Back to basics
- Thread starter JEBrown
- Start date
The Texmex diatonics are made without wax even by Hohner. Who knows; climate change may repopularize leather gaskets instead of wax sealing elsewhere as well.Indeed - it is difficult to "wax eloquent" when the damned stuff is rapidly softening
I can identify with much of this - luckily I don't have the pressure of an accordion group or concert to prepare for! I bought the CBA as a challenge to myself, and out of interest in how the fingering works. On the other hand not having a concert or group means I don't have so much incentive to be rigorous in my learning.
Alan Sharkis
Well-known member
I’ve heard pro after pro play, “Let’s Dance the Polka,” from the Palmer-Hughes series.
That and Two Guitars and Sharpshooter's march. Of course none of those pros played it as it was written, and embellished the crap out of the songs... lol.
Alan Sharkis
Well-known member
IIRC,there are many songs by other composers in the series. Let’s Dance the Polka stands out because it was an original tune by Willard Palmer and Bill Hughes, and nobody but an accordion student would know that. To an audience or to people on a dance floor it’s just another polka.
Hmmm, “Just Another Polka,”, was written by Frankie Yankovic (I had to look that up.)
Ventura
Prolific poster
is that the Philharmonic playing Romeo and Juliet ?
that's why the Band is sounding better since the moment that i met her
'cause i'm Dan cing With An Angel
the lyric is clever and the music is pure and joyous
that guy had songwriting chops as well as a knack for knowing how to
make a Polka appealing AND accessible to everyone
that's why the Band is sounding better since the moment that i met her
'cause i'm Dan cing With An Angel
the lyric is clever and the music is pure and joyous
that guy had songwriting chops as well as a knack for knowing how to
make a Polka appealing AND accessible to everyone
Alan Sharkis
Well-known member
How do you remember the lyrics so well? I sometimes recall lyrics from songs that were popular when I was a kid, but I’ll be darned if I can explain how I do it.
Anyway, thanks for jogging my memory on this one. It was a good song to play and improvise around. I never got to do that, but it was rattling around in my head for the longest time.
Ventura
Prolific poster
lol
because i sing it at every Oktoberfest Gig !
but it is a trick not to run out of breath !
in between each bite of Dan cing With An An gel i sneak a tiny breath in
or i run out of air at the end of the moment that i met her
and Just Because
and Kishka
and Spooky (hy, it is October Halloween month too)
and Let's have a Party
and Mussidenn
and
because i sing it at every Oktoberfest Gig !
but it is a trick not to run out of breath !
in between each bite of Dan cing With An An gel i sneak a tiny breath in
or i run out of air at the end of the moment that i met her
and Just Because
and Kishka
and Spooky (hy, it is October Halloween month too)
and Let's have a Party
and Mussidenn
and
Omg you could move to Wisconsin with that repertoire, although some of us are trying to forget them……
About bringing things inside in the winter…
Don’t know how affective it would be for accordions but here’s something we’ve done for decades for things that have been in the freezing cold, dry outside for an extended time then brought into a warm and probably more humid indoor space. This method is good for still and video cameras, especially those that used video tape, electronics equipment and such, even things that may not have been used outside but left overnight in a cold car, etc. When brought inside moisture will indeed condense on the outside of the device and even internally if it is vented. It is, of course, a judgement call whether the particular device could be harmed by the condensation.
The trick: Wrap the thing in plastic before bringing it inside and close the opening, at least folding it over. Once it is inside let it sit long enough to get up to room temperature all the way, outside and in. (May take a while) Any condensation will accumulate on the outside of the plastic covering instead of outside and inside the device. Sometimes I could actually see and feel the condensation forming on the outside of the plastic.
I have no idea how appropriate this would be for an accordion. A larger bag would be needed, like a trash bag. I bought a roll of clear plastic liners sized for use with 55-gal drums - seems like those would work nicely.
I had an antique view camera with bellows. The camera and film would get the treatment after being used outside in the winter, bagged up even before putting it back into the car.
