmer Hughes and Book #1 (Debutants) Chapter #3 of Manu Maugain), I am able to perceive that the location of notes on the CBA seems more natural. Certainly having the notes closer together is also part of the reason I feel this way. Is it a placebo effect? I could never prove that it isn't. Still, the bottom line is I feel a lot more capable on the CBA than on a piano keyboard, and the more I progress the more I feel that way.
 
I'll agree that finding instructional material on the CBA is difficult, especially in the States. The Galliano in English will get a learner through two octaves of note playing, including sharps and flats. After that, I believe Galliano moves too quickly for a new learner to absorb easily. But when able to read printed scores, learners can use ordinary piano accordion music, which is not terribly hard to find through Mel Bay, Alfred, and Hal Leonard. Although written for PA, the Palmer Hughes method books are generally arranged in order of difficulty. Sadly, the authors' fingering must often be ignored, and the selections are frequently dated. Despite some controversy, the Palmer Hughes series probably was many forum members' first introduction to accordion, especially for those of us born in the 1950s and 60s.

I probably won't be playing "Waiting for the Robert E Lee" or "Just a Song at Twilight" to demonstrate my new skill to others. But PH offers a progressive repertoire that was chosen for its teaching value (as well as being in public domain).

Switching to CBA, for this senior is a challenge that can be met. And there's nothing wrong with learning and playing both systems.
 
Rediscovered the handwritten notes I’d written late last year while pondering what chromatic button accordions would be best for me. In the end it was upper end of that price range, to get an excellent built from scratch French one with great reeds. I went with a slightly tamer sound than the musette I’d pondered, for me who would be doing tons of repetitive basic exercises, and hitting wrong notes a lot! I was rather torn between musette and swing tunings, but swing was the right choice. And the default Rouge Passion Dauphin 60 bass was my choice of box, which is a *gorgeous* colour. On downside I had to wait 6 months for it to be made from scratch, and then slowly get to me in a post Brexit customs situation. But I absolutely adore it, and it is unexpectedly helping me recover more general right hand control I’d lost due to my progressive neurological disease. Absolutely worth every penny.

IMG_5113.jpeg
 
Really great progress on the new French chromatic button accordion today, with my first go playing some of my own arrangements of favourite tunes with the sheet music sitting in front of me. Until now I’ve been focusing on my Maugain tuition books, trying to learn the unfamiliar to me grid of dozens of buttons instead of the piano type keyboard I’m familiar with. I'm currently up to chapter 6 of the first Maugain tuition book. So today’s new challenge after my usual core exercises and practice was to read the sheet music for some of “my” tunes, find the notes on the button grid and play them right, in sequence. Went so well! I played Sunrise Sunset right through, with up to three note harmonies on the unfamiliar keyboard. To be fair I’d tried it by ear before, but I was so much more assured with the sheet music, despite the still new to me button grid keyboard. Also played some Allo Allo, Pirates of the Caribbean theme, and the opening of my Poirot theme arrangement in progress. All reading the sheet music then finding the right note(s) on the button grid. And at a decent speed. With left hand chords too (easy bit!). So chuffed. Adore my wee French Maugein CBA box, and am confident now it’s helping me more generally neurologically. Even if the piano accordion is still my main instrument.
 
Checking in nearly 2 months on, and my practice continues to be intermittent due to my neurological illness, but I'm continuing to consolidate the new skills I'm learning on the wee CBA. Tonight I tried it for the first time in a couple of weeks, not helped by catching Covid for the first time just over a week ago. I expected I'd have lost some technique and stumble over lots of things, but it's still there. And tonight I was trying some new to me tunes from sheet music. Here is a recording of me trying Sunrise Sunset tonight, which I'm currently working on alongside my first Maugain tuition book. Full of fluffs, but honestly given everything I'm really pleased. I've only been learning CBA since June (am a long time - since 1970s - piano accordionist), and with my neurological illness I can't play as frequently as I'd like. But I'm finding the compact CBA a natural fit for my hands, my fingers feel at ease on the button grid, and I'm getting more confident as time goes on, building up skills in a progressive way. And it still seems to be helping me recover lost neurological right hand control. I contacted Maugein about that, and they replied, saying they have other customers who've had strokes and who have been told by their medics that they must keep practicing CBA because it helps.
 
Just as a quick followup, when I'm playing my own familiar tunes - but not from tuition books - I'm not really thinking too hard about what fingers to use when. But things seem to work out ok. I like how the CBA is flexible in that. And I'm hoping that I'm picking up good hand forms from the repeated tuition exercises that do have fingering. But basically just having fun.

I'm using the tuition books by Manu Maugain - the brightly coloured ones in French, illustrated with cute animal drawings throughout! Animals often playing the accordion, or e.g. hiking up a mountain with an accordion on their back. He advocates using the thumb more than many French CBA players. But still not used all the time. But I'm finding the technique working for me. I was watching a video of him playing last night, and he uses the thumb to play, but just occasionally, as per his books.

 
The most important thing for the switch to CBA is perseverance! It took my wife and I over 5 years to be really comfortable on CBA. And even now, after about 14 years not everything is like it was before. I still am not finding chords as easily as I used to. (My wife however masters chords completely, but isn't as good in fast long runs.)
 
OuijaBoard said:
Only on internet forums are you never supposed to eye the keyboard. In the world of professionals and virtuosos, plenty don't . . . and plenty do.
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There are CBA instruments that have no tactile markings, so all the buttons feel exactly the same. Since on these accordions you cannot feel your way around you have to look (of have 100% perfect muscle memory). When you have textured keys (most often C and F) you can feel your way around just like PA players can feel where the wider gaps between the black keys are.
 
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