Beginners' resources & FAQs

[Glenn]

Indeed it's for opening and closing the bellows without making a sound. All accordions have them in some form. For a beginner it's most useful for closing the bellows before you put your accordion away. Simple as that.


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[george garside]

the air button can also be used for 'feathering' a reversal of bellows direction to avoid a any 'lumpy' sound that may occur if for example a direction change is necessary mid phrase. just a tiny press and release of the air button as the bellows change direction does the trick. Of course where possible the bellows should be reversed between phrases.

george

 

[Chris]

Based on several reviews, for learning to play the accordion, the Palmer-Hughes series is highly regarded. Self-paced, it has been around since the 1960s.

I'd like to add my positive review for the Palmer-Hughes series; it was my primary source when I took lessons from 1958 to 1970. Outstanding and comprehensive series that taught all aspects of the piano accordion with a variety of excellent tunes designed to teach and refine technique as skill develops over the years.

 

[Gary M]

This is a thread for newcomers to this forum but especially for those who are new to the accordion! I'm inviting the experienced players to post information and links that will be of use. No discussion or comments, please - they will be removed!

Hi! I’m wondering what “PM” stands for in the forum and how it’s used to contact people?
Thank you!

 

[Dingo40]

AFAIK, PM stand for "personal mail " and enables one member to communicate with another about matters that may not be of general interest

 

[JerryPH]

Can also similarly stand for a "private message", a post that no one else can read those posts/comments.

 

[Sergei]

for those unable to or not wishing to have formal lessons I recommend mel bays ''you can teach yourself accordion'' starts right at the beginning, includes a CD . covers basic theory but not too much and has a nice range of tunes particularly for those wanting to play a range of ''jolly tunes'' rather than following the classical exams and grades route.

tunes include a bit of everything eg ode to joy, brahms lullaby, jambaaya, two stepping 'cross texas, riskc reel, pretty fair maid jig, lake Charles waltz (Cajun), Chinatown, wahington and lee swing, british grenadiers, melancholy baby, amazing grae etc etc etc.

george

great. i found one on Amazon. ordering now!

 

[Sergei]

Based on several reviews, for learning to play the accordion, the Palmer-Hughes series is highly regarded. Self-paced, it has been around since the 1960s.

Found these at the local Walmart Canada (online). Order has been placed for Books 1, 2 and 3. Thanks-

 

[Sergei]

Another good resource is the free accordion online school by Dale Mathis.

 

[Robinc]

Hi guys, I want to start playing the accordion and I'm searching for one. I found one which is in price range since im a student but I'm not sure the seller is honest about it working. This is the only photo I got and he told me it works.

Thank you in advance for your opinion!

 

[Glug]

I think this is something every beginner needs at some point:

Official Notation for the standard accordion (1938)

https://www.zisman.ca/squeezebox/About%20Accordion%20Bass%20Notation.pdf

 

[Tom]

Hi guys, I want to start playing the accordion and I'm searching for one. I found one which is in price range since im a student but I'm not sure the seller is honest about it working. This is the only photo I got and he told me it works.

Thank you in advance for your opinion!

Hi Robin, to me this looks like an older Hohner “Club” accordion. That means that it is a “diatonic” accordion, wherein each button plays a different note whether the accordion is pushed closed, or pulled open. These are good instruments for playing traditional type music in a limited number of keys. This is no problem if you know what you are getting into and want that. Just to be aware it is quite a different instrument than a “piano accordion.”

It is impossible to say what keys this is set up for, and what actual condition the accordion is in, without actual examination. Many of these older instruments have seen hard use and the “innards” (wax, leather, metal) have deteriorated over time. You’ll be best off if you can try it yourself, with a friend who knows, if you can. I would probably try to sell this in the $100 to $200 range, more or less depending on condition

Good luck! Ask here if you have further questions.

 

[dak]

Hi Robin, to me this looks like an older Hohner “Club” accordion. That means that it is a “diatonic” accordion, wherein each button plays a different note whether the accordion is pushed closed, or pulled open. These are good instruments for playing traditional type music in a limited number of keys. This is no problem if you know what you are getting into and want that. Just to be aware it is quite a different instrument than a “piano accordion.”

It is impossible to say what keys this is set up for, and what actual condition the accordion is in, without actual examination. Many of these older instruments have seen hard use and the “innards” (wax, leather, metal) have deteriorated over time. You’ll be best off if you can try it yourself, with a friend who knows, if you can. I would probably try to sell this in the $100 to $200 range, more or less depending on condition

Good luck! Ask here if you have further questions.

No. The "Beginner's resources and FAQ" thread definitely is quite the wrong place to ask questions. They should create a new thread in the "New Here?" category, and that's where the original question also would belong.

 

[Tom]

No. The "Beginner's resources and FAQ" thread definitely is quite the wrong place to ask questions. They should create a new thread in the "New Here?" category, and that's where the original question also would belong.

True, but I always forgive first time questioners, who may not understand how things work.

 

[dak]

True, but I always forgive first time questioners, who may not understand how things work.

So why not explain it to them rather than explicitly prompting them to make more mistakes?

 

[John M]

Hi Robin, welcome , I notice this is your first post. Also, the last post on this thread was April of 2023. Go to the opening screen on this Forum and select "Post Thread" and put your question there. This is a good forum. Don't be shy about putting out a "New Thread". Everybody does it here -- there are almost too many posts for me (old and new-they have really increased in the last few months). I go through "Latest Posts" , as I don't want to "miss a thing". I can go quickly and filter out what I'm not interested in.

 

[JeffJetton]

Buying and repairing info from George Bachich: https://accordionrevival.com/

Also... A demonstration of 10 different musette tunings, from bone-dry to sopping wet:

 

[JudyKimp]

I agree with lasvegascolonel - the Palmer-Hughes is what I started on, and it is logically thought out, and fun at the same time. I am using some of the intermediate books to reacquaint myself with the instrument.