breezybellows
Well-known member
This is probably the most ambitious recording I've done. I found an elaborate arrangement of this popular Bach composition on a book named Massed Band Book for the Accordion. The arrangements were by Palmer-Hughes. I've already attempted to play a few ensemble arrangements, but those were not as detailed as this one.
Here are the 9 Parts of this arrangement. I doubled one of the parts to make it 10 accordions. All parts were played on the Giulietti Super V Bassetti (Free Bass) Accordion.
1) Soprano Accordion: (For Students past Book 5). This is the main melody that keeps its triplet rhythm throughout the song (except for a few measures of rest).
2) Alto Accordion: (For students past Book 5). The rhythm is written as a dotted 8th and a 16th note. When I initially tried to play it, it sounded weird along with the triplets from the Soprano Accordion. Then, I found a note at the end of the page that mentioned that the dotted rhythm should be interpreted as triplets.
3) Tenor Accordion: (For Students past Book 4): Starts off with quarter notes but switches to a rhythm similar to Alto.
4) Bass Accordion: (For students past Book 6): This was originally written for stradella bass (I can see the markings for the counter bass row). I played it on my free bass system. I like how it sounds.
5-8) 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Accordion: (For students in Book 2, Past Chiapanecas). Relatively easier parts.
9) 5th Accordion: (For students in Book 1). This is for anyone who can play C, D, E, F and G.
There's room for improvement, but I'm massively satisfied with how this came out. It was a lot of work and I wanted to give up. Luckily I chose to record the hardest tracks first and it was less daunting to know that the remaining tracks are going to get easier. I don't have all the 10 accordions in perfect control and didn't spend any time adjusting the EQ. Editing the video was as usual such a pain. As a result, the video looks like its from the 60s.
Here are the 9 Parts of this arrangement. I doubled one of the parts to make it 10 accordions. All parts were played on the Giulietti Super V Bassetti (Free Bass) Accordion.
1) Soprano Accordion: (For Students past Book 5). This is the main melody that keeps its triplet rhythm throughout the song (except for a few measures of rest).
2) Alto Accordion: (For students past Book 5). The rhythm is written as a dotted 8th and a 16th note. When I initially tried to play it, it sounded weird along with the triplets from the Soprano Accordion. Then, I found a note at the end of the page that mentioned that the dotted rhythm should be interpreted as triplets.
3) Tenor Accordion: (For Students past Book 4): Starts off with quarter notes but switches to a rhythm similar to Alto.
4) Bass Accordion: (For students past Book 6): This was originally written for stradella bass (I can see the markings for the counter bass row). I played it on my free bass system. I like how it sounds.
5-8) 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Accordion: (For students in Book 2, Past Chiapanecas). Relatively easier parts.
9) 5th Accordion: (For students in Book 1). This is for anyone who can play C, D, E, F and G.
There's room for improvement, but I'm massively satisfied with how this came out. It was a lot of work and I wanted to give up. Luckily I chose to record the hardest tracks first and it was less daunting to know that the remaining tracks are going to get easier. I don't have all the 10 accordions in perfect control and didn't spend any time adjusting the EQ. Editing the video was as usual such a pain. As a result, the video looks like its from the 60s.
