Musette tune progress

[vivdunstan]

I told my Mum I'd learn a brand new accordion tune for her on my wee French chromatic button accordion, and play it for her when I see her around her birthday time. One I haven't learned before on any accordion. I picked a French musette standard, and when I told her on the phone which one I'd picked she sang the start of the tune to me. So well that was a good choice! Anyway had my second good go at it today. I picked a rather ambitious arrangement, that would be a challenge even on a piano accordion I've played for approaching 50 years. Never mind a chromatic button accordion (where a button grid replaces the piano keyboard portion) that I've only been learning for 7 months. But I can build it up slowly. And already on go two I am playing most of it pretty much through, at speed. Including the gorgeous middle run sequence of 3-note harmonies on the right side. I am still learning where the notes are on that right hand mass of anonymous black buttons. Especially on the upper octaves. But learning another tune like this is a good challenge for me. I am managing to find the right buttons ok and just working out on the fly the fingers to use. Unlike some beginning chromatic button accordionists I don't want to write down the fingers I use for each note on the sheet music, and prefer to feel my way through. Anyway going good! And I have a couple of months to polish it. I will not be uploading any recording of it anywhere before I've played it for Mum in person.

Comments

[watervole]

Sounds like you're better at moving between instruments than I am.

I played anglo concertina for decades, then switched to melodeon when I couldn't get a new concertina I liked at an affordable price.

I got okay at the melodeon, but finally concluded my heart really was with the concertina, so I've ordered one that will be ready around August/September, and I'm relearning my old instrument (which hasn't quite fallen apart, but has very leaky bellows and some loose keys (it's already had repairs done to it, it's basically worn out.)

[vivdunstan]

I'm doing much better than I expected picking up CBA. There's still a lot to learn, but I didn't expect to be moving around the button grid this smoothly so quickly, or intuitively figuring out fingering so easily. I do know another long-term piano accordionist who took up CBA (and got extremely competent on it) and if he ever looked down at the right side while playing had a huge panic attack, seeing a mass of buttons and not a piano keyboard! I'm fine with that least. It's just a differently shaped keyboard for me ;)

I haven't found the concertina nearly so natural though, especially the anglo. Different notes on push/pull is very unfamiliar for me, and I haven't picked up what notes are where, though I can muddle through some tunes. Then again I haven't put lots of time in.

Wishing you all the best relearning the Anglo, and hope you love your new instrument when it arrives later this year..

[watervole]

I'd never tried a push/pull instrument until I got the Anglo, and had intended to buy an English concertina for this very reason.
But I fell in love with the sound when trying out instruments and changed my mind!
Fortunately, it was a lot easier to learn than I'd expected.
and, of course, you get twice as many notes for the size of instrument.