piano to accordion

[andrewjohnsson40]

Hi!
Anyone who went from piano to accordion?
What was the most difficult new thing to learn?
And how is playing the piano keyboard different from playing the accordion keyboard according to your experiences?
I find the touch and weight being a lot different. Then the way in which you get the sound is different. It comes from your left side wrist/arm operating the bellows.
And then the notes can be held longer like if you play the organ/synth.

What are your experiences?

 

[debra]

Hi!
Anyone who went from piano to accordion?
What was the most difficult new thing to learn?
And how is playing the piano keyboard different from playing the accordion keyboard according to your experiences?
I find the touch and weight being a lot different. Then the way in which you get the sound is different. It comes from your left side wrist/arm operating the bellows.
And then the notes can be held longer like if you play the organ/synth.

What are your experiences?

Yes, I went from piano to accordion.
Bass runs on the base notes in Stradella were the hardest to learn.
I explained the differences in another thread: the piano keyboard has wider keys than a PA (assuming you mean the transition from piano to PA), on the piano you have to control volume by key pressure and on the accordion you then end up banging the keys when it needs to be loud and not getting any sound by not pressing enough when it has to be very soft. The other main difference is the angle of the left wrist: your accordion playing will start influencing the position of your left wrist on the piano.
Of course the bellows control in the end is the most radically different thing to learn, but because this is so completely unrelated to anything you do on the piano it is a completely different skill to learn and it takes years to get that under control.

 

[Anyanka]

The main advantage in going from piano to piano accordion is that the familiar appearance of the keyboard gives one the confidence of 'I know how to play that'. In reality, the vertical layout and lack of touch sensitivity cancels out those advantages, in my opinion... it is so tempting to hit the keys harder when one wants to play louder!

However, my piano teacher said that the accordion improved my playing in one particular way: I did not look at my hands so much and became more confident in playing 'blind'.

 

[Glenn]

I know some here think playing piano will ruin your chances of ever playing the accordion well but my experience for those with an objective that isn't too elevated is that if you are a competent piano player then you will have a flying start with the PA.
I came from 40 years of piano. Of course you have the touch and keyboard angle and key spacing but leaving that out of the equation in the honeymoon period of a new instrument, it leaves you more brain power to tackle the left hand and bellows whilst still getting a half-decent tune out of it. This aspect is important if you want the motivation to stay high and thus practise more.
If you a very competent on the piano it can help for many years. My accordion teacher is still surprised how she can put a piece of unfamiliar music in front of me and I rattle it off with a messy bass and shaky bellows action first time around. I only manage it because I'm thinking 80% left hand.
I think it best not to over analyse moving between instruments. It is only really an issue if you are at the top of the game when every last fraction of an improvement is of importance. Then I would be careful on how you practise the piano and PA. Otherwise just have fun.

 

[Rhelsing]

I 100% agree with Glenn. 30 years piano gave me huge jump on the accordion for exactly the reasons he stated.

 

[andrewjohnsson40]

Hi!
Anyone who went from piano to accordion?
What was the most difficult new thing to learn?
And how is playing the piano keyboard different from playing the accordion keyboard according to your experiences?
I find the touch and weight being a lot different. Then the way in which you get the sound is different. It comes from your left side wrist/arm operating the bellows.
And then the notes can be held longer like if you play the organ/synth.

What are your experiences?

Yes, I went from piano to accordion.
Bass runs on the base notes in Stradella were the hardest to learn.
I explained the differences in another thread: the piano keyboard has wider keys than a PA (assuming you mean the transition from piano to PA), on the piano you have to control volume by key pressure and on the accordion you then end up banging the keys when it needs to be loud and not getting any sound by not pressing enough when it has to be very soft. The other main difference is the angle of the left wrist: your accordion playing will start influencing the position of your left wrist on the piano.
Of course the bellows control in the end is the most radically different thing to learn, but because this is so completely unrelated to anything you do on the piano it is a completely different skill to learn and it takes years to get that under control.

Your left wrist will change a bit when playing the piano after some time with the accordion? Exactly what do you mean?

 

[andrewjohnsson40]

All of the wrist motion, arm motion and so on will be transfered to the accordion?
I myself feel like it's not exactly the same as the accordion keyboard is vertical. Often on piano you use your weight more naturally. I mean, we have a law of physics which tells us that everything falls to the ground unless it's held up by something. I had a teacher talking about Newton's apple and how our fingers really only need the natural weight. But this doesn't apply to the accordion as its keyboard is vertical, right?

 

[Glenn]

Interesting Henrik, but that's what I mean by over analysing the issue. If you want to go back to basics and start with Newton's laws of mechanics then good luck. In that case I suggest you get your physics degree followed my musicology before you actually pick up the instrument. :lol:
On the other hand, strapping it to your back and just trying things out with your knowledge of piano will be more productive in the short term.

 

[JerryPH]

All of the wrist motion, arm motion and so on will be transfered to the accordion?
I myself feel like its not exactly the same as the accordion keyboard is vertical. Often on piano you use your weight more naturally. I mean, we have a law of physics which tells us that everything falls to the ground unless its held up by something. I had a teacher talking about Newtons apple and how our fingers really only need the natural weight. But this doesnt apply to the accordion as its keyboard is vertical, right?

I would say not... all the wrist and arm motions and of course gravity are totally different. Also, all the control methods are different . On piano, volume, is in the right wrist and arms, sustain is the right foot pedal and on the accordion volume is in the left hand bellows control and sustain is inthe rght fingers (as already mentioned).

I cannot tell you how many really good piano players I have seen that totally pound the crap out of an accordion keyboard expecting the same results... and never get them... lol

Yes, on the right hand the note placement is smilar, yes the keys are the same colours.... about everything else is totally different. So two of the major aspects are the same but there are hundreds of minutae that differ and those can drive one to frustration if patience and some guidance are not part of the game.

 

[JeffJetton]

Yes, the Stradella bass was the biggest hurdle for me. Some might say it still it. (At least my theory background helped a lot with understanding how it was all laid out.)

I had a lot of experience playing synths, which probably didn't hurt.

All in all, I find that the students I teach who have some piano background progress much more quickly than those who do not. They're already bringing hand/finger independence and some note-reading ability (in two clefs) to the table. Moving the control of dynamics from the keyboard to the bellows trips up some more than others.

 

[Anyanka]

I would think anyone who already plays one instrument reasonably competently is going to learn the accordion much more quickly than someone who is totally new to playing music.

The piano is generally a brilliant grounding, and the fact that you have to play different lines on left and right hand at the same time (unlike, say the recorder or flute where your fingers stay in one position and co-operate with each other!) is particularly useful for the accordion. The strict fingering discipline from classical scales practice is also a bonus, obviously.

Other than that, though... in my opinion, the piano keyboard is not the best input for an accordion, which is why I switched to buttons - which was actually beneficial for my progress on both instruments!