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You may ask yourself, how do you take care of this delicate little flower, the accordion? Well, there are several things that I think are really important in terms of the instrument. Keep it away from water. Keep it away from really heavy heat. Some humidity is actually okay, it’s worse for it to be dry than for it to be too humid, as far as the accordion is concerned. But basic things. When you’re handling the accordion, make sure that you’re careful not to put your hands on these actual keys; not to be bumping things. The base notes – when you set the accordion up or down, if you’ll notice, these are on their backs right now. But, I would never set them face down, and I would never press anything against the keys. Many accordions come with suitcases as a means of transportation. I don’t think those are the greatest. There’s something that I actually love and would highly recommend that you do for your back, and for your accordion. Notice how I’ve just taken the accordion off, that I’ve just taken both of the straps at the same time, making sure to be careful that they’re not over the keys on either side of the accordion before I set it down. One thing that I love and I have for all of my accordions, are backpacks. Hohner in particular makes a really great backpack, that comes with a stand place, a place to stuff your music, and a place to actually put the accordion. It’s a great backpack. They come in all sizes, and there are many other companies besides Hohner that make them too, but a backpack is a sure way to save yourself and the accordion, than trudging it around in a huge suitcase where it’s bouncing around everywhere. So again, keep it away from water. Keep it away from too much heat, and too much moisture. And just basic cleanliness for the accordion. They get dusty. You should dust your accordion, and love it.

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So you’re looking to buy an accordion. First and foremost, go to the store and play them. Pick them up. See how much they weight.

This one for example weighs about 23 pounds. This one weighs about 18 pounds. And the one that I’m holding weighs about 15 pounds. So you need to decide what feels good to you.

It doesn’t have to be a heavy, heavy instrument to have a really great sound. This one’s a really small instrument and has a really loud sound. Weighs almost ten pounds less than that one and is just as loud. So it’s about picking up the instrument and actually feeling what it feels like for you to play.

Also important to kind of check out what other bells and whistles there might be on the instrument. These buttons right here, also known as reeds, create different sounds for the piano side of the accordion.

Bassoon. Bandoneon. Master. Violin and clarinet. All can really change the sound. Now the more buttons you have the heavier the accordion is going to be because it involves more reeds inside of the accordion.

Oftentimes on the left hand you’ll also find that there are switches over there that can change the sound of the accordion. This accordion doesn’t have those. But when it does it usually means it’s going to be a heavier accordion.

So bottom line, go to a store. Pick them up and play them. Bigger isn’t always better. Sometimes the smallest of instruments can have the strongest, strongest sound.

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Okay. Let’s say that you’ve just decided you want to start playing the accordion. Where do you find music and how do you learn to play this beast? Well there’s a few books that I would definitely recommend looking for, a few publications. There’s the Settling Accordion Series, the Palmer Hughes Accordion Series, and the Mel Bay Accordion Series, all of which are awesome and really, really helpful in terms of really getting a grasp on this instrument.

Another thing that I say that would be a really good idea, is to set yourself up in front of a mirror, and start to learn what the left-hand feels like. Even though you don’t have to start with that. You should probably start with this hand and focusing on what these notes are, and what they mean, and how they translate to a page of music. That would probably be the first thing to start with.

Then second, maybe, start to look at your left-hand, but a mirror is definitely going to help on both levels, from both sides to be able to see what’s going on with the instrument.

Then learning to read the notes, to read the music, and start with basic scales, basic scales with the right-hand. That’s the way to go. Eventually learning some scales with the left-hand. Once you start learning those basics you’ll definitely be on your way to playing the accordion.

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People always say “Play me something romantic on the accordion.” So what would I play if I were to pick up the accordion without having something already memorized or whatever? I think that a lot of songs that are in minor keys tend to sound really romantic, so if I was going to tell you to pick up an accordion and be able to play in a minor key, really quickly, this is what I would tell you to do. Look at all the black keys, they’re grouped in three’s and two’s. We’re going to find a group of three, and in the bottom two, we’re going to take the white note right in between, and that’s an A. An A-minor key on the accordion just uses white notes, so we’re going to take that note between those two, and walk all the way up til we get to the two between the next one, so.

And that’s in A-minor key. You could play any of those notes in any combination, and it would be minor, and it would sound romantic. Now let’s find the A on the left hand, just to give it a little bit of color and a little bit of fun. So, in the middle of every according and the button in the left-hand side, there should be a divet or a jam or something that tells you where your C is. We’re going to walk up the circle of fifths to find our A.

