Switching from pa to a cba

[Elizabeth]

Are you referring to the uaf campus newspaper? In the 1980s it was the Polar Star. Later it merged into Sun Star and then went digital about 218.so no…

But you mean the actual north star i bet. Nope there are planes..

 

[pentaprism]

Will a 60 something person live long enough to learn to a stage of enjoying it and performing it?

I switched from to CBA about 3 years after starting learning accordion with PA. The only thing that would be better for me was starting learning accordion with CBA in the first place. Being an engineer by trade, I just like the ‘logical’ of CBA. Later when I bought an FR-1xb (having sold an FR-3s), I was glad that I had made the switch - the FR-1x treble side has only 2 octaves, hardly sufficient for any kind of music.

I don’t think I will ever get to the stage of performing; but I’ve been enjoying it since I started. It’s not something I do for a living, so if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it.

BTW, I’ll reach full Social Security retirement age in a few months, and I just started leaning Spanish. Without many opportunities to practice, I don’t think I’ll live long enough to become fluent. But that doesn’t prevent me from enjoying the beauty of the language.

 

[Dingo40]

Elizabeth,
I was referring to the Alaska Railroad train, the Denali Star.
See here :

Denali Star Train | Alaska Railroad

How to get to Denali National Park? Aboard the Alaska Railroad's Denali Star Train. Also serving Anchorage, Talkeetna and Fairbanks.

www.alaskarailroad.com

 

[Elizabeth]

Elizabeth,
I was referring to the Alaska Railroad train, the Denali Star.
See here :

Denali Star Train | Alaska Railroad

How to get to Denali National Park? Aboard the Alaska Railroad's Denali Star Train. Also serving Anchorage, Talkeetna and Fairbanks.

www.alaskarailroad.com

Oh duh, well you can see how long its been since i took the train. Well theres not one that goes to seattle anyway…

 

[Elizabeth]

I switched from to CBA about 3 years after starting learning accordion with PA. The only thing that would be better for me was starting learning accordion with CBA in the first place. Being an engineer by trade, I just like the ‘logical’ of CBA. Later when I bought an FR-1xb (having sold an FR-3s), I was glad that I had made the switch - the FR-1x treble side has only 2 octaves, hardly sufficient for any kind of music.

I don’t think I will ever get to the stage of performing; but I’ve been enjoying it since I started. It’s not something I do for a living, so if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it.

BTW, I’ll reach full Social Security retirement age in a few months, and I just started leaning Spanish. Without many opportunities to practice, I don’t think I’ll live long enough to become fluent. But that doesn’t prevent me from enjoying the beauty of the language.

Good points- thanks so much for your input!

 

[Elizabeth]

Here a data sheet (2 pages) that lists the specifications of all the current accordions from one brand, Pigini. You can use it to decide what trade offs you are willing to make: number of notes, voices, weight. Once that is determined you can ask the discussion group for suggestions of new and used accordions from any brand that match your criteria.

Thanks so much, jim!

 

[Elizabeth]

Don't know how well heeled you are Elizabeth, but why not consider a Roland? Then you can do free bass as well! I don't know either if you're at the level of Paul D. but if not, I doubt it would take you 5 years to get back to your desired level.

And to you, Viv, best of luck to you. I would have to agree the challenge will help you.

Definitely not at the level of paul, based on what i have read about him.
I have never really liked the sound of a Roland, but then I have not really heard good players on good instruments, so I have not given it a fair try. But thanks for the idea Tom! There’s certainly are excellent players out there for me to listen to.

 

[Elizabeth]

I’m another with a real hankering to start to learn CBA, probably C version 48 bass or so, despite having been a piano accordion player for approaching 50 years (I started very young!). I’d love the challenge, and it’s something that is calling out to me hugely. But at the same time I’ve a progressive neurological disease, like a cross between strokes and multiple sclerosis. So I don’t know how long I have. And the disease also frequently makes me much weaker down my right side. It’s a miracle I can still play so much, though it’s also good healing therapy for my brain. But yup, it keeps calling ... Good luck Elizabeth!

 

[Elizabeth]

Thank you! And good luck to you too.

 

[Elizabeth]

Has anyone switched from a pa to a cba successfully for purposes of tor one, finding a lighter weight accordion? Is the treble side easier on fingers and hand following a hand injury?and how does one learn? Is there learning materials available in english? Will a 60 something person live long enough to learn to a stage of enjoying it and performing it?

I am not sure where to add a comment to my original thread starter, this is probably the wrong place, but i just want to say thanks everyone for your intetesting comments and points of view.
…my takeaways are…why not try to learn a new and different accordion in the accordion family!
And while I really dont need a more logical keyboard than the pa; nor do i need easier or less numbers of scale fingers to learn, a lighter box may be beneficial, and a more compact keyboard might reduce hand stress, and who knows, maybe it will keep this screw in my hand from getting too loose!

 

[Ffingers]

As for lighter in weight, Elizabeth, my CBA weighs in at over 29lbs (13+ Kg) - it is a hefty beast, but there are even heavier ones around.
Looking for a less cumbersome box took me to several makers' sites - this one caught my eye:

 

[Dingo40]

Me, I'm staying with the Hohner Mignon: I know when I'm well off!

 

[AccordionUprising]

Alaska may prove a bit more difficult, but my friend Edwin Ericson from Alberta may have some pointers.
When you said Scandinavia or Russia... I just wanted to point out a very large other area (all of Europe south of Scandinavia) where there is a lot of CBA being played. Of course that doesn't help Alaska.

Geographically an Alaskan could get a Russian bayan accordion easier than anywhere else in the US 🗺

 

[Dingo40]

Yes, just a short paddle across the Bering Straight!

 

[Ffingers]

Yes, just a short paddle across the Bering Straight!

Is that *straight* across the Bering *Strait*.
Not possible, of course, because of the curve on the Earth's surface - but boring tunnels is popular these days so I suppose that it is possible even if impracticable

 

[Dingo40]

Well spotted, Ffingers: I plead sabotage by autocorrect !

 

[Elizabeth]

All you guys better watch out…someones going to say they can see a bayan from their house….

 

[craigd]

All you guys better watch out…someones going to say they can see a bayan from their house….

Maybe even hear one.
What has that someone been up to? Seems like she should be thriving in today's politics.

 

[Siegmund]

Geographically an Alaskan could get a Russian bayan accordion easier than anywhere else in the US 🗺

You laugh now... but that was quite possibly seriously true a few decades ago.

In the early and middle 90s, Alaska Airlines flew once a week from Seattle and Anchorage to Magadan and Khabarovsk -- and furs were so cheap in the Russian Far East that if you wanted to, you could fly to Russia, buy a fur coat, fly home, and sell it, and much more than pay for the round trip ticket. (Alas, I was a poor college student at the time, and couldn't afford the first plane ticket and fur coat to start myself a little business going back and forth weekly...)
I did know people who "just happened" to buy one when they went there as tourists or on their way home from scientific trips. The window of opportunity closed quickly as the Russians learned how to gouge the tourists for every dollar they could.

That part of Russia was in severe economic straits after the fall of the USSR, which ended their reliable supplies of government jobs and of price-guaranteed goods from the other end of the country. They spoke very bitterly of the change in government.

I don't know anyone who tried to do the same with bayans. I suspect it would have been quite hard to find high-end bayans in the Far East.

 

[Walker]

I don't know anyone who tried to do the same with bayans. I suspect it would have been quite hard to find high-end bayans in the Far East.

Siegmund, if you were in the market for a genuine, high-end Russian bayan, what would you look for? Is there a particular brand or model that you would like?