jonny (good kind)1d ago

So since I got my finger blowed up, I can't really play piano, and I have been taking on psychic damage ever since.

However it seems like I might be able to play an accordion, since my blowed up finger is on my left hand and accordion seems like it has much less "ballistic" hits to the finger.

But I can't make heads or tails about what in the fuck kind of accordion to try: I play mostly moody emo Chopin sadgirl tunes, and I love piazzola, so I was reading about bandoneons, but it turns out that you can't actually get one (like literally it seems like they were only mass manufactured pre WWII and now only for like $10k custom made) and the key layout means you can like only play tango on them. And then since its a folk instrument there are like one million other kinds of accordion and I can't tell how much each is specialized for a specific kind of music.

Is there anyone on here I reach who plays #accordion and can help me out knowing what kinda button bag to play? I would be a beginner accordionist but I have been playing piano my whole life and am looking for a long term romance I mean replacement, so I don't need the like "there are 5 notes on this one and you can't go wrong" kind. I would love to be able to play sea shanties and folk punk tunes, but if its also possible to play some Chopin or Debussy arrangements on the thing that would be extremely emotionally valuable to me.

Show threadnash1d ago

@jonny i feel like the kind with keyboard on one side & the Stradella Bass button system on the other should be pretty versatile, and the bass system won't be too hard to pick up since you already know piano. (it just goes by the circle of fifths, with a selection of bass notes & chords in each column).

120 bass is super common, but I think there are smaller versions out there too

Show threadjonny (good kind)1d ago
@nash
This is the neighborhood I am landing in, but the amount of subtlety within that is somewhat paralyzing - like how many voices? What reed configuration and tuning? Mono or diatonic? And I can't find a decent information source on how much that matters or how they affect play. Do you have one you play that you might recommend?
Show threadnash23h ago

@jonny ohh, yeah that makes sense. & ya know, I never had to deal with that because I saw one on craigslist ages ago & scooped it up without ever knowing what I was getting or getting into.

mine is a Silvio Marotta Concerto Continental Mark III, but to be honest I don't play enough to really know what I would recommend!

Show threadjonny (good kind)
@nash
Thanks regardless, I'll take a listen!!
Mar 28 at 11:53pmWeb
Show threadnash23h ago
@jonny I hope you're able to find one that suits you well! Accordions are so cool. They're little musical powerhouses in terms of what you can do with them vs how compact they are.