So here’s the C. Moving up vertically, G. Next one D, and then a step up from that A. Now, finding our chords, right next to it is the major. Right above that is the minor. So we’re just going to hold in A-minor chord with our left-hand while we just play with this hand over here, and create something that we might call romantic. And that’s an easy way to pick up the accordion with a minor key, and eventually when you start to get a little bit more of a handle of what happens in the left-hand, you can add other minor chords or major chords to add color to the whole sound. That’s a little bit of what you can do with a romantic sound on the accordion.

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The song that everybody associates with the accordion right away, The Beer Barrel Polka. Now, I play it pretty simply. I start, I’m usually in the key of C for this one with the left hand, and it moves to G occasionally. And I usually start with a G on the right hand. It’s up to you how colorful you want to get with it. I like to say simplicity is key with the accordion.

Now, a little bit of The Beer Barrel Polka with both hands.

Just a little simple Beer Barrel Polka.

Let’s learn a little bit of jambalaya in the left hand for the accordion.

We’re doing this in the key of C, so our main chords that we’ll be using are C, G, and G7. We’ll start first with the C. I’m in the fundamental bass note row, and I’ve found my little divot where the C is. I found the major chord in the diagonal just above it. Now, I’m just going to locate the G which is one up away from the C in the fundamental note. I’m going to find its major chord note and also its seventh.

So, the basic chords for jambalaya, C, to G, G7, back to C. Stay on the C, to the G, G7, back to C. That’s the basic progression for the left hand for the majority of jambalaya. Let’s hear a little bit of it together.

Jambalaya, a little bit on both hands.

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We are going to learn how to play the melody of Jambalaya on the right hand. We are going to be playing this in the key of C, so we are going to be starting on an E. Here’s the first part of the melody.

And those notes are E, G, A, E, G, G, A, G, E, G, D. Again.

Moving on to the next part.

G, G, G, B, B, B, A, G, A, G, G, E. Now I’m just going to plow through the rest of the melody of the song for you.

And that’s basically the melody for the first verse. Put it all together.

The melody on the right hand of Jambalaya

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Let’s say you’ve never played an accordion before and you wanted to pick it up and try to learn a song. We all know, Mary Had a Little Lamb. Right? So basically, if you were to pick up an accordion, you see that there’s all these black notes in groups of twos and threes. So let’s find a two. There’s a two right here. If you go away from yourself, counting one and two, there’s a white note right next to it. That’s where we’re going to start, Mary Had a Little Lamb. You could start it on any one of these groups of twos. So, there’s another E. There’s another one. We’re going to play it down here where it sounds a little bit better.

So that’s an E. Again, right next to the group of two. And we’re going to go, E, D, C, D, E, E, E. And we know how this tune goes, right? Back to the E, to a G.

So that’s the basic tune for Mary Had a Little Lamb on the right hand. You could start with that, without ever having played an accordion before and probably get it pretty easily.

Now just to spice it up a little bit maybe we could add the left hand. I’m going to find the gem on this accordion, which is a C. Now every accordion has a gem. This one does. Sometimes it’s just a little divot in the middle of the buttons on the left hand, so here’s my C. I’m going to find my E over here again, which is one away. One, moving away from my face, on the white notes from the group of two. I’m playing the C and the E at the same time, and I’m slowly going to switch to a G chord eventually, but first let’s find that C again, and just listen.

So basically, on the left hand I just switched from a C to a G and then I moved from a G to a D. Again, just focus on the right hand if this is the first time that you’re playing the instrument, and finding that E to start on for Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Once again. A very simple Mary Had a Little Lamb on the accordion.

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Let’s talk about that classic oompah-pah sound that’s associated with the accordion, with polkas and waltzes. I’m going to show you how to play one.

First of all, on my instrument, I’m going to find the C, which on this instrument has a gem on it. You can see underneath my finger there. And that’s in the fundamental bass note line. So I’m going to play the C.

I’m going to find its major chord in the diagonal just above it. And that’s going to be the basis for the chord that I’m going to use.

Right above it is the G. The fifth in the chord. So I’m going to go root, tonic, root, tonic. Root, tonic, root, tonic. And in between is where I add that special oompah-pah sound. So root, tonic, root, tonic. And if you think in three: one two three, two two three, one two three, two two three.

And that is the basic oompah-pah sound that is most commonly associated with the accordion.

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In any kind of music the percussive element that drives music forward is something that’s really important, for example, the drums in a piece, or the bass line, or a rhythm guitar. Whatever can push the momentum forward in a song is great. As far as the accordion is concerned, and the left hand, playing a really powerful bass can be great. It can be really simple and really awesome at the same time.

