Playing classical with stradella bass?

[saundersbp]

For most classical music you'd want to opt for a free bass system.

Definitely because it makes left and right sides equal partners. The word 'equal' doesn't mean 'identical'!

Arguably the left side of the instrument is always the more musically important because it's how you shape the music with the bellows and that's what makes for beauty of sound. If you have freebass on the left side too you can play individual notes over many different octaves the same as the right. The other extra musical dimension the left side can also do uniquely when playing free bass is utilise the bass and counterbass rows. Dak explains this above.

 

[craigd]

It's not just about "jumping ship": organ music often requires a pedal bass. The two Stradella rows provide the bass octave notes in the vicinity of the four rows used for playing the second organ manual in whatever position, and often with additional octaves/strength compared to the version you have in the bass octave of the free bass manual (due to chord reed coupling that may admittedly steal notes from the converter manual).

Yes this comes in handy, it is clearly a plus to a convertor over straight free bass.

 

[craigd]

Hey craigd, these are interesting thoughts to explore...

I'm of the opinion that the standard bass system is the nearest thing we have to a 'universal' system on the accordion and a lot of classical accordion is very good on it. I think it is important for the system to remain present on both traditional (standard bass) and classical (free bass) instruments and not be replaced with something else.

However, some folk become so fixated on one aspect of the repertoire, perhaps some classical obsession or other, that it leads to a fixation on free bass. Eventually they start to think, free bass alone is the way forward. It leads to them wanting to separate themselves from the wider community of accordionists. We then hear things said like, 'all free bass CBAs should be called bayans and not accordions' or 'we need to get rid of stradella accordion', or 'we need to get rid of all the systems bar one'. Hmm... but which one?

Think of all the wonderful Quint free bass accordions in the USA and the marvellous players in America and Italy and New Zealand etc. Without stradella bass there is no Quint free bass, because Quint is derived solely from stradella (standard) bass design. Quint is the unfurling of stradella bass over multiple octaves. Think about all those marvellous Titano Cosmo's and the guys like Dr. William Popp who dedicate themselves to the instrument, and compose extensively for both standard bass and free bass accordion.

Also, think of all those marvellous Hohner's with MIII free bass. Morino and Gola and others clearly thought stradella mattered enough that it would be there alongside free bass. Some of the very best accordions ever made were MIIIs, and some of the best accordionists in the world play MIIIs.

Think of all the chromatic converters with the inner two rows of basses in stradella formation. Without stradella bass there would no longer be these rows available to 'rescue' the chromatic converter player when it's ergonomic foibles means the player has to play on the outer edges of the accordion to reach the lowest bass notes (the bellows control often gets a little ropey at that point). What do they do... they jump ship to the stradella bass octave - though you rarely hear a word said about it!

If accordion manufacturers stopped making standard bass accordions and converters, within a couple of generations the accordion would likely go the way of the harmonium... and the dinosaurs. What would we be left with? An empty forum, with a few eccentric harmoneon or free bass only enthusiasts perpetuating the myth of how their hands are 'equal partners'.
​

Walker, I think you are getting at some of the real reasons stradella is kept, even in instruments built for classical music. The accordion comes in so many forms, I can't think of another instrument with anywhere near as many permutations. It seems the big divide is between diatonic and chromatic/unisonoric accordions. Stradella is close to our hearts, the marvelous mechanism and braying chords somehow the soul of our instruments.

 

[dak]

Doesn't that argument apply for any music not originally written for accordion? Like almost all of classical music apart from exotics like Hindemith's lament for accordion and viola?

Actually, I just remembered a quote from the scenic poem "Peer Gynt" by Henrik Ibsen where the titular hero is educated by the King of the Mountain (Dovregubben) about being a troll:

THE OLD MAN. True enough; in that and in more we’re alike. Yet morning is morning, and even is even, and there is a difference all the same.—Now let me tell you wherein it lies: Out yonder, under the shining vault, among men the saying goes: “Man, be thyself!” At home here with us, ’mid the tribe of the trolls, the saying goes: “Troll, to thyself be—enough!”

Aren't accordionists the trolls to the musicians? Among musicians the saying goes "Musico, be thyself!" Midst accordionists the saying goes "Accordionist, to thyself be—enough!" The accordion is the self-sufficient instrument that we view music through.

 

[JerryPH]

Variety IS the spice of life. I know we cannot play all “classical” music on Stradella, but there certainly is no rule that says “all classical music must be on Free Bass…”, and even if there was, there are some songs that sound amazing on a Stradella system, so do it and enjoy… just understand the limitations of Stradella… just as Free Bass players understand their limitations on their systems, and trust me, they are there too.

