accordions in Central America and South America

[Deleted member 48]

Accordions are popular in Central American and South American countries.

Anybody has more information (in Spanish or in English) about some hybrid accordion types, like the gaita ponto 40 baixos.
This is a 40 (sometimes 24) stradella bass in the left hand, combined with bisonoric 2,5 row diatonic right hand layout.

So many hybrid and mathematical combinations are possible.
Here are some videos of this gaita ponto 40 baixos.

GAITA PONTO UNIVERSAL 40 BAIXOS


gaita ponto 24 baixos edir.MPG

Id like to learn more about the development and history of this hybrid type.
Gaita, bagpipe
ponto = meaning ?

Any Spanish native speakers or USA readers here?

 

[Deleted member 48]

This Brazil accordion webshop showing many hybrid gaita ponto accordion types:
http://www.casadagaitaponto.com.br/categoria.php?cod_categoria=143977

With 24 bass, 40 bass, 60 bass, and more
I see well known Castelfidardo and Italian brand names, Bugari, Zero Sette, Fantini, ...

Scotlands Jimmy Shand hybrid lookalikes and variations.
Internationally, accordionists are busy comparing systems, layouts and playing/technical possibilities of all sorts of accordion types.

 

[donn]

Gaita, bagpipe
ponto = meaning ?

Any Spanish native speakers or USA readers here?

Not a native speaker of Portuguese, but indeed Im in the USA. A couple completely different instruments have been called gaita, probably most commonly the harmonica. In Rio Grande do Sul, the southern most part of Brazil, its a concertina. From Gothic word meaning goat. The online retailer is indeed located in Rio Grande do Sul.

Ponto comes from Latin punctu and my dictionary has 44 meanings for it, plus a large assortment of expressions. It overlaps with English point from the same etymology, in expressions like exclamation point (but for example the potentially sharp point at the end of something is ponta.) I have no idea why gaita-ponto.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Thanks for the reply.
Gaita meaning goat indeed sounds very logic. A goat belly or pig belly being used very often for making the bagpipe bags.
The gaita is well known in Europe, many local variants of bagpipe.

The ponto could well be a sort of bridge between the bagpipe and the accordion bellows / belly.
The same was so in 19th century France. The musette being the baroque French local bagpipe for playing classical music and folk music, became associated with the diatonic accordion in 19th century France, when the accordion replaced the bagpipe in French folk music and dance music.

Here are many photos (down page) on this French website of diatonique mixte, sorts of hybrid accordions, mixture of bisonoric melody side with unisonoric bass side.
This 19th and begin 20th century accordions are being rediscovered in South America.
http://denecheau.free.fr/spip.php?article28

In chamame music in Argentina and Brazil, also different types of accordions are used. The CBA being played by famous Raoul Barbosa in chamame music.

 

[lasvegascolonel]

For those of you interested in the Central/South American culture regarding accordions, you might also consider another forum's website that is less geared to piano accordions and more into button accordions, Tex-Mex, Cajun and other styles of accordion music. I'm a member but don't normally visit since I am a piano accordion only player. Just go to reyesaccordions.com and that should work. There are some discussions of piano accordions but the forum is primarily for button accordion players. Gilberto Reyes, who runs the site, is a product manager at HohnerUSA, but the forum is not part of Hohner.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Do you have information about this Reyes accordion forum. What does he understand under button accordion, 3 Row bisonoric button accordion (C/G/D) ?
Does Gilberto Reyes' forum also covers CBA layouts in Central and South America?
It would be interesting to have some members here who can inform us on the evolution of PA and CBA players in Central and South America.
Being a HohnerUSA product manager, I suppose he has more information on players numbers of diatonic 3-row, PA and CBA players in these regions. Is he also a member of this forum?

I didn't find yet info on the web about the public music education for accordion at secondary and high school music schools in Central and South America. Eg how many conservatories offer accordion courses and form accordion teachers.

 

[Russ]

Most members play 3 row diatonics although there are some PA players and a few CBA players. Focus on Conjunto Tejano, Mexican American, occasionally there are posts about other styles. There is a Valenato section, and a very extensive instruction section. Gilbert posts once and a while. The site has been around for quite a while, check it out

http://www.reyesforo.com/

 

[Ganza]

Hi,
I can speak a little on Brazilian accordion styles, as I lived there for awhile. The CBA (what I play) is non-existent, the PA rules in the North and across most of the country. In the south however, a type of hybrid (as someone talked about before, “gaita ponto”?) can be seen, as well as diatonic button accordions. The PA is often called “sanfona” or “accordeao”, sometimes the diatonic is called a “concertina” or “8 baixos” (8 basses).
In the North, the accordion music is called forro or baiao; it’s actually popular across the whole of Brazil. Couples dance “xote” (from “Schottishe”) close together. Interestingly, like Cajun, they also use a triangle to accompany the accordion, as well as the bass drum and sometimes rhythm guitar. You can hear the African influence.
In the South, the type of accordion music is called “Musica Gaucha”. Kind of like a country music, although I don’t know much about it. There is not much, if any, African influence.
In the North of Brazil the accordion is more popular than the guitar, even to this day, as forro is the most popular music there and the accordion is the star of the show.
Here’s some more great, complex Brazilian accordion playing:
And some funky forro!:
One of the greatest Brazilian accordion players was Dominguinhos, who just died recently. He was phenomenal. Here is a great youtube interview/studio show:

As with samba and other Brazilian music, forro uses amazing chords (e.g. 6/9, 7/13, maj7/13, diminished, half diminished), not commonly found in other popular music around the world.
If you’re an accordionist and you don’t know about the world of the Brazilian accordion I reckon you’re really missing out! It must be one of the few places in the world where the popularity of the accordion remains undiminished.