Newbie from South Carolina, USA

[wodan22]

Greetings all. My name is Genford. First off, I am not an accordion player. I have developed an interest in possibly buying and learning to play PA, and figured joining a forum would be a good place to start and get some information. I do have a background in music (classical, Jazz, Bluegrass, and Old Time). I currently play the banjo and fiddle. I played in symphonic and jazz band as a youth and have some piano lessons under my belt, too.

I had a few questions. I apologize if I am posting them in the wrong forum (if so, please advise)

1) I'm trying to get some information as to what maker/model would be good for a beginner to start out on. I know nothing about any PA makers or models, so haven't a clue what would be good. I did see some sites that mentioned some Weltmeister models that were in the $1000-2000 range that I might be able to start saving for. Not sure if these were realistic or if there is something else I should be looking for.

2) There is not a big accordion community where I live, so I would be learning via books, dvds, and internet/youtube. Any recommendations as far as this? (i.e. is there a standard book or DVD that most people start with?).

3) I would probably have to order online, as I don't know of any stores that sell accordions in my area. Any recommendations for websites that are considered repudable or recommended? (for example, ones that have good reputations for checking out and "setting up" the instrument, not just shipping it "as is" in the box)?

Thanks for you patience with a newbie, and any advice would be appreciated!

 

[jasonmiller]

Genford,

Welcome!

I am sure many more experienced people with chime in with better information than I, but I, like yourself developed an interest in the Accordion. I wanted to buy one and self teach myself without spending a ton of money as I didnt know if I would be able to learn it.

Accordions can be purchased cheap, I bought my first one in Craigslist for $100.00 and turns out I made a great deal. I have since purchased two more off of ebay and have been fortunate with my purchases.

I personally would never spend a grand or more on an accordion unless I have learned and played one for a while. Just in the 3 months or so I have been playing I have learned so much and even have developed an ear for different accordions and a preference for certain kinds.

This site is a wealth of information and the people here have proven to be most helpful, friendly and welcoming to us rookies. The accordion is a fun instrument and relatively easy to learn, especially if you have a background playing piano or other instruments.

Keep us posted on your progress and search for an accordion

 

[jarvo]

If you do go ahead and buy a box and then some books I would urge you to buy a book called The Mighty Accordion ....this concentrates soley on the bass end of the beast....and is highly useful...I have found that the other books that I have slightly gloss over the bass a bit ...they tend to be detailed on the melody side and sort of neglect the bass.....in fact I don't use them anymore.......maybe I have not had good ones....I will list them when I have them to hand....

Oh, and welcome aboard.....

Full Title and Author:

The Mighty Accordion - David Digiuseppe

 

[fjsys]

Welcome.

For your first accordion I would make the suggestion of purchasing one locally (from craigslist or the like) and realize that if you stick with it you are either going to love the one you have or know what you want to look for in the next one you buy.

When I got back into playing I lucked out with a $200 lo duca from ebay that played well. I played it for around 6 months before I realized that the keyboard was too small and I really wanted something bigger. At that point I was able to decide what I liked in a keyboard and tuning so that the next one could last longer.
However purchasing on ebay is a real risk for new players, a lot of what is on ebay will not play without work. Which is why I always recommend buying locally whenever possible, so you can try all of the keys/buttons and make sure it works before dealing with things that are broken to begin with or broken in shipping.

I second the recommendation for "The Mighty Accordion" it is a great book for bass studies.
For a more general books I recommend the Palmer-Hughes accordion course, because that is what I have been working through lately. I did try the Teach yourself accordion book, but was not that impressed with it.
There are plenty of howto's on youtube, but I still think a teacher is the best option. It may take some work to find one, but it will be worth it. (some advertise on places like craigslist from time to time, but most do not)

As for who to buy one from online, I don't have any idea. I am lucky to have a shop 30 minutes from me that I can drive to and look at all of the new accordions that I cannot afford.

Ben

 

[Eannain]

I've not actually bought a new accordion yet... all of mine have come either via friends or Ebay, but that's partly because I'm still trying to settle on something that fits me perfectly and I'm coming to the conclusion that that's going to be a 72 bass instrument. If you're starting off then you might want to consider looking for a smaller instrument with fewer basses to allow yourself time to get used to the bass end. It can be a bit hit and miss going via ebay, but if you're already considering a price range in the thousands then you can easily settle for something that costs a lot less in case you discover that it's not actually the instrument for you. I spent £200 on my big 120 bass Hohner on ebay, and I love it, but it's heavy and maybe a bit too large for me in all honesty. If there's a music shop local to you with accordions, go and try some out, see what feels comfortable then see if you can find something second hand.

As far as teachers go, even if there's not one near you there are teachers who do lessons by Skype, and you tube has a wealth of tutorial videos posted for free. I found my teacher through an advert on Gumtree, which is a UK based website, but Craigslist is an option for you.

 

[BobM]

This guy is very good.. http://www.youtube.com/user/playandteach/videos Search down to the earlier video’s.

And “The Mighty Accordion” book is a must have.

BobM.

 

[wodan22]

Thanks for the advice.
I am definitely keeping an eye out on Craigslist daily, but like I said there is no accordion scene/community near me, so Craigslist doesn't have much either, so I may end up having to buy one new. I am also checking with online places to see if I can find one that does setup, tuning, and checks out the instruments to make sure they play right before they sell them. I may also post on here in the Marketplace (maybe someone that is upgrading would sell me there old one).

What are good makers/brand names that I should keep an eye out for (I only know Hohner and Weltmeister)?

Any recommendations for how many keys I should start off with (like should I try to start out on a full 120? Is a 48 key too small/limited to be useable in the long run? Would something like 60/72 be better). I want something that, if I like it, I will be able to use for several years before needed to think about an upgrade.

 

[Anyanka]

Hi & welcome! As you don't mention any keyboard experience, I would highly recommend going for a chromatic button accordion right from the start. I have recently switched from piano acc'n to CBA and wish I'd started out with one!

60/72 bass is ideal, but because of that: harder to come by second-hand. 120 bass boxes are usually not so popular, so it's possible to find a real bargain. 48s are very popular for portability but quite limiting, depending on the type of music you want to play.
If you're buying new,definitely go for 60 or 72.

As for makes... the best are the Italian boxes. Avoid anything made in China. New Hohners are made in China, unfortunately! A lot of Chinese boxes have Italian-sounding names.

 

[dunlustin]

I agree with Anyanka's comments and would add:
You mention Weltmeisters - they used to have a pretty poor rep' but are considerd to have improved lots. They are still made in Germany and I found the company very helpful.
I understand button accordions are very rare in US so not much of a used market - I heard of at least one person who bought and shipped 2nd hand from France to the US.
If you do, I would avoid any instrument with less than 3 rows on the Right hand. You will need to decide if you want B or C system.
Perhaps for ease of starting it might be more realistic to go for a Piano Accordion but do bear in mind Anyanka's advice - a false start can be expensive.
I could go on but others will no doubt give you their ideas - especially if they're your side of the Pond.

 

[donn]

On the bass numbers ... I wouldn't worry too much about it. I mean, as noted above, steer clear of 48 or smaller, but from 72 up you're really carrying the same reeds in any case - a 120 bass system needs no more reeds than a 72 bass, it just connects them to more buttons and wires. If it turns out that the accordion that falls into your hands happens to have 120 basses, it won't hurt you any more than it hurts the majority of other players, who all have 120 bass accordions. I mean, it may indeed be heavy, but not entirely because of the 48 extra buttons and wires.

 

[Soulsaver]

Hi Welcome to the baord- I maybe a little late saying it... but I've been on m'holidays.

I'd second what others have said - If you buy new $2000 and find it isn't for you, there'll be a big drop in value when you sell it on.
If $$$ dont matter then fine. But if you could find a nice 'used' one and then you dont like it, you're likely to get near what you paid.

I'm intending to sell some of mine but shipping to the US would be risky. Good luck with whichever way you decide to go.

 

[Don Roberts]

Hi Genford and welcome to the forum. I recommend that you search out accordion players in your location and ask a lot of questions. Take your time, check out You tube for different styles of playing and different types of accordions, that is piano, chromatic etc. You can go to Libertybellows.com and listen to demos of new and used accordions as this will give you
an idea of sizes of accordions and the variation in tunings available. Any time you would like to discuss accordions send me a PM or we can talk over the phone, I play piano style and Chromatic style boxes. I also have accordions available for sale that would fit your need at a very reasonable price.
Good luck {}