Getting back on track

[Alan Sharkis]

I’m 82 years old. I played accordion as a kid, and started again in my seventies. I worked with a teacher and got part way into book 6 of the Palmer Hughes series before stopping lessons earlier this year. During this time I also went through some American pop tunes with my teacher, as well as the usual exercises, harmony studies, etc. I was also part of an amateur band. We concentrated on klezmer, Israeli dance tunes, Yiddish theater songs and American pop tunes.

Now that I have recovered from hip replacement surgery, my accordion is calling to me. I’d like any and all advice I can get about starting again, on my own, after a roughly half-year hiatus.

Thanks.

 

[Dingo40]

Hi Alan,
Just play through some of your pre-op repertoire which you like and gradually move forward at a comfortable rate?

 

[Ffingers]

My advice as an octogenarian novice?
Sort out what it is that you wish to achieve - very defined.
With little time left in life, and lots of physical restrictions I am simply taking things one day (or every other day) at a time.
But I still manage to surprise myself with just how much I remember each session - but then even dementia sufferers seem to recall songs and sounds without too much difficulty

 

[Ventura]

glad to hear you are recovered enough to get back to your Music

my advise is just the old tried and true.. literally my entire life,
anytime i didn't know which way to go next, i would just break out
one of the Fake Books.. usually #1 or #15 because for some reason
they just were the best ones, but any Fake book would do
( i had most of them eventually)

just flipping through and finding stuff that was awesome that i never
noticed before.. always inspiring and then soon i would have a road
to go down putting a new setlist together and practicing them up until
i nailed them all

but hey, whatever works for you is what is important here right now,
so play the stuff that makes you smile and makes you glad your fingers
and brain and body are working together again

 

[Ffingers]

Ventura - the Fake Books to which you referred - what are they?

 

[JerryPH]

Fake books are usually, though not always, hand written books with just the melody of songs. Those things have been around since the 50’s as far as I can tell. There were some companies that actually made books like this under the same banner name. Most have some kind of classification, either by year (most popular songs of the 50’s and 60’s), or style of music (gospel, classical, rock, western) or country.

If you do some internet searches, you will Likely find many sources, some free, some paid. Your average fake book will have hundreds and hundreds of songs per book.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

A good example is called, “The Million Dollar Library.” It consists of eleven pdf files — ten fake books and one master index for the ten. I don’t know where it might be available today.

Fake books, as Jerry said, consist of the melody, but above the staff there are also chord symbols, and occasionally guitar fret diagrams for the chords. Sometimes the songs are not in the original key, and occasionally you’ll also find two versions of the same song; one in the original key and one in another key. Usually, lyrics are also included. Extensive use of repeats, first and second endings, etc., make the notation compact.

 

[JeffJetton]

In US jazz circles, the most famous fake books are the various volumes of the jokingly-named "Real Book", which started out as a bootleg collection of mostly-correct transcriptions back in the day. Despite its dubious legality at the time, it was pretty much a required textbook by the time I got to music school. Music stores would have them stashed away under the counter for those who knew to ask for them. (There was one guy I'd always see on the corner with a dog and a guitar case. Rumor was the guitar case was full of Real Books he was selling on the sly.)

Eventually Hal Leonard Publishing realized that A) they had or could get the rights to nearly every song in the Real Books, and B) if they published a legitimate version with all the errors fixed, at the right price, they'd not only make a bunch of money but also push the original bootleg version out of the market. Which is exactly what they did.

 

[JeffJetton]

Fake books, as Jerry said, consist of the melody, but above the staff there are also chord symbols [...] Extensive use of repeats, first and second endings, etc., make the notation compact.

Which, by the way, makes them very well-suited for accordions, since page-turns are nearly impossible (for me at least!).

Once I learn a full arrangement, I'll often re-notate it down to lead sheet ("fake book") format, which can condense many pages down to one or sometimes two. Not ideal for classical/recital pieces where it's important that you execute every note precisely as intended. But for folk/pop/jazz music that is more open to interpretation, it works great.

I have several binders full of non-glare sheet protectors, with the lead sheets slipped inside. One for German gigs, one for French gigs, and so on...

 

[Ffingers]

My thanks to you all for those explanations.

 

[Tom]

Glad to hear you're recovered Alan! My advice to you is to find out exactly what makes you happy when you play it and play the heck out of it. But yeah, my friend Gary just played a 3 hour set at 82 and I saw Dick Contino play in his 80s so you're in good company.

Of course, it's exciting and enlightening to learn new things, so, as has been stated, why not pick something out within your ability and give it a go! A new song, style, even a new accordion!

What ever you do, good luck and good health to you!

....and yeah, I bought the (jazz) real fake book but I don't recognize many of the tunes. I also notate the tunes I like into lead sheets.

 

[jozz]

i wish you a speedy recovery

I would suggest to pickup busking, so you would train your hip and accordion skill at the same time!

maybe you should consult an actual doctor first tho

 

[Ventura]

Ventura - the Fake Books to which you referred - what are they?

the ORIGINAL fake book had 3 songs per page, and literally had some of everything
but especially Standards and Latin.. it was referred to as "the bible"

here in the USA a student accordionist who learned his Fake Book
was never out of work, because tons of existing combo's needed that
lead player and the students who could reliably follow the bands
caller (because he knew his Fake Book or could flip it open quik)
would get called constantly to show up somewhere and play with
a few old-timers who he had never met before in his life
and get paid pretty good to do it !

LoL

but hey the system worked.. no-one could tell we hadn't been
playing together forever it seemed and i learned so MUCH
(besides Music)

LoL

that Tube Type Cordovox and me worked our butts off

 

[Dingo40]

Ffingers,
Check this out:

fake book for accordions - Google Search

 

[Renaldo]

A good example is called, “The Million Dollar Library.” It consists of eleven pdf files — ten fake books and one master index for the ten. I don’t know where it might be available today.

Fake books, as Jerry said, consist of the melody, but above the staff there are also chord symbols, and occasionally guitar fret diagrams for the chords. Sometimes the songs are not in the original key, and occasionally you’ll also find two versions of the same song; one in the original key and one in another key. Usually, lyrics are also included. Extensive use of repeats, first and second endings, etc., make the notation compact.

This looks like it.. https://archive.org/details/TDavidF...tMusic_0/Million_Dollar_Library_Master_Index/

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Thanks to all for your advice and good wishes.