Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
Hi all,
Just thought I might pass on a couple of things I have lately discovered were limiting my progress on the button accordion. Hopefully this will help someone like me who's beginning so they don't have to discover this for themselves!
* Cut your nails; it's darn hard to play with nails longer than a few mm. I couldn't believe the difference it made.
* If your buttons go right down inside the fingerboard (both of my Hohners did) you can pad them out so they will be flush with the fingerboard when pressed right down. You can do this yourself by unscrewing the fingerboard and gluing a couple of pieces of felt or foam under the buttons. This also makes a huge difference to the ease of playing.
* Best tip of all: Grease the fingertips of your right hand! Sounds silly but it works - you can slide between buttons much more easily, swap fingers, do triplets on one note, rolls become easier... Fantastic! I use "Susato Joint Grease" - works brilliantly - but any chapstick/lip balm will do, or Vaseline. I was told this by a plumber/button accordion player. He uses a tube of plumber's grease.
Does anyone have any other tips for making playing easier on any instrument?
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
If your fingers are too dry, rub your fingers on the side of your nose before playing, your nose is the oiliest part of your body, and it makes the fingers glide nice and easy.
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
As an engineer in my 'I gotta make a living' mode' I would be very cautious with any additive.
1. Any water based things- hand creams, saliva sweat will cause thing to corrode. In a post several months ago there was discussion of "tropical boxes" where key components were made of brass instead of steel to protect against humidity. I had a well-publicized problem on my wood box on the Session a few months ago. It turned out to be a corroded axle. It was only a year old an may have stood in the store for a while. I bought it in winter. When I was at the shop this winter, they were running a "water wheel" humidifier. Puts tons of water in the air that condenses on metal parts.
2. You know what you get when you mix grease or chap stick balm with lint, dust and normal stuff from the inside of your case? Technically it's called 'gunk'. It stiffens up. Strange as it may sound, an accordion is a very tightly toleranced manufactured item. Get gunk into it and things slow down or stic and are hard to clean without taking the thing apart.
Maybe the best solution for additional speed is practise.
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
That's interesting because I wash my hands before playing. I've seen people use different things to help slide, including baby powder. I admit maybe some sweat from your forehead might be helpful, but I prefer to keep it dry....tuning is another matter I enjoy most tunings. I think once you've play through a few the natural oils in your hands will warm up to a cold instrument.
I've heard some box players suggest you shouldn't even slide or don't use your pinky, blah, blah, blah. But if you not backing yourself into a corner what's the dif. I agree with zippydw and that practice is where it's at. Or unless it's part of some ritual thing you need to do, pour whatever you what all over it ,
and build a fire of course.
Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
Hi all,
Just thought I might pass on a couple of things I have lately discovered were limiting my progress on the button accordion. Hopefully this will help someone like me who's beginning so they don't have to discover this for themselves!
* Cut your nails; it's darn hard to play with nails longer than a few mm. I couldn't believe the difference it made.
* If your buttons go right down inside the fingerboard (both of my Hohners did) you can pad them out so they will be flush with the fingerboard when pressed right down. You can do this yourself by unscrewing the fingerboard and gluing a couple of pieces of felt or foam under the buttons. This also makes a huge difference to the ease of playing.
* Best tip of all: Grease the fingertips of your right hand! Sounds silly but it works - you can slide between buttons much more easily, swap fingers, do triplets on one note, rolls become easier... Fantastic! I use "Susato Joint Grease" - works brilliantly - but any chapstick/lip balm will do, or Vaseline. I was told this by a plumber/button accordion player. He uses a tube of plumber's grease.
Does anyone have any other tips for making playing easier on any instrument?
# Posted on March 13th 2007 by buttons 'n' whistles
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
Play zip accordion - much less fiddly than buttons.
# Posted on March 13th 2007 by geoffwright
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
I have a velcro one
# Posted on March 13th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
If your fingers are too dry, rub your fingers on the side of your nose before playing, your nose is the oiliest part of your body, and it makes the fingers glide nice and easy.
# Posted on March 13th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
Any more bodily secretions that come in handy? Keep it up and we'll soon have the basis for "10 disgusting things that box players do in sessions..."
# Posted on March 13th 2007 by Jeeves Tones
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
As an engineer in my 'I gotta make a living' mode' I would be very cautious with any additive.
1. Any water based things- hand creams, saliva sweat will cause thing to corrode. In a post several months ago there was discussion of "tropical boxes" where key components were made of brass instead of steel to protect against humidity. I had a well-publicized problem on my wood box on the Session a few months ago. It turned out to be a corroded axle. It was only a year old an may have stood in the store for a while. I bought it in winter. When I was at the shop this winter, they were running a "water wheel" humidifier. Puts tons of water in the air that condenses on metal parts.
2. You know what you get when you mix grease or chap stick balm with lint, dust and normal stuff from the inside of your case? Technically it's called 'gunk'. It stiffens up. Strange as it may sound, an accordion is a very tightly toleranced manufactured item. Get gunk into it and things slow down or stic and are hard to clean without taking the thing apart.
Maybe the best solution for additional speed is practise.
# Posted on March 13th 2007 by zippydw
Re: Button accordion - some thoughts to make playing easier
That's interesting because I wash my hands before playing. I've seen people use different things to help slide, including baby powder. I admit maybe some sweat from your forehead might be helpful, but I prefer to keep it dry....tuning is another matter I enjoy most tunings. I think once you've play through a few the natural oils in your hands will warm up to a cold instrument.
I've heard some box players suggest you shouldn't even slide or don't use your pinky, blah, blah, blah. But if you not backing yourself into a corner what's the dif. I agree with zippydw and that practice is where it's at. Or unless it's part of some ritual thing you need to do, pour whatever you what all over it ,
and build a fire of course.
# Posted on March 14th 2007 by Ray Mariani