History of the free bass accordion systems

[Deleted member 48]

The history of free bass accordion developments in France, the harmonéon, Jules Prez, an early French pioneer in free bass accordion design. The picture from his 1965 patent of a 4 row free bass accordion, and photo of the Hohner 4 rows model.

The inverted free bass left hand by Yves Apparailly (the second photo) with the low notes down (inspired by the Russian free bass system??). 

http://lharmoneon.over-blog.com/2016/08/l-harmoneon.html



steps in the bass on the accordion


The early history of free bass accordions is clouded, only a few documents survived.
If you have hyperlinks to early free bass developments docs and pics, feel free to post some.

 

[fphlpsnrg]

additional links

Giulietti patents

basic history

Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

 

[Deleted member 48]

additional links

Giulietti patents

basic history

Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

Thank you for the Giulietti patents links and the basic history of the accordion.
A lot of interesting data and info on this basic history website.
The 1877 year mention of the birth of the Vienna Schrammelharmonika (the first B-system chromatic button accordion known) is very close to Andreas Teufels findings. He wrote a thesis on the Schrammelharmonika (pdf for download). In this document he talks about the year 1874, but there are no (online) documents to verify this.

I would love to find and see the 1890 patent by Rosario Spadana from Catania, Sicily:
1[font=arial, sans-serif]890: [/font][font=arial, sans-serif]Rosario Spadana[/font][font=arial, sans-serif], from Catania in Sicily registered a copyright for a free-bass[/font]

The first real free bass accordion in history with documentation is the F. Gerl Hand-Harmonium from 1891:
http://www.bandonion.info/de/solo,146.htm
There is even a tutor/method for this Gerl Hand-Harmonium that has survived, but it is in the hands of a French private collector, sadly no online copy on the net.

A few accordion bass convertor online patents:

Schmidt May (1939)
https://patents.google.com/patent/US2798400A/en?oq="schmidt+may"++1939

E. Baldoni (1961)
https://patents.google.com/patent/US2979980A/en?q=accordion&q=convertor&oq=accordion+convertor

http://www.accordions.com/articles/bayan_development_en.aspx
quote:
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 1907, P. Sterligov created this instrument which was so different from all other existing harmonikas (so-called garmoshkas). He gave this instrument the name bayan according to the old Russian singer Boyan. The specifications were: 55 treble buttons (4 rows), 72 basses (with preset chords, often known as standard bass).[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 1929 Sterligov built the first bayan with single tones (bass) with a new bass meachanism that permits, by pressing a button, to switch from standard bass preset chords to single notes of many octaves. This invention considerably increased the performance of the bayan.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I am looking for an online patent or picture of the 1929 Sterligov bayan convertor.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Joseph Galleazzi (Giuseppe Galleazzi) patent 1894 with preset chords, years before the 1907 Sterligov preset chords bayan.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]https://patents.google.com/patent/US517648?oq=galleazzi+accordion[/font]

One of the first free bass accordions in history actually was a concertina, the double duet concertina by Charles Wheatstone (a 4 columns chromatic layout free bass instrument), described in his 1844 patent:
http://www.concertina.com/double/wheatstone-double-no-23/index.htm
A different instrument but the idea is basically the same as a 3 rows free bass accordion.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention:
Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

Are you based in the USA? Do you have any ideas or explanations for to this different treatment of PAs and CBAs by the customs duties?

 

[fphlpsnrg]

additional links

Giulietti patents

basic history

Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

Thank you for the Giulietti patents links and the basic history of the accordion.
A lot of interesting data and info on this basic history website.
The 1877 year mention of the birth of the Vienna Schrammelharmonika (the first B-system chromatic button accordion known) is very close to Andreas Teufels findings. He wrote a thesis on the Schrammelharmonika (pdf for download). In this document he talks about the year 1874, but there are no (online) documents to verify this.

I would love to find and see the 1890 patent by Rosario Spadana from Catania, Sicily:
1[font=arial, sans-serif]890: [/font][font=arial, sans-serif]Rosario Spadana[/font][font=arial, sans-serif], from Catania in Sicily registered a copyright for a free-bass[/font]

The first real free bass accordion in history with documentation is the F. Gerl Hand-Harmonium from 1891:
http://www.bandonion.info/de/solo,146.htm
There is even a tutor/method for this Gerl Hand-Harmonium that has survived, but it is in the hands of a French private collector, sadly no online copy on the net.

A few accordion bass convertor online patents:

Schmidt May (1939)
https://patents.google.com/patent/US2798400A/en?oq="schmidt+may"++1939

E. Baldoni (1961)
https://patents.google.com/patent/US2979980A/en?q=accordion&q=convertor&oq=accordion+convertor

http://www.accordions.com/articles/bayan_development_en.aspx
quote:
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 1907, P. Sterligov created this instrument which was so different from all other existing harmonikas (so-called garmoshkas). He gave this instrument the name bayan according to the old Russian singer Boyan. The specifications were: 55 treble buttons (4 rows), 72 basses (with preset chords, often known as standard bass).[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 1929 Sterligov built the first bayan with single tones (bass) with a new bass meachanism that permits, by pressing a button, to switch from standard bass preset chords to single notes of many octaves. This invention considerably increased the performance of the bayan.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I am looking for an online patent or picture of the 1929 Sterligov bayan convertor.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Joseph Galleazzi (Giuseppe Galleazzi) patent 1894 with preset chords, years before the 1907 Sterligov preset chords bayan.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]https://patents.google.com/patent/US517648?oq=galleazzi+accordion[/font]

One of the first free bass accordions in history actually was a concertina, the double duet concertina by Charles Wheatstone (a 4 columns chromatic layout free bass instrument), described in his 1844 patent:
http://www.concertina.com/double/wheatstone-double-no-23/index.htm
A different instrument but the idea is basically the same as a 3 rows free bass accordion.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention:
Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

Are you based in the USA? Do you have any ideas or explanations for to this different treatment of PAs and CBAs by the customs duties?