JKJ
Sorry if this was already covered and I missed it…
Don’t know how affective it would be for accordions but here’s something we’ve done for decades for things that have been in the freezing cold, dry outside for an extended time then brought into a warm and probably more humid indoor space. This method is good for still and video cameras, especially those that used video tape, electronics equipment and such, even things that may not have been used outside but left overnight in a cold car, etc. When brought inside moisture will indeed condense on the outside of the device and even internally if it is vented. It is, of course, a judgement call whether the particular device could be harmed by the condensation.
The trick: Wrap the thing in plastic before bringing it inside and close the opening, at least folding it over. Once it is inside let it sit long enough to get up to room temperature all the way, outside and in. (May take a while) Any condensation will accumulate on the outside of the plastic covering instead of outside and inside the device. Sometimes I could actually see and feel the condensation forming on the outside of the plastic.
I have no idea how appropriate this would be for an accordion. A larger bag would be needed, like a trash bag. I bought a roll of clear plastic liners sized for use with 55-gal drums - seems like those would work nicely.
I had an antique view camera with bellows. The camera and film would get the treatment after being used outside in the winter, bagged up even before putting it back into the car.
JKJ
Alan Sharkis
Well-known member
Well, I’m more of a Klezmer nut., but since the guys I used to play with are all gone or ill, I don’t have much of a chance to play that genre anymore.
Rosie C
Active member
Ventura
Prolific poster
allowing any wood and metal instrument to slowly warm to room temperature
is prudent, and applies when you have transported your Box a long way in an
unheated area of your car or train, or left it in the boot overnight in the garage
however, this does NOT apply when you have been playing OUTSIDE in cold
and or particularly humid conditions.. think about it.. you would be TRAPPING
that coldness and humid air inside this folded over baggie..
as suggested, immediately airing out your bellows with great gulps of heated
dry air warms the metal and reduces the condensation potential, while
exchanging the air replaces the humidity with some dryer air and helps
evaporate any condensation THAT HAS ALREADY OCCURED
i suppose the tips of ice cold reeds can actually have tiny bits of ice form on them
just like windshield wipers or whiskers in the worst weather and it does not
take rust long to film up on bare steel that gets wet and is left that way
metal + oxygen + moisture = oxidation
this is why the metal poles holding up your Clothesline out in the backyard
deteriorate in a ring most deeply right at ground level and eventually just
snap off
very very few of us have stainless steel reeds, and people with Gola's are
likely to do their winter busking on a lesser model of accordion anyhow..
but even with a ROLAND i would still air out my bellows once inside a nice
warm area where they provide Cookies and Hot Cocoa for the musicians
the electronic device can suffer from condensation because there are
sometimes trace amounts of chlorides/impurities that did not wash
completely off the boards after they were fluxed in the soldering process..
errant moisture reaching some tiny corner can re-animate the impurity
and occasionally corrode a copper trace or other connection
(close examination reveals a sort of bluish carbuncle forming)
so no, i would not bring my cold accordion in and immediately place it inside
it's case to keep it cold and damp !
air it out.. leave it stretched a bit if you can
(greater relative volume of air inside while it warms)
is prudent, and applies when you have transported your Box a long way in an
unheated area of your car or train, or left it in the boot overnight in the garage
however, this does NOT apply when you have been playing OUTSIDE in cold
and or particularly humid conditions.. think about it.. you would be TRAPPING
that coldness and humid air inside this folded over baggie..
as suggested, immediately airing out your bellows with great gulps of heated
dry air warms the metal and reduces the condensation potential, while
exchanging the air replaces the humidity with some dryer air and helps
evaporate any condensation THAT HAS ALREADY OCCURED
i suppose the tips of ice cold reeds can actually have tiny bits of ice form on them
just like windshield wipers or whiskers in the worst weather and it does not
take rust long to film up on bare steel that gets wet and is left that way
metal + oxygen + moisture = oxidation
this is why the metal poles holding up your Clothesline out in the backyard
deteriorate in a ring most deeply right at ground level and eventually just
snap off
very very few of us have stainless steel reeds, and people with Gola's are
likely to do their winter busking on a lesser model of accordion anyhow..
