Fingering closeups in videos

[Deleted member 48]

Some great closeups in this YT video with Hanzhi Wang playing her accordion arrangement of Etincelles by Moritz Moszkovski.
Its all there, the superb technique, the control over the bellows, the fingering technique, ...

 

[JerryPH]

… and the very rare but perfectly executed TRIPLE bellows shake.

What an amazing accordionist, she does that Pigini Bayan proud!

 

[Glenn]

Beautiful performance. A joy to listen to.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Remarkable! Sounds like some imaginary magic woodwind ensemble.

 

[JerryPH]

A lot of that is the magic of the Free Bass, to have 2 hands participating in the melody or augmenting the melody beyond the 1 octave range of Stradella bass is something extraordinary if you are in to that type of accordion.

One of the first things that I enjoyed the most when starting on the Free Bass was that suddenly, I had an incredible increase in sheet music choices, as anything written for piano was suddenly a viable option and I was no longer limited to looking for sheet music made only for the accordion.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Jerry,
I’ve been thinking of getting a converter. Do you think they have more mechanical troubles than a free bass?

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry,
I’ve been thinking of getting a converter. Do you think they have more mechanical troubles than a free bass?

I think its a toss-up. 

Eddy, I am probably not the best to answer this, but will share my opinion.


The mechanics of setting up 3 extra rows of 58 buttons or the mechanics of re-routing 4 of the lower chord buttons to individual notes... it ends up all being the same.

My old Hohner has been rock solid in terms of mechanics (not counting the famous Castelfidardo glue FUBAR) , and works as well mechanically today as it did in 1973.

Now, if you ask me my preference... it is the MIII system for the simple reason that this is what I started and ended with up until I got the Roland 8X and tried it's "converter" free bass setup, which I hate because it gives me left hand finger cramps in minutes after playing it.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Jerry,
I know nothing. What’s the MIII System?

Okay. Just found a post: MI : treble manual. MII: Stradella manual (either the full monty or, on converters currently in free bass mode, the remaining two Stradella rows). MIII: free bass manual (in converters only visible in free bass mode in the four outer rows, in instruments with separate free bass always the three inner rows).

This sort of halfway clarifies it, but is a bit muddy.

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry,
I know nothing. What’s the MIII System?

Okay. Just found a post: MI : treble manual. MII: Stradella manual (either the full monty or, on converters currently in free bass mode, the remaining two Stradella rows). MIII: free bass manual (in converters only visible in free bass mode in the four outer rows, in instruments with separate free bass always the three inner rows).

This sort of halfway clarifies it, but is a bit muddy.

The MIII system is 3 extra rows of 58 buttons placed on top of the Stradella bass system, also referred to in the Hohner literature as melodie basse This raises total bass button numbers to 185:



These 3 rows are dedicated free bass tones only.  This opposed to having a 120 bass system where with the press of a register, turns the bottom 4 rows of a Stradella bass system in to singular (Free Bass) notes.  

Converter style let you use only free bass (with normal stradella notes on the bass and counter-bass rows, the rest are turned in to Free Bass tones) and the MIII system lets you use both independently without needing to press any register, as they are both there at the same time, at the potential disadvantage of needing to reach deeper in to the accordion, so people with shorter hands would find this system more difficult as the buttons are further away.

There is a third option, though, again, quite rare... accordions with only Free Bass, no Stradella  notes:



I find all arguments/comparisons not too important, as the MIII system today is quite rare and very hard to find. Most use converter systems.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Thanks, Jerry. MIII is rare, but it’s your preference. Does rare mean “no longer produced?”

 

[JerryPH]

Thanks, Jerry. MIII is rare, but it’s your preference. Does rare mean “no longer produced?”

Pretty much! 


I think Delicia currently makes a FB MIII accordion, the Hohner Gola could be custom ordered with the MIII (at some outrageous price, I am sure), and there might be 2-3 others but that's about it (if I had to guess), in comparison to the abundance in comparison, to converter instruments.

 

[Deleted member 48]

When were talking about fast fingering technique on the accordion, this player has a pretty good technique...
wow...
His style of playing reminds me of A. Dmitriev.