 

[Tom]

Actually, I just remembered a quote from the scenic poem "Peer Gynt" by Henrik Ibsen where the titular hero is educated by the King of the Mountain (Dovregubben) about being a troll:

THE OLD MAN. True enough; in that and in more we’re alike. Yet morning is morning, and even is even, and there is a difference all the same.—Now let me tell you wherein it lies: Out yonder, under the shining vault, among men the saying goes: “Man, be thyself!” At home here with us, ’mid the tribe of the trolls, the saying goes: “Troll, to thyself be—enough!”

Aren't accordionists the trolls to the musicians? Among musicians the saying goes "Musico, be thyself!" Midst accordionists the saying goes "Accordionist, to thyself be—enough!" The accordion is the self-sufficient instrument that we view music through.

A beautiful melody for sure. Peer Gynt’s morning mood. Don’t you think it could be handled on stradella or what? You know I never tri d this but why not? Anyone have an arrangement?

 

[dak]

A beautiful melody for sure. Peer Gynt’s morning mood. Don’t you think it could be handled on stradella or what?

Uh what? Are you trolling? I was talking about Ibsen's play, and you switch the topic to the incidental music by Edvard Grieg? And pretend I was talking about that? And then you pick something from a completely different part of the play instead of at least the eponymic "Dovregubbens Hall"?


Ok, you'll probably tell me "Isvand i blodet!"

 

[Tom]

Uh what? Are you trolling? I was talking about Ibsen's play, and you switch the topic to the incidental music by Edvard Grieg? And pretend I was talking about that? And then you pick something from a completely different part of the play instead of at least the eponymic "Dovregubbens Hall"?


Ok, you'll probably tell me "Isvand i blodet!"

Sorry David, I thought that’s how this forum generally works! . At least I didn’t mention haggis. If you think this is bad, check out my upcoming post on a completely separate topic. Loading the pottery kiln.

 

[dak]

Sorry David, I thought that’s how this forum generally works! . At least I didn’t mention haggis.

Aren't you on the wrong continent for that? Though with regard to haggis, I think no continent desires to be associated with the British isles.

 

[Tom]

Aren't you on the wrong continent for that? Though with regard to haggis, I think no continent desires to be associated with the British isles.

I would like to try haggis. I am fascinated by the British Isles. I would love to visit some time.

 

[John M]

Uh what? Are you trolling? I was talking about Ibsen's play, and you switch the topic to the incidental music by Edvard Grieg? And pretend I was talking about that? And then you pick something from a completely different part of the play instead of at least the eponymic "Dovregubbens Hall"?


Ok, you'll probably tell me "Isvand i blodet!"

Was that song, "In The Hall Of The Mountain King"?

 

[dak]

Was that "In The Hall Of The Mountain King"?

That's the name commonly used in English. The video was from Grieg's stage music; he later excerpted instrumental variants of numerous parts into two orchestral suites which tend to be more popular these days.

 

[OuijaBoard]

I think stradella is great for folk-inspired classical stuff. The Hungarian Dance pieces by Brahms and Lizst, Chopin waltzes, some of the Spanish stuff, etc. Kabalevsky. Which does tend to be folk-dance-inspired, so the stradella rhythmic quality is complementary. Even for the more serious stuff, you could simplify your bass clef part and use the single-note rows to give harmony and flavor in a tasteful but minimal way. But I've never messed much with that, as the only classical music I'd be much inclined to play on a free reed instrument would be the folk-flavored material that pairs nicely with stradella anyway. I have lovely Scarlatti, Rameau, and Satie accordion recordings and really like them--Mie Miki is a favorite. But they don't give me any yen to play the stuff myself. . . . Unlike, say, Khatchaturian's "Sword Dance." ‍‍‍

 

[Walker]

Hi OB... it's quite reasonable to suggest that stradella works for a lot of folk-dance inspired classical music. I guess it also seems natural that free bass works for lots of contrapuntal keyboard music.

However, every so often someone comes along who blurs the boundaries of when to use the two different bass systems. I don't think there's ever been an accordionist quite so capable of seamlessly using both stradella and free bass as Richard Galliano. He seems to just 'understand' the accordion that bit better than the rest of us. Many classical accordionists 'pay their dues' on stradella bass (though some don't bother) and then focus all their effort on free bass and a specific repertoire, in the mould of their conservatoire teachers. There's nothing wrong with that, but the results often seem less musical than Galliano. It seems to me Galliano doesn't play by the rules of the conservatoire. Of course, it would be marvellous if he could teach at one, but then he's a busy accordion player and wouldn't have spare time to teach his philosophy of music. Regardless of this, we can learn a lot from just listening to him play.

Galliano arranges music beautifully and quite unpredictably at times. A background in both classical music and heavyweight jazz surely helps give him options. I like the 'classical' pieces Richard Galliano arranges, they benefit from his unparalleled lifetime of musical experience. Galliano knows how to impart the best of the accordion's personality into classical music and what results is, quite often, more than we bargained for. He uses the different strengths of each of his accordion manuals to overlap and bolster one another.