but even with a ROLAND i would still air out my bellows once inside a nice
warm area where they provide Cookies and Hot Cocoa for the musicians
the electronic device can suffer from condensation because there are
sometimes trace amounts of chlorides/impurities that did not wash
completely off the boards after they were fluxed in the soldering process..
errant moisture reaching some tiny corner can re-animate the impurity
and occasionally corrode a copper trace or other connection
(close examination reveals a sort of bluish carbuncle forming)
so no, i would not bring my cold accordion in and immediately place it inside
it's case to keep it cold and damp !
air it out.. leave it stretched a bit if you can
(greater relative volume of air inside while it warms)
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It's called an accordion case. With large temperature differences, you let it sit closed for a while in warmer surroundings. Then you let the accordion in the open case sit for a while without playing it. Then you pump it once or twice with the air button to exchange some air (which is warm and moist compared to the accordion insides) "without inhaling" through the reed blocks. And after a few minutes, you finally play.
The large silica gel bags inside of some accordions are supposed to help with acclimatization: they buffer humidity. They don't absorb it permanently, so they are useless in humid climate. To be of permanent use, they need to get into contact with air that is reasonably dry for extended amounts of time.
That's actually the worst place to be "airing" your accordion after playing in the cold. The warm air soaks up humidity from all the people in the warm area and from the exhaust of gas heaters, and as that warm air touches the cold reed plates, it gets cooled off and loses its capacity of holding water vapor, causing dew to form. You want to let the accordion warm up without breathing so that its insides don't cause condensation by cooling off warm air containing vapor.
Same for electronics even though they warm up faster than reed plates. Doubly so for acoustic accordions with leather valves throughout: you don't want them to curl from moisture.
I based my comments on my experience and education so of course I could be wrong (been wrong many times!)
As for humidity in the air in instruments... The internals of wind instruments such as trumpet and clarinet (I've found the french horn the worst) are different, continually filled with moisture from the lungs, winter or summer, worse in the winter due to condensation inside the cold tubing. The water collects in brass and is needs to be blown out, tapped out of the harmonica. The accordion does inhale and exhale ambient outdoor air but no air from the lungs - does moisture accumulate inside and condense on internal surfaces when brought inside? Or might moisture condense more on internal parts when a very cold accordion is brought inside and "aired out" with gulps of warm, humid interior air? I don't know. Maybe someone can do an experiment with a humidity sensor mounted inside an accordion to monitor internal moisture during and after playing outdoors winter and summer.
Perhaps some people do play outdoors in conditions that allow ice to form on windshield wipers, and pull that moisture inside the instrument - sounds like an uncomfortable gig to me.
Once saturated they will ADD moisture to the inside as they dry. Is this good or bad? I use silica gel desiccant a lot in my shop, for one thing to preserve cyanoacrylate (super) glue which can set up by absorbing water right through the plastic bottle. (Moisture is an accelerator for CA.) Glue stored in a dry container will last for years. I seal the bottles in a glass container with dry silica gel. I use loose indicator silica gel beads easily available through Amazon. For those not aware, indicator gel is one color when dry and changes as it absorbs moisture. The white beads are not so useful for monitoring.
The desiccant beads can easily be recharged (dried out) repeatedly in an oven. That I use is bright blue when dry and turns to pink when full of water. I put the saturated gel into small aluminum trays and heat them in a toaster oven in my shop until they are bright blue. (A kitchen oven will do.) I do the same thing to reuse the silica gel in an air dryer cartridge plumbed into my shop air compressor system downstream from my water traps and moisture separators. (Moist compressed air is horrible for some tools, especially a plasma cutter.)
Anyone who wants to dry their accordion or anything else with silica gel could buy some indicator gel beads and put a cloth or paper bag of them a relatively sealed case. Just check the color occasionally to know when to "recharge" in the oven. Here is one of packages of indicator silica gel I bought.
JKJ
Joakim Monsen
Member
What is a CBA?
Chromatic button accordion. Most of the time when you read PA in this forum, it means "piano accordion" rather than "public address system", too.
