How often, and for which pieces, do you use 41+ treble keys?

[Morne]

For those with larger piano accordions, or CBA's, how often do you use more than the standard PA range of 41 keys?

I recall that Paul (debra) mentioned before that at the orchestra level the arranger would typically keep in mind what range the players have available and adjust accordingly

So assuming the range is available, how often is it used? And also what are examples of pieces that are better with, or even require, that range?

 

[debra]

Not even considering my own arrangements, I have rather frequently encountered the use of the low E and a bit less often the high Bb, B or even C. So in an orchestra it really helps to have at least some people with a 45 key instrument.
When considering what you can do it's important to consider the instruments you have available. For instance, I play the bass accordion in the Netherlands Symphonic Accordion Orchestra and our conductor knows my Pigini goes up to D# (where the PA bass only goes up to D) and he uses that. He takes all the instruments into account when making arrangements for the orchestra. I do the same with all my arrangements. My arrangement of Piazzola's Primavera Portena requires the third voice to have the low D. My arrangement of Bach's Erbarme Dich requires the first solo part to have the high E (way above the A that a 41 key PA keyboard has). My arrangement of Galliano's Tango pour Claude requires the high D...
When you use "standard" arrangements, made without considering which instruments are available, then a 45 key keyboard is almost always enough. There are PAs with 47 keys (Eb to C# instead of E to C) and there is one (AKKO) with 49 keys (D to D). If I were ever to return to PA I would settle for no less than that 49 key range.

 

[JerryPH]

When I was in the Conservatory, the answer to that question was "on a daily basis".

Now it less, of course, but I must have a good 30-40 pieces that I play that use either the lower or higher notes. It's happened to me more than a dozen times that I run out of notes on my Roland FR-8X, so that means that I either have to change the octave of that note (which sounds weird) or not play those pieces on that accordion. I chose to not play those pieces on that accordion.

Suddenly (well, not so suddenly, it's been several months that I have been experiencing this... lol), I have a repertoire for my Hohner Morino and a repertoire for my 8X. I know that once I start fooling around more with that tiny Hohner Free Bass, I *definitely* won't be able to play everything on that, but this is a special case of "I don't care, it's too cute not to play".

When playing folk music, it's rarely an issue, it is mostly with the classical pieces that I run in to the need of that extra note or so.

 

[reivilos92]

I never run into such a situation yet, but I like when the song uses the ful extent of the keyboard. One example that comes to my mind is Geraldine:

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[JerryPH]

What a wonderfully sweet sound!

 

[reivilos92]

Another being Jo Privats Sa Preférée
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Jeannette:
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(Check out Daniel Colins usage of the thumb)

Meksikon Pikajuna:
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Envoyé de mon SM-G935F en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[debra]

When I was in the Conservatory, the answer to that question was on a daily basis.

Now it less, of course, but I must have a good 30-40 pieces that I play that use either the lower or higher notes. ...

Composers and arrangers who know the accordion will use the range they know the instrument has. A lot of music was written or arranged for piano accordion when accordion was entering the professional classical scene (i.e. the conservatory) and that makes active use of the 45 key keyboard (and the 58 note melody bass range). Music arranged for amateur orchestras or players often already assumes the PA only has 41 keys. People with a 37/96 accordion still run into trouble because of the missing high notes.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Morne,

The answer to this question is entirely dependant on the type of music each individual member plays. In my case this is Folk and Popular music from the 40', 50's & 60's, none of which requires more than 41 keys. In fact, most of what I like can be played very comfortably on a 72/34 instrument.

Though I own a 120/41, and enjoy playing it, the likelihood of me ever utilising its full potential is practically nil.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Morne]

Thanks everyone.

Stephen, indeed, in the case of the PA once you go over 41 keys you end up with a free bass instrument which probably doesn't make much sense for folk music. I expected the use of the full range, and beyond, at the conservatory/classical level, but it's interesting to see the larger range of available buttons being used by those French CBA players.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Morne,

As I have said, most of what I do can be played on a 72/34. At least in my case, the analogy would be something like taking a Ferrari to the supermarket for our weekly shop. Very nice, but not particularly appropriate.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.