New to the forum, introducing myself

[niels]

hello all. My name is Niels and I live in the Netherlands. I would classify myself as someone who knows and loves the instrument but is not very good at it. Many years ago I took accordion lessons but it never caught on for lack of time and application… Recently I joined the ranks of old age pensioners. Also recently, I joined a 3 man acoustic band where my accordion actually can contribute. My enthousiasm for the accordion is on the rise

I have an Elettra accordion, apparently made early sixties in Castelfidardo. It has 80 bass and it is C griff system. Love this one as it handles so easily - it is light, small, and sounds decent imo.

Recently I got the opportunity to get to a good secondhand Victoria Virtuoso, 120 bass, also C griff. This is now the accordion I pick up daily. It has built in Harmonik microphones.

Thanks for having me on the forum and I look forward to meeting you here.

 

[JudyKimp]

Welcome to the forum - you will find the members very informative and friendly. Sounds like you have a couple of really nice instruments. Sounds like you have motivation to progress, and the time and opportunity to do so. Have no idea what level you are on, but the Palmer-Hughes graded progressive accordion course is very good, and there is a guy on YouTube who does videos of all the songs in I think almost all of the books.

 

[niels]

hi JudyKimp, thank you for the welcome. A very informative forum indeed.
The way I go about learning is by ear. I try and find fitting things to play in the band, and get those right. And listen to Youtube accordion clips and try and copy them. For instance this afternoon I found on this forum a lovely tune named 'Bonny ship the Diamond'. This is one I want to learn. Not very good at sight reading, never have been so learning goes by ear for me.

 

[JudyKimp]

I would encourage you to learn how to read music, and some basic music theory. I think it would enhance your learning by ear, as well.

 

[niels]

I would encourage you to learn how to read music, and some basic music theory. I think it would enhance your learning by ear, as well.

thanks for the encouragement JudyKimp, maybe I should dig in (again... *sigh*). I know being able to read music opens a way to the new and unexpected. Did my best before, basic theory is not a problem, but somehow I can't get to grips with reading the notes

 

[dunlustin]

Re: ' (again... *sigh*)'
Learning to 'read' has been transformed since (recent) learning materials include recordings.
This means you are not so much reading as hearing and then seeing what it looks like when written down.
You should end with the memory of which 'dot' matches which note/button. Also, hearing how things sound solves the problem of working out the rhythm/phrasing from the written version.
I suggest you look for material that is designed for the C system - it does make a difference.
Whatever you choose, enjoy the new venture!

 

[niels]

You should end with the memory of which 'dot' matches which note/button. Also, hearing how things sound solves the problem of working out the rhythm/phrasing from the written version.

thanks dunlustin. Taking that apart is helpful. I tend to want to know how the rhythm/frasing goes. Hearing the tune is going to speed up the learning for sure.

 

[Tom]

Welcome Niels! Interesting to hear about your 3 man acoustic band. What sort of instrumentation and songs do you play?

 

[niels]

thank you for the welcome Tom!
About the band, we have a lead singer, she also plays moutharp and does percussion. All three of us sing, this is what I like most about our band. Harmonies can be quite beautiful. My colleague bandmember plays guitars in various forms, cahon and other percussion, and recently some digital wizardry with a looper pedal. I play accordion and guitar.
Our repertoire consists mainly of songs by american/canadian artists, some well known like Neil Young, Dylan, and some lesser known like Decemberists, Eels, Gillian Welch. But also Beatles, dutch language songs.

 

[Tom]

thank you for the welcome Tom!
About the band, we have a lead singer, she also plays moutharp and does percussion. All three of us sing, this is what I like most about our band. Harmonies can be quite beautiful. My colleague bandmember plays guitars in various forms, cahon and other percussion, and recently some digital wizardry with a looper pedal. I play accordion and guitar.
Our repertoire consists mainly of songs by american/canadian artists, some well known like Neil Young, Dylan, and some lesser known like Decemberists, Eels, Gillian Welch. But also Beatles, dutch language songs.

Thanks, Sounds like good time!

 

[Valski]

Thanks, Sounds like good time!

Hello Neil's,
Welcome to the forum. It's great that you're interested in playing the accordion and not trying to sell one and asking for help with setting a price which unfortunately seems all too common for new "members" on this forum. I would think that most people here are amateur to a greater or lesser degree and therefore you should fit in fine.

Judykimp and Dunlustin are absolutely correct about reading sheet music since it's somewhat like having the ability to bring your text books into a test session. Once you've learned more songs you may need to have some way of remembering one that you haven't played in a while and the best solution for that is to be able to read music.

I've been playing for close to 60 years and have a big repertoire so sheet music is indispensable. When learning a new song Dunlustin's method of listening to a song first is helpful and I would highly recommend doing so, but the actual notation is very important.

 

[niels]

Valski thank you for the reply. You people have convinced me. I have unearthed the Lars Holm book that i abandoned earlier and am serious about learning notation etc . Thanks again

 

[Rodney]

hello all. My name is Niels and I live in the Netherlands. I would classify myself as someone who knows and loves the instrument but is not very good at it. Many years ago I took accordion lessons but it never caught on for lack of time and application… Recently I joined the ranks of old age pensioners. Also recently, I joined a 3 man acoustic band where my accordion actually can contribute. My enthousiasm for the accordion is on the rise

I have an Elettra accordion, apparently made early sixties in Castelfidardo. It has 80 bass and it is C griff system. Love this one as it handles so easily - it is light, small, and sounds decent imo.

Recently I got the opportunity to get to a good secondhand Victoria Virtuoso, 120 bass, also C griff. This is now the accordion I pick up daily. It has built in Harmonik microphones.

Thanks for having me on the forum and I look forward to meeting you here.

Welcome to the forum Niels, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It’s a great place to pick up useful hints.