Hi - my name's Jim and I'm very happy to have found this website, full of interesting advice and people. I've played for over 50 years, since I was 11, and been in various ceilidh bands over the years, as well as playing quite a lot of French musette music. However, my wife really doesn't like the noise of the box (even though she is French) and so my much-loved Paolo Soprani musette accordion has only been sparingly used in the last ten years or so. However, I very recently bought a second hand Roland Fr1x which has reignited my love of playing, largely due to being able to wear headphones so not disturb Bake Off etc of an evening. With more frequent practice, I'm getting back to a passable standard and have even ventured out to a couple of open mic evenings, which I have enjoyed.
As well as introducing myself, I do have one pressing issue to ask about, which concerns the positioning of the accordion as I play. The much more frequent playing in the last month has quickly reminded me of the aches I used to have with my right wrist, especially if I'd played all evening for a dance, and I quickly realised (perhaps because I was swapping over to a much smaller instrument) that I was wearing the accordion far too much to the right, with the bellows central to my body rather than the piano keyboard. I have adjusted the straps and now it sits as several people have advised.
However, the general advice still seems to be for the right wrist to be as straight as possible with the forearm. I can achieve this for a little while, but my elbow sticks out and it just doesn't feel natural enough, and soon my elbow creeps back towards my body. My former position, with the accordion much more on the right and my elbow tucked in was clearly very poor, but is there a suitable compromise others can suggest, as I don't want to risk developing carpal tunnel symptoms etc? I must add that yes, it must seem a strange question after playing for so long, but I honestly didn't give it any thought until a few days ago.
As well as introducing myself, I do have one pressing issue to ask about, which concerns the positioning of the accordion as I play. The much more frequent playing in the last month has quickly reminded me of the aches I used to have with my right wrist, especially if I'd played all evening for a dance, and I quickly realised (perhaps because I was swapping over to a much smaller instrument) that I was wearing the accordion far too much to the right, with the bellows central to my body rather than the piano keyboard. I have adjusted the straps and now it sits as several people have advised.
However, the general advice still seems to be for the right wrist to be as straight as possible with the forearm. I can achieve this for a little while, but my elbow sticks out and it just doesn't feel natural enough, and soon my elbow creeps back towards my body. My former position, with the accordion much more on the right and my elbow tucked in was clearly very poor, but is there a suitable compromise others can suggest, as I don't want to risk developing carpal tunnel symptoms etc? I must add that yes, it must seem a strange question after playing for so long, but I honestly didn't give it any thought until a few days ago.
) 
