Maximising a 48 bass accordion ( Sleigh Ride )

[wirralaccordion]

Quite amazing that a 48 bass accordion can cover all the chords used in this popular christmas song by Leroy Anderson don't you think?

 

[Dingo40]

Quite amazing...

Some people simply do a great job of making the most of what they have...!

 

[OuijaBoard]

I prefer 60 basses or 12X4=48 in a petit PA, but the capabilities of the 48X8 setup are greatly underrated. Mind you, I'm not minimizing this delightful and adorable rendition of the Mitchell Parrish/Leroy Anderson holiday charmer. So long as you're not playing in keys that are missing or awkward on a 48-bass, a 48-bass is more than equal to the tune. You have to be adept with all 16 of your free bass notes and know enough theory to combine them with each other or to combine a free bass note with a chord button, or even combine two chord buttons, to get sounds you might not think are offered by the 48X8.

There's also the cheating approach--a lot of times simple diatonic chords work perfectly in spots where the chord sheet wants something like a gm7 or whatever, which is what I often do. Unlike this person, who is nattily and niftily getting some jazzy chordal tones combining their basses there.

 

[JeffJetton]

There's also the cheating approach--a lot of times simple diatonic chords work perfectly in spots where the chord sheet wants something like a gm7 or whatever, which is what I often do. Unlike this person, who is nattily and niftily getting some jazzy chordal tones combining their basses there.

Also, chords don't have to be made solely in the left hand. Play a Gm in the basses, throw in an F under the melody... boom! Gm7!

(Heck, sometimes the melody is the "extra" note, and you get the jazzy chord for free!)