Silent practice on acoustic accordion

[wirralaccordion]

I feel a bit stupid asking this question because I am sure the answer is simple. However, here goes.
My only accordion ( Brandoni Super Musette ) has 2 built in mikes. Now with a true electronic accordion I would assume that you can practice silently by turning down the volume on the sound. Why does this not work on an acoustic accordion with built in mikes?

 

[JeffJetton]

Because an acoustic accordion will always make a physical sound, just as an acoustic piano or acoustic guitar will. The mics are there to pick up that existing sound and turn it into an electronic signal (for amplifying or recording, or sending to a set of headphones).

With a purely electronic instrument, like a V-Accordion, the sound originates as an electronic signal in the first place. So you can chose to just send that signal to a recorder, or to headphones, without ever amplifying it into anything someone else might hear.

Not so with an acoustic accordion, which will still make noise regardless of what you do or don't do with any electronic signal that has been created from it.

 

[wirralaccordion]

Thanks Jeff. That explains it very well. I guess my next question would have been how to seperate the acoustic sound from the amplified sound and your answer has immediately suggested to me that the best way might be to connect headphones to the amplifier. I suppose that explains why you see that in many groups and bands, i.e. players wearing headphones.

 

[donn]

If I understand correctly what you'd be trying to do, you'd want headphones for this that are particularly good at blocking out ambient sound. Most don't do that very much at all, so you could turn the volume way up and still hear some of the acoustic reed sound.

As to your initial question, there may be some way to mask off grille and other acoustic openings, and muffle the natural sound of the accordion without affecting the internal microphones. Haven't tried it.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Phil,

I have no electronic wizardry on my accordions, but I know that gentle bellows operation will make your practice sessions less intrusive. It is just a matter of finesse.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[JerryPH]

On an acoustic accordion, the best way to practice unobtrusively is to have a room in the basement with at least a door or two between you and others. If you start to practice quietly, you will perform quietly as it becomes a habit. One should practice as they want to perform, volume dynamics control most importantly. I always found it a chore to play very quietly when practicing, as when I got involved, the volume naturally went up and in came the complaints. :lol:

I know that when I start to get in to full on practice mode with an acoustic, my lady is going to pop a blood vessel in her head unless I go to another room or unless she leaves the house... haha! In this specific case, having a digital accordion is handy to say the least... slip on the headphones and practice away at whatever volume you like, outside the headphones, nothing is heard.

 

[reivilos92]

It's not clear what you want to achieve. In case you want to practice without bothering your neighbors, here are the options I considered for myself :
- go talk to your neighbors (didn't do it )
- play softer
- go numeric. I did buy a Roland FR1Xb, that was a mistake.
- buy a second-hand accordion and remove the reeds (would that work?)
- put a strap around the accordion

I've seen classifieds of accordions with "silent registers" for MIDI equipment. I don't know what that means.

Envoyé de mon SM-G935F en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Phil,

I'm still with the "play gently" idea. Some of the other suggestions have merit, but removing reeds seems a little extreme.

I play my accordions to fit whatever environment I find myself in. At Folk Clubs, I tend to pump the bellows a little harder. At home, a bit softer. For Care Homes & Pensioner's Groups, as some of my audience can be quite deaf, I really put the squeeze on those bellows.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[JerryPH]

Ive seen classifieds of accordions with silent registers for MIDI equipment. I dont know what that means.

It is simply a register that blocks off all the acoustic reeds s that on the right hand you can use only the digital/electronic sounds. In my case, it looks like this. Note the register identified as CLOSED:

http://syner-g.asuscomm.com/mymusic/files/top.jpg>

It lets me only use the acoustic and/or electric bass and electronic right hand with no acoustic accordion on the right side, should I wish. If I did not want any acoustic sounds, I just would not pull on the bellows. There is an equivalent register on the left hand side for me as well.

 

[wout]

- buy a second-hand accordion and remove the reeds (would that work?)

No only if you install MIDI. Microphones dont work if theres no sound to pick up obviously. So with a build in mic system there is no way to play silent. By the way i wonder, if you have this semi acoustic acccordions, on Closed setting where does the air go? Or you dont need to move the bellows at all?

 

[StargazerTony]

The best way to silently practice an accordion, or anything else for that matter, is to put ear plugs in your ears then add soundproof earphones.

 

[george garside]

on a multi coupler box a reasonable degree of quietness can be achieved on the treble end by using a single m voice and going easy on the bellows.
With bass couplers the one with the least reeds playing will be the quietest and also just lightly tapping the chords without bass or counterbass can also drop volume to a neighbour friendly level

If in a detached property there should not be a problem. in a semidetached practice in whatever room has most walls between it and next door. In one house I had this was the bathroom but at least there was a 'throne' upon which to sit!

Playing 'neighbour friendly in a flat/apartment is much more as you can have a neighbour on either side plus one above and one bellow. I lived in a hospital staff flat for a couple of years and the only way I could practice was by sitting in the car in a quiet part of the hospital grounds.

but where there's a will there's usually a way!

george

 

[Soulsaver]

If youve got the space & cash build a soundproof practice room.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/sound_proofing_in_the_home.htm

 

[JerryPH]

The soundproofing of a room is the ideal solution, however, done properly can be quite expensive.

I did some soundproofing of the ceiling in my basement so that the bass would not travel through the floors as much by using "Safe and Sound" and a dropped ceiling. It did add to the cost, but does produce a noticeable difference.

However, if I start cranking up the volume on the Bose speakers, it can become intrusive upstairs, but as long as I don't go beyond "sane and normal" volumes, there is more sound coming through the door to the basement than the floors, so logically the next step would be to get some kind of sealed/insulated door in there. The end results is that I can comfortably play as much as I want and no one outside hears me at all and if someone leaves the door to the basement open, they can hear me, but that almost disappears if the basement door is closed.

Having a basement is lovely, it offers a lot of room and is easy to insulate from the rest of the home.