I’m going to start on the C, which on this instrument has a little divot. It may be hard to see, but I’m tapping it with my finger right there. Some instruments have a gem which makes it much easier to find. This one does not. Playing a really solid bass can totally make a difference in a song.

So, if I were going to do a standard 1-4-5 chord series, 1, 4, 5, 1. That’s something that works in a lot of music. In jazz, or whatever, a 1-4-5-1 chord series really works and can be a strong bass line. Let’s just go with that for a second and riff on it a little bit. A 1, to the 4, to the 5, to the 1, 4, 5, 1.

Of course, having a comprehension of scales for your left hand is going to help you too if you want to mess around with that a little bit. Again, starting on the C, I’ll play a C scale for you. That’s something to go over all the time that will really help in your playing, because the left hand is a super important part of accordion playing.

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Let’s talk about the left hand.

What are these buttons over here, and what do they do?

It can be really intimidating when you’re first looking at an accordion.

How do you figure out what to push, and where to go?

First of all, most accordions, when you pick them up usually it’s a really good idea to stand in front of a mirror so that you can see what’s going on with this hand over here.

And usually there will be a divot on certain buttons on the accordion.

For example, if you can see where I’m pointing right here, there’s a divot on the C.

Actually it’s a gem on this accordion.

Not all accordions have gems, but this one does.

This is the C, and if you’ll notice I’m playing in, we’re going to think in the vertical sense for the rows, I’m playing in what would be the second row.

The first row would be the row closest to the bellows of the accordion.

The second row would be what’s called the fundamental base row.

And again, here’s a C, and the fundamental base row right underneath the gem.

In the row closet to the bellows, we have what’s called the counter base row which is a major third above that base note.

So, an E with regard to the C.

Moving diagonally up the accordion and away from that base note row you have a major chord row, a minor chord row, a dominant seventh chord row, and a diminished chord row.

What’s really cool about the left hand of the accordion is that it’s set up in something that we call the circle of fifths.

Moving in a vertical sense again in the accordion if you move up, again this is my C, if I move up one row we go to a G.

Following the circle of fifths up, a D, an A, and an E.

So that’s moving up in terms of sharps in the circle of fifths.

Now the other way, moving down on the accordion, moves in fourths, again moving into the flat keys.

So you have a C, F, B flat, E flat, A flat.

Now because it’s set up in the circle of fifths you have everything you need just at your fingertips, a short space away from one another.

So to play a major scale, and again if you watch my fingers I don’t have to go very far to find those keys.

The left hand of the accordion is pretty cool.

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Let’s talk about playing bass notes on the accordion. One thing that I would say that’s really important is that you stand in front of a mirror. Not only is it important to be able to see what you’re doing, but you need to feel it and see it at the same time until you get a handle of what goes on with the left hand.

Something that’s helped my left hand playing has been to run scales with my left hand in every position possible. Let’s start with a basic C scale, starting on the fundamental bass note line with the C. Then, circle of fifths, the next note up in the line would be G. We’re going to skip that to go to the D. Moving to the counter bass row, the first row just above the C, there’s your E. Back to the fundamental bass note line F. Skipping over the C to the G. Counter bass row to the A. To the B. Back to the C.

I think if you just keep running those scales over and over it really will help your left hand playing, even saying them as you go, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Just doing them over and over. What’s great is because the accordion is set up in the circle of fifths you can do that anywhere on the instrument, even at the other end.

I think by going over these scales you can really begin to have a grasp of what needs to happen with the left hand in your playing.

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One of the great things about the accordion is its expressive capabilities as far as the bellows are concerned. There’s something that we do in accordion playing called swells. Basically what that means is you push your or pull to open or close the bellows and depending how hard you do that will determine what kind of sound comes out of the instrument. Here’s a light swell.

A heavier swell.

Of course, this can be varied as you’re playing.

Even the simplest of tunes can sound really expressive as long as you’re using the bellows to push and pull and play with vigor.

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Here are three examples of standard piano accordions.

I’ve got a larger one over here that’s got various reed settings on it that change all the sound of these keys. And then over here another big accordion that also has reed settings that can change the sound.

I’ll show you how to do that on this accordion. Again, set up like a piano in a chromatic way. And what’s really cool about the reeds is you can change the sound. It means it passes over a different part of the instrument with air inside.

That’s what’s called the master setting. This is what’s called the clarinet setting. The top setting on most all accordions.

So, on a piano accordion you can really change the color of the sound by playing with these reeds. All just with a switch of a button.

