It's possible!??

[Dingo40]

Guys, it is possible to learn both the PA and the CBA!
See here:
And:
(He also sings and plays guitar ?)

 

[debra]

Of course this is possible. I played piano accordion all my life until about 13 years ago when my wife and I both switched to the button accordion. And I tend to believe that I'm not complete rubbish on either of them. At the level of the songs in these two videos I can play both PC and CBA.

 

[saundersbp]

I play both. Prefer CBA as it doesn't limit what I can play as allows for much bigger stretches and has more notes!

 

[dan]

Sure it can be done. I played both for a while, then mostly CBA, but didn’t forget everything I’d learned on PA. It’s just a question of how many instruments you can afford and how you want to spend your practice time and how much gear you want to lug to a gig!

 

[Ric46]

Gianluca Pica I like him very much. Great teacher too

 

[AdamJoseph]

Of course this is possible. I played piano accordion all my life until about 13 years ago when my wife and I both switched to the button accordion. And I tend to believe that I'm not complete rubbish on either of them. At the level of the songs in these two videos I can play both PC and CBA.

What was the driving force behind the switch? When I switched from the concertina (play both English and Anglo), I had trouble deciding between PA and CBA. I went with the PA. I wonder if the CBA would have been a better fit. I just worried about about find enough guidance with the CBA and making a pour choice in buying one. There seams to be much more variability with the CBA.

 

[debra]

What was the driving force behind the switch? When I switched from the concertina (play both English and Anglo), I had trouble deciding between PA and CBA. I went with the PA. I wonder if the CBA would have been a better fit. I just worried about about find enough guidance with the CBA and making a pour choice in buying one. There seams to be much more variability with the CBA.

For my wife the driving force for the switch was to get a smaller (and less heavy) instrument with the same quality of sound and at least the same number of notes. For me initially I went along with the switch in order to learn to play the accordina (there is no piano-keyboard accordina with nice sound and 44 notes). But I liked having more notes in a smaller package, so in the end we both went for CBA full time.
For you, coming from concertina there is no advantage or disadvantage caused by concertina and CBA both having buttons (some people think that all button instruments are alike). Go with what you feel most comfortable with and what you can get guidance for. In the US CBA is much less popular than PA. Most button instruments played in the US are diatonic.

 

[Tom]

For my wife the driving force for the switch was to get a smaller (and less heavy) instrument with the same quality of sound and at least the same number of notes. For me initially I went along with the switch in order to learn to play the accordina (there is no piano-keyboard accordina with nice sound and 44 notes). But I liked having more notes in a smaller package, so in the end we both went for CBA full time.
For you, coming from concertina there is no advantage or disadvantage caused by concertina and CBA both having buttons (some people think that all button instruments are alike). Go with what you feel most comfortable with and what you can get guidance for. In the US CBA is much less popular than PA. Most button instruments played in the US are diatonic.

In fact, it would be interesting to speculate about these ratios in the US. I'm going to throw out these concepts which are just my opinion, to see what the experts have to say. In the US:

1. For people under the age of 60, more people are performing (as opposed to playing) with diatonic button instruments than chromatic button and piano accordions due to the popularity of cajun/zydeco and tex mex.

2. For people over 60, more are performing with piano accordions than any other style.

3. The "niche instruments" (concertina, bayan, cba, diatonic for klezmer or old time, etc.) are found in distinct communities where their performances may outnumber piano accordions.

4. In the future, cba will gain traction over pa as more younger people discover its distinct advantages, especially in jazz.

 

[oldbayan]

In fact, it would be interesting to speculate about these ratios in the US. I'm going to throw out these concepts which are just my opinion, to see what the experts have to say. In the US:

1. For people under the age of 60, more people are performing (as opposed to playing) with diatonic button instruments than chromatic button and piano accordions due to the popularity of cajun/zydeco and tex mex.

2. For people over 60, more are performing with piano accordions than any other style.

3. The "niche instruments" (concertina, bayan, cba, diatonic for klezmer or old time, etc.) are found in distinct communities where their performances may outnumber piano accordions.

4. In the future, cba will gain traction over pa as more younger people discover its distinct advantages, especially in jazz.

What saved Hohner and keeps it alive is indeed the vast community of Latin musicians doing Vallenato, Norteño, Tex Mex etc playing Coronas that are built and decorated specifically for that style.

As for the age and type of instrument, I think it varies by area and cultural background. In Toronto where I live, because of the large number of people who came from Europe, Eastern Europe and slavic countries after WWII, we find a large number of CBA players over 60, and CBAs in B-griff are not uncommon.

In Québec and Eastern Canada, the diatonic is king, all ages put together, but there is also a community of PA players who do not do traditional music.