Anything to take note when sequencing Accordion?
- Thread starter mingguan
- Start date
iansoh
Moderator
yeah.. this instrument 'breathes' too. it's really difficult to mimick because i think the phrasing isn't standardised, unlike conventional orchestral instruments. need to use a lot of expression pedal or ribbon or whatever u're comfortable with.
remember that the accordion is played by an air pump action so when the player draws to the end of the pump the volume naturally goes softer and when he gives it a fresh pump the volume becomes loud.
then there's other things like the chords on the accordion which are actually fixed. they have standard buttons for major, minor and 7th chords and diminished chords if i remember correctly.
remember that the accordion is played by an air pump action so when the player draws to the end of the pump the volume naturally goes softer and when he gives it a fresh pump the volume becomes loud.
then there's other things like the chords on the accordion which are actually fixed. they have standard buttons for major, minor and 7th chords and diminished chords if i remember correctly.
Cheez
Moderator
Iansoh is right - the bass buttons (played by the left hand) has standard chord. There' a button for each chord of the scale in major, minor, 7th and dim.
I agree with iansoh re: the use of a controller. I believe the best one to use is the expression pedal since both hands will be playing and you have to control the volume very frequently - the expression pedal therefore becomes the air pump (the bellow). Remember that the accordion is NOT velocity senstive and the volume of the notes are controlled by the the bellow. However, I believe many accordion sounds from hardware keyboards are velocity senstive. This will create problems since you'll get different loudness with each note - not possible with the accordion of which the volume is the same for all notes and the bass.
On the real accordion, if you play less notes on your right hand, there will be less air-leakage and hence you don't have to move the bellow much to produce a loud sound. If you press more notes simultaneously, air-leakage will increase and hence left hand must push more to get more air in to produce the same volume. I guess this may or may not help during sequencing, but important to think accordion while sequencing accordion!
So I would suggest programming the notes at a fix velocity, say 100 or 110, then assign the expression pedal for volume control.
Best way to learn - try to play it yourself! And listen to accordion playing.
Here are some accordion mp3 done with samples - not real accordion, to give you an idea. (accordion from Bardstown Audio)
http://www.bardstownaudio.com/frames/mp3.html (look for those with accordion)
I agree with iansoh re: the use of a controller. I believe the best one to use is the expression pedal since both hands will be playing and you have to control the volume very frequently - the expression pedal therefore becomes the air pump (the bellow). Remember that the accordion is NOT velocity senstive and the volume of the notes are controlled by the the bellow. However, I believe many accordion sounds from hardware keyboards are velocity senstive. This will create problems since you'll get different loudness with each note - not possible with the accordion of which the volume is the same for all notes and the bass.
On the real accordion, if you play less notes on your right hand, there will be less air-leakage and hence you don't have to move the bellow much to produce a loud sound. If you press more notes simultaneously, air-leakage will increase and hence left hand must push more to get more air in to produce the same volume. I guess this may or may not help during sequencing, but important to think accordion while sequencing accordion!
So I would suggest programming the notes at a fix velocity, say 100 or 110, then assign the expression pedal for volume control.
Best way to learn - try to play it yourself! And listen to accordion playing.
Here are some accordion mp3 done with samples - not real accordion, to give you an idea. (accordion from Bardstown Audio)
http://www.bardstownaudio.com/frames/mp3.html (look for those with accordion)
Cheez
Moderator
This website can explain it better than I can.
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texta/Accordion.html
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texta/Accordion.html
iansoh
Moderator
talk about accordions..
i just got back from a dee dee bridgwater concert in portland, part of the portland jazz festival. her backing band setup was percussion, guitar, and ACCORDION.
it was hell wicked. they were all french guys playing to promote dee dee bridgewater's latest album which i think is in french. french jazz. the accordion player had this 120-button accordion, with no keys! it's the traditional type of accordion with buttons on both sides. the bassist was stuck at the airport so the accordion player was playing the bass line with his left hand and managing the chords and solos with the other.
i caught them again at the midnight jam after the concert, where young upstarts and hobbyists get to jam with anyone else, including the pros and sessionists. it was a fantastic atmosphere, held at some hotel lounge.
anyway.. just to answer mingguan's question, the chords sound to me like mostly around the 3rd and 4th octave. typical lah, not too low that it sounds muddy and not too high that it sounds thin. smack in the middle with different inversions so that they all sound big and chunky. i could be wrong, it's just what i could gather from that night.
get the latest dee dee bridgewater album if u wanna analyse accordion playing. it's well worth it. the accordion player was da bomb that night. he was playing everything from bossa to blues runs and funky chops.
i just got back from a dee dee bridgwater concert in portland, part of the portland jazz festival. her backing band setup was percussion, guitar, and ACCORDION.
it was hell wicked. they were all french guys playing to promote dee dee bridgewater's latest album which i think is in french. french jazz. the accordion player had this 120-button accordion, with no keys! it's the traditional type of accordion with buttons on both sides. the bassist was stuck at the airport so the accordion player was playing the bass line with his left hand and managing the chords and solos with the other.
i caught them again at the midnight jam after the concert, where young upstarts and hobbyists get to jam with anyone else, including the pros and sessionists. it was a fantastic atmosphere, held at some hotel lounge.
anyway.. just to answer mingguan's question, the chords sound to me like mostly around the 3rd and 4th octave. typical lah, not too low that it sounds muddy and not too high that it sounds thin. smack in the middle with different inversions so that they all sound big and chunky. i could be wrong, it's just what i could gather from that night.
get the latest dee dee bridgewater album if u wanna analyse accordion playing. it's well worth it. the accordion player was da bomb that night. he was playing everything from bossa to blues runs and funky chops.