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Let’s talk about how to move and maneuver the accordion while you’re playing. First of all, you want to make sure that you’ve got the straps unhooked on the bottom of the instrument, and, again, on the top. Next, you want to place your hand inside the leather strap which should have a connector on top that allows you to tighten it or loosen it. There should be just enough room in there for you to be able to slide your hand up and down so that you can pass easily over the bass notes.

Second of all, I always want to think of holding the accordion underneath the base of it. I never want to hold the accordion with the keys. They’re just for playing, yes. Also, another notable part of the instrument, on the left hand side, is the air release valve. This is a really important part of the instrument. It allows you to open and close the bellows without making any noise. So, if you’ve been playing and you’re stuck in an open position like this, you can use the air release valve to quietly close the instrument without making any noise.

Once again, when you’re playing as you press a note you push and pull with the bellows in order to make the sound occur. Again, to move without making any noise, press the air release valve, and you can close the accordion.

Most all of the emotion of the accordion comes from the bellows. It’s one of the most important parts in playing, so how you choose to breathe with the instrument really affects your playing.

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OK, wow do you play an accordion with both hands?

Well, first of all, let’s talk about the left hand which is over here on the bass notes and the right hand which is over here on the keyboard. Sometimes it seems weird to think of them playing at the same time and doing two totally different things.

One thing that has really helped me to be able to do this in my playing is to play scales on the left hand, first of all, and scales on the right hand. Sometimes even together.

But first of all, let’s start with this. Let’s find that classic um-pa-pa sound on the left hand. I’m going to start on the C, on the fundamental base note line. It’s right underneath my finger. It has a little divot in it so I can find it really easily.

I’m going to start with this classic um-pa-pa sound.

Now, without playing anything too hard, just to get an idea of putting the hands together, I’m going to start with a basic C scale on my right hand.

Now add them together. It may seem like a challenge but focus on that left hand, really keeping that rhythm strong.

I would say that is a great way to start off trying to put your hands together. Not only are you working on your scales, but also learning to put your hands together.

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Let’s talk about playing the accordion with the left hand. The left hand of the accordion is really awesome. There are all of these bass notes over here, and they all do different things that are really fun.

For example, if you can see where my finger is where I’m pointing right here, there’s a little divot on this particular accordion. Some accordions have gems there. Right underneath there is the C. I’m going to play the C. Moving in a diagonal line just above it is the major chord. Moving up, the minor. Above that is the dominant seventh. And finally is the diminished.

The first row that we haven’t talked about yet is called the counter bass row. That is a major third above the bass note in the fundamental row which was the C that I played. So, the counter bass note will be an E. You have everything that you need right at your fingertips, literally, in the left hand to play a scale. And, with the chords you could make up a whole song just using your left hand.

A little variation on the 1-5-4 chord series for the left hand.

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Let’s talk about the bellows on the accordion. The most important part of the accordion in my opinion.

This is what breathes life into the entire instrument. I’m using the air valve over here to open and close right now as I show you the bellows.

Now, what’s really cool is that as you push and pull the instrument depending on how much you push or pull you change the volume and the emotion of the sound coming from the instrument.

So, for example. A very small bellow pull versus one with much more vigor. And what’s lovely is you can change that as you’re playing depending on how much you push or pull the instrument.

Another really fun thing to do is called a bellows shake. Sometimes this is used to add a rhythmical pulse underneath playing. And again that’s called a bellows shake.

The most expressive part of the instrument all right here depending on how you push or pull.

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Let’s talk about piano accordions which is exactly what these are as you can see.

They’re set up just like a piano for your right hand to play. They’re set up chromatically just like the piano. They come in different sizes as well as you can see. Usually between 25 and 45 keys for the right hand.

There’s also another size called ladies size which has much, much smaller, smaller keys. These are the normal sized ones right here.

But as you can see it does limit you depending on what sort of range you’re looking for in terms of playing. However, if you have an instrument with various buttons or reeds as these are called you can switch octaves quite easily.

So, if I’m playing up high I can switch the reed to a lower reed and have another octave which is pretty cool.

Once again it’s set up chromatically for your right hand going with the bass notes being the closest to your face. And the highest notes, of course, being away from your face.

There are many shapes and sizes for the accordion. And it’s really important I think to kind of figure out what is going to be the most comfortable for you.

Whether it’s a smaller accordion or a bigger accordion. It’s important to pick them up and try to play them all.

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Let’s talk about different types of piano accordions. As you can see, accordions come in all different shapes and sizes. Generally speaking, the right hand, or the piano side, has usually 25 to 45 keys, and the left hand usually has been 48 bass notes and 120 bass notes. Sometimes there are those that are larger, but those are very heavy instruments.

