Arguments for monocolour buttons in CBAs

[Jim2010]

Because accordion tuition always starts with playing in the key of C ... (because historically in the 19th century music education was primarily a pianoforte based education, favorising the C scale layout as the basic layout).

Steven,
I am relatively new to the list, so please correct me if I am wrong. I think that you started this particular thread with improved musicianship in mind. Something that you do regularly. I share that interest and appreciate your efforts.

As to the color and texture of buttons, I think the fret marking on guitars might offer some perspective.
If I remember correctly, you play classical guitar (as I do). Non-guitarists may know that classical guitars dont have fret markings on the fretboard or along the edge of the fretboard, but that other guitars usually do (frets 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, etc). These markings do not refer to keys or individual notes but to locations, aids to knowing where you are on the keyboard.
My accordina has different colored buttons (none are textured or indented), but since I cant play the accordina and look at the buttons at the same time, they are primarily decoration. They all could be the same color. However, regardless of the color of the buttons, I must somehow know the button of the first note of the start of a piece of music, the sections within it, and the starting points after long rests. Some method must be used to accomplish this. Once I have this starting point, I play as you have described.
I cant speak for others, but when they say they use textured or indented buttons, I think they are referring to them as aids to location along the keyboard, not as the marking of notes they will necessarily use in a particular piece of music.

 

[fphlpsnrg]

...
Btw, are you saying you can actually pull that passage off? If so, I’m impressed. I’d have written it off as unplayable and rearranged. 

Practice, practice, practice. Also, the treble and bass chord patterns are used 2 or 3 times throughout the piece. God knows what Ellington would have written if he were Russian. I will stick my neck out and say that the left hand would be "challenging" on a 4-row converter bass.

 

[Deleted member 48]

If you need a reference point to start on the CBA, an easy way is to find eg your lowest C note on the melody side. 

One of my C-system CBAs starts with a low G3 note on the second row. 
So the first C4 note is the second button on the first row (starting to count from the top). Under the A note button. 
That's all I need to know. None of the melody buttons have markings or texture. 

Fixed reference points, colour markings or textures, are senseless in a 'moveable do' context. 
And a 5 rows CBA is a 'moveable do' instrument par excellence.

 

[losthobos]

I can't speak for others, but when they say they use textured or indented buttons, I think they are referring to them as aids to location along the keyboard, not as the marking of notes they will necessarily use in a particular piece of music.

I think Jims hit the button on the head whatever colour it may be.....

 

[stickista]

I can't speak for others, but when they say they use textured or indented buttons, I think they are referring to them as aids to location along the keyboard, not as the marking of notes they will necessarily use in a particular piece of music.

I think Jims hit the button on the head whatever colour it may be.....

Agreed. If I’m in F#, putting my middle finger on the marked C puts the rest of my hand into position for a good F# root position scale, even though there’s no C in the key.

 

[maugein96]

I cant speak for others, but when they say they use textured or indented buttons, I think they are referring to them as aids to location along the keyboard, not as the marking of notes they will necessarily use in a particular piece of music.

I think Jims hit the button on the head whatever colour it may be.....

Agreed. If I’m in F#, putting my middle finger on the marked C puts the rest of my hand into position for a good F# root position scale, even though there’s no C in the key.

Watch this Basque guy hit a tester before he starts to play the tune. Pro players in France (this player is technically Spanish but plays a French CBA) often improvise an intro before they commence playing, and nobody cares whether it is in the score or not. The late Yvette Horner, a very accomplished player in every style from folk to classical, frequently raised an eyebrow when she would do precisely what that young man did before commencing a concerto, or whatever. 

Best to make sure youre going to start off on the right note, but after that your right hand remembers what to do next. If it doesnt you werent quite ready to play that particular tune. 



For those who must have coloured buttons, try this version:-

The 4th button from the top on the outside row on accordions made for the French market is almost always C. He therefore has his low C marked, but the rest is pure fantasy, as the buttons dont correspond to anything other than the pattern he has chosen.

 

[Deleted member 48]

I cant speak for others, but when they say they use textured or indented buttons, I think they are referring to them as aids to location along the keyboard, not as the marking of notes they will necessarily use in a particular piece of music.

I think Jims hit the button on the head whatever colour it may be.....

Agreed. If I’m in F#, putting my middle finger on the marked C puts the rest of my hand into position for a good F# root position scale, even though there’s no C in the key.

Watch this Basque guy hit a tester before he starts to play the tune. Pro players in France (this player is technically Spanish but plays a French CBA) often improvise an intro before they commence playing, and nobody cares whether it is in the score or not. The late Yvette Horner, a very accomplished player in every style from folk to classical, frequently raised an eyebrow when she would do precisely what that young man did before commencing a concerto, or whatever. 

Best to make sure youre going to start off on the right note, but after that your right hand remembers what to do next. If it doesnt you werent quite ready to play that particular tune. 



For those who must have coloured buttons, try this version:-

The 4th button from the top on the outside row on accordions made for the French market is almost always C. He therefore has his low C marked, but the rest is pure fantasy, as the buttons dont correspond to anything other than the pattern he has chosen.

Thanks for the video with the Basque CBA player. 
I also often just hit a chord + bass note and chord to check before starting a tune. 
Its an audio check. 

What a beautiful piece of music hes playing. 
And what a lovely monocolour buttonboard 

Think on this accordion he will only have one marked bass button. 

An improvised intro to check your starting fingering position often adding charm or creativity to a music piece.

 

[stickista]

I cant speak for others, but when they say they use textured or indented buttons, I think they are referring to them as aids to location along the keyboard, not as the marking of notes they will necessarily use in a particular piece of music.

