Bach Prelude in C Major

[breezybellows]

This makes me happy. I'm able to play this end to end with a few hiccups. I tried to add dynamics as much as I could. Learning this song feels very meditative. End goal is to memorize this play at better tempo with more dynamics. Memorization should help me avoid the break for turning the page.

 

[debra]

This is very hard to make it sound right on the accordion, with the sustained notes. Much easier on the piano and the decay of the sound during the sustain then helps too. Some music just isn't intended for the accordion I'm afraid...
Still, it's a great exercise!

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

Nice. Here's my rendition of the same piece on stradella, which requires playing some of the bass stave notes in the right hand and some speedy register changes. Just about works, though.

 

[petch]

I actually quite like how this sounds on accordion

I'm currently practicing Minuet in C Minor, which has some sustained notes I was worried about on accordion. Maybe I've just become really biased to the instrument but I thought it sounded fine once I started playing it at a decent tempo

 

[breezybellows]

This is very hard to make it sound right on the accordion, with the sustained notes. Much easier on the piano and the decay of the sound during the sustain then helps too. Some music just isn't intended for the accordion I'm afraid...
Still, it's a great exercise!

I actually like how it sounds. I agree that it's harder to keep the sound sustained but I like the challenge. Someday I wish I can play Bach's Badinerie. I hope these exercises will help me get there.

 

[breezybellows]

Nice. Here's my rendition of the same piece on stradella, which requires playing some of the bass stave notes in the right hand and some speedy register changes. Just about works, though.

I love how this sounds! I used to have a Morino VI N. Had a very nice time but unfortunately it was klebe Morino.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

I find that baroque keyboard music generally works rather well on accordion, as it was originally written for either harpsichord (not much sustain) or organ (very similar to accordion). Music written for piano usually works less well, as it often relies on the sustain pedal and resonance of that instrument. Most 19th century piano music will not translate well. But I take Debra's point about this piece.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

I love how this sounds! I used to have a Morino VI N. Had a very nice time but unfortunately it was klebe Morino.

Did you get the key pads replaced?

 

[breezybellows]

Did you get the key pads replaced?

I got the pads replaced on the keyboard side. But the repair tech I got it from asked me to pay for the bass pads. He outright denied that it was an issue when he sold that to me a year earlier. At the time of the sale he said that the accordion just had to be played more and the problem would go away.

I didn't like the dishonesty soi didn't want to give him any more business.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

I got the pads replaced on the keyboard side. But the repair tech I got it from asked me to pay for the bass pads. He outright denied that it was an issue when he sold that to me a year earlier. At the time of the sale he said that the accordion just had to be played more and the problem would go away.

I didn't like the dishonesty soi didn't want to give him any more business.

Sorry to hear it. I hate dishonest accordion dealers. They're a disgrace to the profession.

 

[breezybellows]

Sorry to hear it. I hate dishonest accordion dealers. They're a disgrace to the profession.

On the other hand, my experience with Solloni has been very very good. Kevin Solecki is honest. I had a problem with the converter mechanism and he jumped on it and made sure that it was fixed quickly without any additional cost to me.

 

[debra]

I actually like how it sounds. I agree that it's harder to keep the sound sustained but I like the challenge. Someday I wish I can play Bach's Badinerie. I hope these exercises will help me get there.

What I noticed in the recording is that when you add the high E it hardly sounds. In other measures when the highest note comes in it sounds more clearly.
Maybe it would help to release the second bass note before the highest note comes in.

 

[breezybellows]

What I noticed in the recording is that when you add the high E it hardly sounds. In other measures when the highest note comes in it sounds more clearly.
Maybe it would help to release the second bass note before the highest note comes in.

Yes. I noticed that as well. I thought that particular reed didn't respond well. Releasing the bass night might help put more pressure on that reed. I'll try that.

 

[Neil Thornock]

You can look up the commercially released recordings of the Well Tempered Clavier on organ to get an idea of how this piece is played on a sustaining instrument. Organ isn't quite the same, of course ... but I'm sure it can make for a lovely piece of accordion music with the right approach.

 

[debra]

Yes. I noticed that as well. I thought that particular reed didn't respond well. Releasing the bass night might help put more pressure on that reed. I'll try that.

Note that this "test" (adding the high-pitch note in the mix of already playing notes) appears to be a good test to check for problems with the voicing of the reeds. I never thought of that before. I tend to just check whether reeds of individual notes start simultaneously between L, M, M+ and H when playing registers like LM, MM, MH, LH.
In this Bach prelude it's quite hard to simulate the decay of a piano (with its right pedal pressed). I have some arrangements for accordion ensemble of pieces that require that decay simulation. I do it by means of different voices starting (and ending) one after the order, which works better but in practice appears to be hard for the players (especially to know when exactly is their turn).