The amount of bass notes in the left hand also determines usually how heavy the instrument is. So if you can see, on this little main squeeze, this one has 48 notes in the bass. Very light, really easy to play, but when it comes to actually playing bass notes you have to jump around quite a bit to get what you need.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is this 120 bass, and this one has everything pushed together so closely that you can play very quickly exactly what you need.

And this is a 72 bass Honer. I would say that that is a really good starting point if you’re a first time accordion buyer and you’re looking for a good place to start, the 72 bass is definitely the right place to start.

Also something to be aware of over here are these buttons. These are the reeds. They change the sound of the instrument. They can also determine the weight of the instrument depending on how many of those you have.

So let’s just listen a little bit to the difference in the reeds. Here’s the bassoon, bandonian, master setting, violin setting, and on this accordion, finally, the clarinet setting. And all of these sounds can determine how heavy the instrument actually is, depending on how many reeds are over here, and they can also add a great deal of color to your sound when you’re playing.

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Let’s talk about how to hold the accordion. First of all, when you pick up the accordion it’s really important that you try not to touch these keys, the white keys, or the buttons that are in the bottom, the base notes. It’s important that when you pick it up you pick it up from the actual casing of the instrument.

Let’s look at this little one here. I’m going to pick it up using the two straps. I’m going to make sure when I pick it up that the strap is not accidentally over the keys, also very bad for the keys. I’m going to put it on.

The straps that I have on this particular accordion are made by a company called Hohner. Hohner is an outstanding company that services accordions, and they happen to make these particular back straps that have an awesome connection in the back that snaps together and sort of holds everything into place for the accordion.

I’m going to turn around and I’m going to show you that. This is how it snaps together. That offers a balance in the accordion so that it takes all of the weight off of your lower back.

Next, I’m going to unsnap the top of the accordion and also the bottom of the accordion where there’s also a connection. Then there’s a leather strap on the side which offers guidance for your left hand. There’s a connection on top that allows you to tighten this or loosen this. That puts your left hand in place for all of the base notes over here, and it leaves your right hand free to play all of the other notes over here.

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Let’s talk about how to wear an accordion. First of all, when you pick up the accordion, you always want to pick it up by the two straps on the top. I usually say right arm first, just because it’s the longer strap. Usually people have that one set up so that when you’re playing, you have a little bit more leverage. So this one is usually a few ticks out longer than the other one. Also, be very careful when you pick up the instrument. People don’t realize sometimes these straps tend to get caught over the keys. It’s very bad for the instrument, so be very careful when you pick it up to not let that happen.

Most accordions have two connectors on the top and the bottom that hold them closed or open. Go ahead and unhook that, and very carefully try to attach it, and the top one as well.

Also, for your left hand, there’s a leather strap that acts as a guide as you move up and down the instrument. As you’re playing, when you’re pushing and pulling with the bellows, there’s a lever on top that allows you tighten that or loosen that, which makes it easier for you to play.

The straps are sort of up to you. People differ in where they like to have them sit. I do like to have mine different, but whatever works for you. You need to find a great place that feels comfortable for you, with the instrument. And also, if you think you’re going to be standing for a while, or sitting, there’s a back strap that you can purchase that sort of adds extra support underneath the instrument, so that you don’t feel pain in your back when you play. A really good investment.

Once the accordion feels comfortable, you’re all set to play.

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These are what are called piano accordions. Most accordions have this really cool boxy shape, also affectionately called squeeze boxes. Basically what an accordion is is a series of bellows that are compressed, pushed, or pulled and allow air into the instrument that crosses over a valve through a reed that then produces a vibration inside the instrument that creates the sound. So, by pushing or pulling I allow air into the instrument. Then by pressing a button the sound is created.

Many accordions have different reed options. This one in particular, this brand is called Main Squeeze, has five options for reeds. Starting lowest with the bassoon, the bandoneon, the master, the violin, and the clarinet.

On the left hand side of the instrument we have a set series of chords that are always the same on every instrument. Some instruments have a greater number of bass notes than others. This is a 48 bass. They go all the way up to, I think the standard is 120. There are some that are bigger, but those are really huge instruments. The 120 usually being the top that you would ever use to play. These are set up in a chord fashion with major, minor, seventh, and diminished chords. Major, minor, seventh, and diminished chords. The first row being closest to the bellows. The counter bass being a third.

It’s a pretty cool instrument. Basically a one man band. You can play everything that you need to with both hands and accompany yourself on this instrument.