EAD or FBbEb tuning for 3 row diatonic accordion?

[gerardo1000]

I am thinking about purchasing a Hohner Compadre and I find the CGE tuning a bit too high for my personal taste (I had the CGE tuning on a new Panther that I just returned because of an issue with some bass side reeds too slow to speak while pushing). I do not play with others and I do not use the accordion to accompany other instruments or myself when I sing. Basically, I use the accordion as a solo instrument, playing the right hand 31 keys to play the melody and the 12 left hand bass keys to play chords and accompaniment. And I am still in the beginner phase. I would like to use the Compadre for some French music ( like the "Amelie" movie waltzers) some pop and some easy classic music. Which among this two tunings would you recommend ? EAD or FBbEb ? Thank you for your opinions! (P.S. I tried to post my question also on Melodeon.net but currently they are not accepting new members).

 

[Tom]

Hi Gerardo,

If you are generally playing by yourself, it will not matter which key you purchase as far as that goes.

I noticed that you felt the C instrument was tuned too high for your tastes. Therefore, I think that the decision should be based on whether you like the E or F tuning better.

However, you may find that, as you improve, you develop the desire to either play with others or accompany your singing. With that in mind, it would be good to determine the popular keys in your neighborhood and/or the key that most matches your singing.

Another consideration is whether you plan to discover and learn new music through sheet music. In which case, for your style of music, will it be easier to find sheets in E or F. (Unless you don't mind transposing). For the music that I play, for example, I find lots more in F than E.

Good luck!

 

[dunlustin]

The commonest reason for choosing flat keys is playing with brass/woodwind.
Also Bb and F are popular keys for singing which you do not do
I know nothing about the advantages of EAD boxes.
If you choose to use notation, as a beginner you will find a lot of stuff is in C (or G or F )

Also worth noting if you like French tunes:
The most popular 2-row in Europe these days is a GC ( its 3-row is the GCF )
A GC is particularly friendly for Aminor tunes. France has quite a lot of these.
Try:
"Miz Kerzu" à trois voix (sous la neige de février...) - YouTube

PS A diatonic player with just one 'box' is a very rare beast.

 

[Siegmund]

If you play unaccompanied, it's all your personal taste (and your enthusiasm for transposing and arranging stuff written in C or G that you want to play.)

If you play with others -- with whom? If you team up with a fiddler he will prefer to play in D and A. If you team up with a saxophonist his instrument's natural key will be Bb or Eb.

 

[oldbayan]

That is why I like my FR-18 so much, it can play in any key!