Good textbook about accordions ?

[aemit]

Hi folks,

Is there a good textbook about accordions ?
Covering things like construction, playing technique, history, theory ...
It does not have to be in English.

 

[JerryPH]

That is asking a lot from one book, considering that just on technique alone there are hundreds of books out there. There maybe a book, but it would be superficial and very low level… nothing that 2 hours on YouTube could not cover as well or better.

 

[aemit]

I should have asked one book per topic
And should have put technique at the end of the list.
I am not looking for superficial and low level, indeed some more content than youtube, I like reading much more than watching.

 

[Ffingers]

Hi folks,

Is there a good textbook about accordions ?
Covering things like construction, playing technique, history, theory ...
It does not have to be in English.

aemit, I have been travelling down a similar path since June last year.
The amount of time which has apparently just vanished is incredible.
But time I have in abundance, I'm old and retired so have been able to follow the 'rabbit holes' into the 'warrens' of the internet in general, youtube in particular, and have spent rather too much of my sparse income on books.
"The Ins and Outs of the Accordion" by Theirry Benetoux in English translation is one, and there is another by the same author "Sounding Out the Accordion" about the mysteries of tuning the beasts.
Have a look at: https://accordionrevival.com/ for somewhere to while away a month or two. ;-)

 

[aemit]

Oops, I see why you spent too much ... about 100 Euros for that book.

 

[lordzedd]

Here are 3 books I've recently acquired and am working through reading:

Accordion Revolution - Bruce Triggs (a member of this forum). A comprehensive history of accordions in North America. Bought from Bruce on Etsy.

Jazz Theory and Improvisation Studies for Accordion - Ralph Stricker. Exactly what it sounds like. Bought from Ernest Deffner Publications.

The Art of Bayan Playing - Friedrich Lips. Some history, some technique, some artistry. Bought from MusicForAccordion. They also have the Benetoux books cheaper than the used prices I can find.

 

[aemit]

Thanks ! I already ordered Accordion Revolution, looking forward to it.
I'll check out the other books.
Wim.

 

[Morne]

Since you mention it doesn't have to be English, here are some German books. These are more technical, not so much about playing.

Akkordeon: Handbuch für Musiker und Instrumentbauer by Gotthard Richter.

And a couple of books related to tuning and repair (Die Akkordeonstimmung and Handharmonika-Instrumente) by Toni Schwall. I see he finally got a website last year. Here are the books:

Fachbücher | ToniSchwallAkkordeon

www.toni-schwall-akkordeon.de

 

[JerryPH]

Couple other books that are pretty good reading:
- The Accordion in the Americas by Helena Simonett
- Russian Bayan by Tolmachev
- Accordion Repairs Made Easy by John Reuther
- The Klezmer Accordion (cannot remember the author)
- Accordion Pedagogy - A modern overview of Accordion Pedagogy by Claudio Jacomucci
- Accordion Stories from the heart by Paul Rammuni (a strongl favourite of mine for personal reasons)

​

 

[aemit]

Found, exactly what I was looking for :
"The classical accordion and its repertoire" by Paolo Picchio (english translation of "La fisharmica da concerto ed il suo repertorio").

The Classical Accordion and its Repertoire - Paolo Picchio - Translated by Romano Viazzani - How it nearly didn't happen! - ZZMusic | Accordion Music | Accordions catalogue, Recordings, Sheet Music, Books and Services: Accordion's Repairs, Tuning, Tu

The Classical Accordion and its Repertoire - Paolo Picchio - Translated by Romano Viazzani - After 13 years the book has finally been published! The story of how the book nearly didn't happen.

zzmusic.uk

 

[JerryPH]

Awesome, glad you found what you needed!