I think Jims hit the button on the head whatever colour it may be.....

Agreed. If I’m in F#, putting my middle finger on the marked C puts the rest of my hand into position for a good F# root position scale, even though there’s no C in the key.

Watch this Basque guy hit a tester before he starts to play the tune. Pro players in France (this player is technically Spanish but plays a French CBA) often improvise an intro before they commence playing, and nobody cares whether it is in the score or not. The late Yvette Horner, a very accomplished player in every style from folk to classical, frequently raised an eyebrow when she would do precisely what that young man did before commencing a concerto, or whatever. 

Best to make sure youre going to start off on the right note, but after that your right hand remembers what to do next. If it doesnt you werent quite ready to play that particular tune. 



For those who must have coloured buttons, try this version:-

The 4th button from the top on the outside row on accordions made for the French market is almost always C. He therefore has his low C marked, but the rest is pure fantasy, as the buttons dont correspond to anything other than the pattern he has chosen.

All of this inspired me to switch to a ‘V’ pattern.
I’m one white button short so on the lookout, but It’s just as nice as the faux piano layout and no less or more musically useful. 

 

[Deleted member 48]

For comparison, some of the arguments developed by the creator of the chromatone music system:
Theres a lot to read on his website about why they defend the monocolour buttonboard on the chromatone music instrument.

https://muto-method.com/en/#anc004
https://muto-method.com/en/chromatic-keyboard.html

Its written in Japanese and translated into English. 


quote:

1. You can grasp interval instinctively.
   
2. You can strengthen the relative pitch sense naturally.
   
3. You can keep same form in any key.

I have mentioned a couple of times in earlier posts the use of CBA layout in combination with numbered music notation, like the Galin/Paris/Chevé notation (based on the numbered notation by Jean-Jacques Souhaitty), is a formula for simplifying and understanding music notation and harmony.
I cant think of an easier way to learn, read or play music with this system. 

CBA and numbered music notation are made for each other. Numbered music notation is the ideal software for operating the CBA hardware.
I still use traditional staff music notation and sheet music, but the numbered music notation makes everything crystal clear.


https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/g...92630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000026286

 

[Grayson Masefield]

This is quite an interesting topic as it blends teaching tools and pure aesthetics for the button colours, while the indentations of the buttons involve mechanical and technical issues and positional issues with the instrument and body.

The coloured keys could be argued as a reference point and a teaching tool, in the same manner that black and white keys on a piano could be, allowing a teacher to identify and quickly described to a student different buttons in different rows.  A basic example would ask why the C major scale the first taught to PA students.

Whilst this could be done on a monochrome keyboard, it immediately removes visual points of references which combine with other learning methods and memorisation.   Once notes and positioned have been learnt there is no need for the different button colours and is an personal choice to the player (I even have a completely black keyboard PA).

Indentations on buttons are vital, in my experience as a player and teacher as they allow a stronger 'positional reflex' to be created and built upon. As someone in this thread previous mentioned, chord or interval positions are easier to find then individual notes, which is true for any accordion system.

What hasn't been mentioned is that the instrument is constantly moving on/around our body.  Both manuals are never in the same position as we play, while the bass has greater freedom and movement, the bellows when pulled will move the RH to the left and when closing to the right.  The physical position of the keys are never in the exact same position in relation to your body such as a fixed keyboard instrument (piano, organ etc...).  We rely on tactile memory and proprioception to anticipate where the keys are and will be, and the indentations provide a physical difference between that assist in this.

I am a firm believer that accordionists shouldn't be looking down at their keys, not only does this drastically alter the player's body position, which will influence bellows control and the body's motor control, in can increase the chance of musculoskeletal disorders.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Hello Grayson, 

Thank you for reading this topic and for your reply. 

A question, are you, as in important professional accordionist and leading member of the International Accordion Confederation, in regular contact with the Modern Accordion Perspectives organisation and its members? 

It could be interesting to organise an international taskforce to study the didactics of CBA teaching and monocolour buttonboards. 

Are there any master or doctoral theses in this subject? 

Who within the Confederation are the CBA responsibles? 

Thanks and kind regards

 

[Grayson Masefield]

Hello Grayson, 

Thank you for reading this topic and for your reply. 

A question, are you, as in important professional accordionist and leading member of the International Accordion Confederation, in regular contact with the Modern Accordion Perspectives organisation and its members? 

It could be interesting to organise an international taskforce to study the didactics of CBA teaching and monocolour buttonboards. 

Are there any master or doctoral theses in this subject? 

Who within the Confederation are the CBA responsibles? 

Thanks and kind regards

I'm not in contact with them, and unsure if it is an organisation.  I believe it is a collection of papers from pedagogues that Claudio Jacomucci gathers and edits.

It would be possible to search for accordion theses, quite a few are online (easier if you have access to University resources), but I don't know of any on this topic.

 

[Tor]

I'm a PA player rather than CBA, but I'll throw this out there anyway. For me, I find transposition, sometimes even if I have it written out, hard because the sound of the note becomes part of my knowledge of a song. As for coloured buttons, I don't know as it matters much, although if something happens to get off during a song any colour that the player understands the relationship of may help in quickly finding the right position again. For normal playing, I agree that proprioception and aural feedback should be relied on to keep the correct position.

I know I've sometimes found that being able to see at a glance where you should be is helpful, but I'm not at all sure someone who plays their instrument a lot will find it much harder to have a random pretty pattern vs. a regular pattern that fits the notes. Just being able to recognize if needed where you should be relative to the pattern you have is sufficient.

 

[Glug]

Slightly off topic, but I found this interesting: somebody 3d printing buttons for a FR-3X with novel colours