Sometimes Galliano will arrange music in an ensemble and use no bass at all - just a single-line right hand melody; understated and elegant. Other times he will use stradella bass and chords to accompany the right hand, giving rich, full harmonies. He always finds a way to soften the 'sharp edges' of the stradella chords - they never 'bray', unless he wants them to.

Then there are the times when we think he's not going to use free bass at all - but then he uses it exclusively! The result is marvellous and the various lines of music become almost organically entwined. He is one of the few accordionists who can add great expressiveness into his left hand melodies.

Perhaps some of the most memorable times are when Galliano uses stradella bass and free bass together in a piece and the whole work gets lifted to a new level. It can be difficult to tell what's happening as we hear these fantastic stradella bass/chord accompaniments and then out of the depths a silky free bass line emerges into the foreground, before diving down into waves of stradella chords.

Galliano's album 'Around Gershwin' is excellent, and once you get over his tour de force rendition of 'Rhapsody in Blue' with its blend of treble, stradella and free bass, you discover other, shorter pieces that are little gems of both free bass and stradella variety. I'd like to share one of the works on the album called 'Pavane pour une infante défunte' arranged by Richard Galliano. It's a piece written by Maurice Ravel, and it seems very poignant; about a little princess from once upon a time. The composer, Ravel, takes a musical snapshot of an imagined moment when the youth was dancing - a scene from days of old. It's now a scene that endures down the ages. The work reminds me of a poem by the great Philip Larkin called 'An Arundel Tomb' written after reflecting on the resting place of an earl and countess from the middle ages.

The original piano version of Ravel's piece is so elegant and marvellous and it's well worth a listen. But Galliano envisions the piece quite differently to the original. His version is no transcription, it's unapologetically an accordion rendition, and yet amid the stradella chords there is a tenderness in the music, and I can visualise her, in my mind's eye, dancing, as Galliano plays his accordion for that little princess of old.​

 

[Tom]

Thanks for this great description and musical selection Walker. I was only familiar with Galliano’s jazz music but this gives me a whole new lease on life. Oh, look at that, the album is on Spotify…

 

[Jaime_Dergut]

Hello there,

I heard that you can play most clasical songs on stradella. Now, if you really want to get deeper into classical music, you should get a free bass accordion.

However, I often heard this is mostly for students at conservatorios, so it is up to you whether how far you want to reach.

Here are some books that I have seen, and I own 3 of them. They don't require free bass (some of them are out of stock now):

Classical tradition by Gary Dahl
Light classical pieces for accordion
Schuber Dances
Accordion music for begginers-classical

This could give you plenty of study material before you decide whether a free bass is for you or not.

 

[dak]

Hello there,

I heard that you can play most clasical songs on stradella. Now, if you really want to get deeper into classical music, you should get a free bass accordion.

Isn't it the other way round? If you don't want to get as deep into classical music to either arrange everything for Stradella or pay for someone to have done that, you should get a free bass accordion.

However, I often heard this is mostly for students at conservatorios, so it is up to you whether how far you want to reach.

Students are not supposed to learn inapplicable skills.

Here are some books that I have seen, and I own 3 of them. They don't require free bass (some of them are out of stock now):

Classical tradition by Gary Dahl
Light classical pieces for accordion
Schuber Dances
Accordion music for begginers-classical

This could give you plenty of study material before you decide whether a free bass is for you or not.

The amount of classical music available to you when playing free bass is humongous and every thrift store and classified ad section has oodles of material for almost free. And lots of original classical music that has not been arranged for accordion has run out of copyright.

 

[saundersbp]

The amount of classical music available to you when playing free bass is humongous and every thrift store and classified ad section has oodles of material for almost free. And lots of original classical music that has not been arranged for accordion has run out of copyright.

Arguably even more important than 'arrangements' is the amount of Classical music written specifically for the accordion which you hardly ever hear people playing. Its not all plinkety plonk either.

Here is the very best, 6 movements - 2 stradella bass only, 2 free bass only and 2 a combination of both.
I love in particular 2. Moonlight Spurting Outdoors (sometimes translated as 'Moonlight streams outside the windows' at 03:55

 

[craigd]

Isn't it the other way round? If you don't want to get as deep into classical music to either arrange everything for Stradella or pay for someone to have done that, you should get a free bass accordion.

Students are not supposed to learn inapplicable skills.

The amount of classical music available to you when playing free bass is humongous and every thrift store and classified ad section has oodles of material for almost free. And lots of original classical music that has not been arranged for accordion has run out of copyright.

Helpful response to the blissfully ignorant or
textbook elitist condescendo-contrarian?

I'd say Jamie's points were perfectly reasonable for your typical amateur accordionist who would like to have a few classical pieces in their repertoire or who may want to start classical study. After all most accordionists only have stradella bass on their instruments, and getting free bass isn't cheap or easy.

Luckily for us, on this forum we have all kinds of personalities, musical backgrounds and points of view.