Hello from Portland Oregon USA

[BillErickson]

Nice forum -- Ive been enjoying reading through the various threads...

I took PA lessons as a kid back in the 60s. Mom and Dad got me a very nice red Diamond Midget. Midget because it was designed for the smaller frame of a child, so had a smaller body than a full-size instrument -- LM 41 keys in 14.75 and full 120 bass.





But back in the 60s and 70s the accordion was just not very fashionable, so I moved on to other musical instruments. My last public performance was playing Cotton Eyed Joe in a parking garage while a dozen or so fellow-members of the University of Washington Husky Marching Band square danced, while relaxing before an away UW football game.

But over the years I would still pull out the accordion maybe once or twice a year and run through a few tunes.

And then I ran into an avid accordionist on Facebook that rekindled my interest. I decided I wanted a Musette register that the Diamond accordion lacked, and that a bigger instrument with wider keys might be easier for my adult-sized fingers. So after some on-line searching through eBay, craigslist, and accordion stores in Portland and Seattle, found a very nice black Guerrini Camillo, being sold by a Vancouver BC accordionist on eBay. Ive been busy getting used to the larger body, heavier weight, and wider key spacing ever since.





Back to work running through my old Palmer-Hughes Books....

 

[maugein96]

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear you've got the "bug" again and hope it doesn't take you too long to get back into the groove.

By the 60s/70s the accordion's popularity had declined in quite a few countries, especially here in Europe, but the good thing is it hasn't completely died out and people are still deciding to play.

In some countries the accordion has remained fairly popular throughout, although those are admittedly relatively few and far between.

Don't get bogged down too much with the books, as that accordion looks as though it is just waiting to play tunes.

I've given up playing on more than one occasion, and each time I've recommenced I've resolved to work through the books more thoroughly than before. In my particular case I'm still the player I was when I gave up the first time, and ended up chucking the books away after a month or two.

Playing is the enjoyable part, and method books are the same as they were the first time you worked through them.

Cheers,

Johnny Walker (aka maugein 96)

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the forum.

Apart from "Cotton Eyed Joe", which you have already mentioned, what kind of music do you like playing? Whatever it is, I'm fairly sure that someone else on this site will play it.

I look forward to reading your future contributions.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[JeffJetton]

Welcome! Portland is one of my favorite towns. Nice lookin' Camillo there!

 

[Tom]

Welcome Bill! Congrats for re-starting and great looking accordion. You're fortunate because there is quite the music scene in Portland, even for accordionists. Good luck!