New Wisconsin Accordionist (and Technique Question)

[LoganL]

Hey everyone,

I'm a musician in Wisconsin that has been interested in the accordion for some time. I got my hands on a Hohner Bravo III 120 and I'm excited to start learning!

I am very comfortable with theory and sheet music, I suppose my biggest barrier will just be accordion specific techniques. Operating the bellows with my left hand can get a little tricky. When I pull the bellows all the way out, I'm supposed to lift my left hand and let gravity help push them in again (rather than just pushing), correct? My struggle with this is my hand is very skinny and it slides up the side rather than staying put when I try to lift. The strap is as tight as I can get it. Any advice for me?

Today is my first day practicing and I'm working my way through the first Palmer Hughes book. So far I can play the first two simple tunes.

My long term goal is to be able to play jazz on the accordion, and be very proficient in reading sheet music with it. But I enjoy all forms of music on this Instrument!

 

[JeffJetton]

I suppose some people do do the lift the bellows closed technique, but Ive always felt that to be a bit too showy, and its never really worked for me besides.

I think of the bellows as having an imaginary hinge on the bottom (in fact, you can temporarily leave the bottom strap snapped to get a feel for what Im talking about). I open the top of the bellows and let it sort of fall open (aided by my left hand) in a V shape. I close it by imagining that Im pushing the V back shut.

In practice, I dont really get a perfect hinge due to the mechanics of the bellows, but the point is that I dont want to wind up looking like this guy, pulling the thing straight out and snaking it back. :lol:

Checking out some YouTube videos of good players will help. heres Frank Marocco. In both cases, notice the V on the open, and how they dont really lift the LH side up above the RH side when closing... its more of a push than a lift. You shouldnt need the hand strap to be tight to pull it off (in fact, you should barely need the hand strap at all when closing.)

 

[george garside]

there is absolutely no need to take the bellows out anywhere near fully extended on a piano accordion and so doing greatly limits bellows control and is bad for the arm and shoulder!

Where possible change bellows direction to fit in with phrases but this is far from vital as some play eg 4 bars out and 4 in and so on. AS to the lifting to bring bellwos back it is just a bit of flamboyant showing off serves no useful purpose.

I agree totally with Jeff about playing most of the time with the bellwos in a 'fan' shape i.e with bottom closed or near closed.

Others may disagree!

george

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Logan,

Welcome to the forum.

I hope you soon master the technique of operating the bellows .... practice will bring its rewards.

 

[hais1273]

Four bars out, four bars in, as a way to start is good advice. I let a little air into the bellows before I play, it seems to make starting a piece softly or quietly easier. Avoid changing bellows direction in the middle of a bar or on a longer tied note, a friend of mine does this and for reasons I can't quite put my finger it's a bit annoying!

 

[TomBR]

Interesting and useful bellows demo from Cathie Travers here, (and I really like the improv she plays for demonstration.)

Tom

 

[JeffJetton]

Avoid changing bellows direction in the middle of a bar

Oh, I dont know about that. I think its important to try to avoid changing bellows direction in the middle of a musical phrase, but those phrases dont always start or end right on bar lines. In those cases, the best place (to me, anyway) to change bellows is often not on the bar line.

As an example off the top of my head, take Good Morning to You. You could switch bellows right on the bar lines and it wouldnt necessarily sound terrible. But if you did it one beat earlier, between beats 2 and 3 (i.e., between you! and Good each time) youd be able to play an entire lyrical sentence as one single bellows movement and avoid chopping up the musical phrase.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

More tips for bellows (in addition to what was already written:

1. Don't start a tune or exercise with the bellows completely closed. Instead, using that "hinge" analogy,
have the bottom closed or nearly closed and the top about a hand's width open. That will keep you from
running out of bellows travel if you're closing on a short phrase. For longer phrases, you might have to
anticipate by opening more in the preceding phrase, but that will happen after you've been playing a
while.

2. I'm sure you know a pickup bar when you see one. Sometimes in the middle of a tune, something like
a pickup bar exists in an ordinary bar, and it begins a new phrase. Try to change bellows direction just
before that, even if it's in the middle of a bar. That way, the phrase won't be broken.

Alan

 

[Soulsaver]

Just to tidy this bit up - because I can't believe that one poster meant exactly what he said, his nomenclature may differ from mine:
Rule 1 - Do not change direction while holding down a key - whether a tie or just a single note - is like taking a breath half way though a word in a song.
Rule 2 - Do not change direction during a phrase - is like taking a breath in the wrong place in a sentence...

...which is why it can make you(one) feel uncomfortable... even if the listener is not a musician.

If those phrases start or end in the middle of bars, and they usually do, you change if necessary anyway.
As others said, it often pays to have some air in the bellows at the start for safety.

Edit: Can't spell 'or'...
PS bellows shake doesn't count...

 

[LoganL]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies! I'm having a really good time working on the simple Palmer Hughes tunes. It's going to take my hands some time to work up the independence for playing this instrument well, but I know I'll get there in time.

As I work through the tunes of the Palmer Hughes method I think I might share them on this forum to document my progress.

 

[hais1273]

Well, all this proves is there is more than one to skin a cat... If you asked 5 carpenters how to build a cupboard, you'd get 5 different answers, not necassarily wrong not necassarily right, just different!

 

[Keymn]

Do what technique is comfortable. Important is when you do a bellow direction change, make it smooth, not jerky. I even see some
youtube experts have poor bellow transition. My mom always told me (from Wisconsin), do not rush Polkas. Especially, in your area polka dancers are out there every dance...do not wear them out! :tup: