Retail outlets at Castelfidardo

[debra]

...
Greetings from Castelfidardo!

Hi Paul,

Are you there on holiday, or have I missed something during another of my absences?
...

I am taking an accordion repair course (at accordion craft academy) right now. It is incredibly interesting. Organized by Elke and Riccardo from Victoria. Of course its not possible to cover the decades of experience that some people on this forum have through just a few intensive courses, but it is a very good start to become a good repairer, by avoiding all too common mistakes and thus avoid horror stories and unhappy customers.

 

[maugein96]

Paul,

I do seem to remember you talking about that, or another course, a while ago.

It's amazing what you can learn when you actually see what is being done rather than try and read about it. OK, some of the techniques might take a while to perfect, but if the knowledge is there it helps tremendously.

I think some of us are unnecessarily cautious, given some of the horror stories we read about online purchase, and we tend to forget that most people's experiences are satisfactory, or better.

I'm sure your info, and the experience described by colinm, should allay any such fears that members may have had.

Enjoy the course!

John W

 

[JeffJetton]

I'm jealous, Paul! I'd love to visit there and take some of those courses one of these days.

 

[debra]

Im jealous, Paul! Id love to visit there and take some of those courses one of these days.

Its not some of those courses. The Accordion Crafts Academy, an initiative of Elke and Riccardo of Victoria accordions, is the only such course that I know of. The world has a serious shortage of accordion repairers (and tuners) and that is why they started this series of courses. Most accordion repairers in the whole world are either self-taught or learned from a teacher who was self-taught, and at best they took some in-company quick trainings at some accordion company, offered to dealers of that company, resulting in being trained only in the specifics of that brand. At ACA we all brought accordions (many old clunkers) and got to see a large variety of mechanisms. These courses are truly unique!

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Im jealous, Paul! Id love to visit there and take some of those courses one of these days.

Its not some of those courses. The Accordion Crafts Academy, an initiative of Elke and Riccardo of Victoria accordions, is the only such course that I know of. The world has a serious shortage of accordion repairers (and tuners) and that is why they started this series of courses. Most accordion repairers in the whole world are either self-taught or learned from a teacher who was self-taught, and at best they took some in-company quick trainings at some accordion company, offered to dealers of that company, resulting in being trained only in the specifics of that brand. At ACA we all brought accordions (many old clunkers) and got to see a large variety of mechanisms. These courses are truly unique!

I consider myself fortunate, I live on Long Island where there are no accordion repair facilities, yet within an hour or twos travel by car I can name at least three. All three have been taught by a man who, if hes still alive, is probably close to one hundred years old. On the West coast, some three thousand miles away, there are also a few repair facilities, as well as some in the northern part of the Midwest. But, as Ive learned, most of the people in the business have learned their craft, apprentice-style, from individuals, even though at least one school for accordion repairers does exist in the United States.

So, (BIG QUESTION COMING) are there any Americans in your classes?

Alan Sharkis

 

[Tom]

So Paul, please tell us more about the course and accommodations if you please. I'm considering it too, as I'vê mentioned. You find enough content in the first level to make it worth it?

Yeah, it's almost impossible to get your accordion repaired here and like many other amateurs I've been forced to learn on my own to repair the many clunkers floating around and to help out fellow players or would be players.

 

[JeffJetton]

Im jealous, Paul! Id love to visit there and take some of those courses one of these days.

Its not some of those courses. The Accordion Crafts Academy, an initiative of Elke and Riccardo of Victoria accordions, is the only such course that I know of.

Well I meant some of the three courses (classes, I guess would be more accurate then?) that Victoria offers.

I assume youre in the first one? They make you take them in order, regardless of what you may already know, right? Are you finding it too basic, or do they tailor the class to the abilities of the students?

 

[debra]

So Paul, please tell us more about the course and accommodations if you please. Im considering it too, as Ivê mentioned. You find enough content in the first level to make it worth it?

Yeah, its almost impossible to get your accordion repaired here and like many other amateurs Ive been forced to learn on my own to repair the many clunkers floating around and to help out fellow players or would be players.

Were going off topic in this thread, as usual...
The course is held at the premises of Victoria in the center of Castelfidardo (so not at the factory, which we visited). There are several options for staying at a B&B nearby. I did first and second level, and in October Ill be taking the third level course. (You can only do 2 after having done 1 and 3 after having done 2.) Everything is worth it. We had a participant who has been repairing accordions for 40 years and even he learned a lot in the course, also in level 1 already.

Indeed many people who repair accordions professionally are either self-taught or trained by an old repairman. This often means making many mistakes along the way that can be avoided by taking a good course (which is a rare find). People who mean well for instance use wrong glues, causing problems that could be easily avoided...

As some people want to become an accordion dealer it is a great initiative that this course is organized in the city where most accordions are being made (and sold). A dealer must be able to do maintenance and repairs.

 

[wout]

Hey paul glad to hear you like it! I also thought it was an amazingly interesting experience. I dont see part 2 coming soon though i have to be at my company alot still and its not saving me enough yet to pay for a trip. Have fun there!

 

[Tom]

Thanks Paul!

 

[debra]

Hey paul glad to hear you like it! I also thought it was an amazingly interesting experience. I dont see part 2 coming soon though i have to be at my company alot still and its not saving me enough yet to pay for a trip. Have fun there!

Tier 1 is mostly about the mechanics. Tier 2 goes more towards the music (tuning, voicing) but in our edition which was 2 directly following 1 things were a bit more mixed up as there was no need to make a clear separation. So I dont know exactly which topics you covered and which not. It is definitely worth saving up to take Tier 2 (and perhaps later even Tier 3) if you want to do more than keep your own instrument(s) working fine.

But (returning a bit to the thread topic) going to Castelfidardo is dangerous for your wallet as there is so much interesting stuff to buy, not just whole accordions.

 

[jozz]

:!: yes but money must roll

 

[Waldo]

Paul,
How much are the tiers?

 

[debra]

Paul,
How much are the tiers?

Tier 1 alone: 671 euro
Tier 2 alone: 732 euro, there is a discount when doing Tier 1 & 2 in one go
Tier 3: 793 euro

So its certainly not a cheap course series. It is aimed at people who are (going to be) professional accordion repairers and it is a worthwhile investment to reach that goal. Considering the disasters that learning repairs on your own may cause they may represent larger amounts and damage to your reputation. So its better to learn it properly.

 

[Waldo]

How long do they last, day wise?

 

[debra]

How long do they last, day wise?

They are four and a half days each. These are long and intense days! And all of the work is done standing so if youre not used to that it can be physically quite hard. (Only when theory is explained can the students sit down.)