 

[fphlpsnrg]

additional links

Giulietti patents

basic history

Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

Thank you for the Giulietti patents links and the basic history of the accordion.
A lot of interesting data and info on this basic history website.
The 1877 year mention of the birth of the Vienna Schrammelharmonika (the first B-system chromatic button accordion known) is very close to Andreas Teufels findings. He wrote a thesis on the Schrammelharmonika (pdf for download). In this document he talks about the year 1874, but there are no (online) documents to verify this.

I would love to find and see the 1890 patent by Rosario Spadana from Catania, Sicily:
1[font=arial, sans-serif]890: [/font][font=arial, sans-serif]Rosario Spadana[/font][font=arial, sans-serif], from Catania in Sicily registered a copyright for a free-bass[/font]

The first real free bass accordion in history with documentation is the F. Gerl Hand-Harmonium from 1891:
http://www.bandonion.info/de/solo,146.htm
There is even a tutor/method for this Gerl Hand-Harmonium that has survived, but it is in the hands of a French private collector, sadly no online copy on the net.

A few accordion bass convertor online patents:

Schmidt May (1939)
https://patents.google.com/patent/US2798400A/en?oq="schmidt+may"++1939

E. Baldoni (1961)
https://patents.google.com/patent/US2979980A/en?q=accordion&q=convertor&oq=accordion+convertor

http://www.accordions.com/articles/bayan_development_en.aspx
quote:
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 1907, P. Sterligov created this instrument which was so different from all other existing harmonikas (so-called garmoshkas). He gave this instrument the name bayan according to the old Russian singer Boyan. The specifications were: 55 treble buttons (4 rows), 72 basses (with preset chords, often known as standard bass).

In 1929 Sterligov built the first bayan with single tones (bass) with a new bass meachanism that permits, by pressing a button, to switch from standard bass preset chords to single notes of many octaves. This invention considerably increased the performance of the bayan.

I am looking for an online patent or picture of the 1929 Sterligov bayan convertor.

Joseph Galleazzi (Giuseppe Galleazzi) patent 1894 with preset chords, years before the 1907 Sterligov preset chords bayan.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US517648?oq=galleazzi+accordion[/font]

One of the first free bass accordions in history actually was a concertina, the double duet concertina by Charles Wheatstone (a 4 columns chromatic layout free bass instrument), described in his 1844 patent:
http://www.concertina.com/double/wheatstone-double-no-23/index.htm
A different instrument but the idea is basically the same as a 3 rows free bass accordion.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention:
Chromatic button accordions imported into the U.S. are subject to customs duties. Piano accordions are not. Make of this what you will.

Are you based in the USA? Do you have any ideas or explanations for to this different treatment of PAs and CBAs by the customs duties?

I appreciate your comprehensive and pertinent reply. I am out of my depth here, for sure. I am based in the U.S.

For reasons regarding libel and defamation, my ideas and explanations for the different treatment of PAs and CBAs must be indirect.

The import duty on accordions can be found on page 3 of https://www.usitc.gov/publications/docs/tata/hts/bychapter/1000c92.pdf.

2.6% may not seem like much, but thats 260 US$ (231 EUR) on a 10,000 US$ (8,884 EUR) instrument that is not a piano accordion. The question here is, why is there this delineation?

Do a search on deffner music business. I am not one to criticize the manner in which someone else makes their money. However, one could make the naive observation that there has not been a positive promotion of commercial instruction and performance for the chromatic button accordion. People I have known in the accordion music arena have stated more emphatic opinions. Its been several decades since I have been involved in the area, but I dont think too much has changed. The basic business model is to sell instruction and to make instruments available through the instructor.

Unlike Europe and GB, there are very few academic courses of instruction and performance for chromatic button accordion in the US, the majority of which would be found in obscure junior or associate degree colleges.

Compared to traditional classical instruments, accordions are relatively new on the scene. I have nothing against PAs. They make music accessible through a familiar interface for the right and simplified accompaniment for the left. But you need a CBA to play this: (click on the icon to view full size)

 

[Deleted member 48]

My personal opinion is the problem probably is not the customs duties.

Faithe Deffner was president of the AAA, American Accordionists Association, and the Deffner family was a major player in the US accordion industry. 

In continental Europe professional accordion teachers have decided to separate accordion education from accordion sales and business. 

The double role of the accordion shop owner and teacher or decision maker is not a healthy situation. 

Conservatory trained accordion teachers should be on top of the decision making process. 

Not the sales people. 

The USA or UK accordion associations should invite CBA professionals to have a seat in the Boards where decisions are made.