It’s easy to forget the accordion was once one of the country’s most popular instruments and accordion players were in high demand. But this Soprani accordion ad pitching the accordion’s money-making potential actually appeared in the August 1931 issue of The Etude Music Magazine. I wonder how many out-of-work musicans — keep in mind, this was during the Great Depression — embraced the get-rich-quick pitch: “Big demand in orchestras, radio work and for teachers… You master it quickly. Then watch your earnings grow.” Sounds great! Where do I sign up?

(Found via Lenny Feldmann, the Cordeen Man.)

• Coin-Operated Accordion Arcade Jukebox
  Wow. I’m not sure where to start with this — it’s basically a jukebox/player accordion that sits on top of a barrel. Load music rolls in the barrel, drop a quarter in the slot and marvel as the automated accordion squeezes out classic tunes. Watch this video for a demonstration, but be warned — bidding starts at just under $4,000.
• Topaz-1: Cold War Electro-Accordion
  Your fancy MIDI accordion is nothing new; Russian accordionists were squeezing electronic accordions (or bayans) back in the 1950s. This model had a built-in loudspeaker and amplifier, tremolo and vibrato frequency control, and more. Look ma, no bellows!
• The Flaco Jimenez Signature Accordion
  Hohner has a new limited-edition version of its Corona II accordion, developed in collaboration with the legendary Flaco Jimenez. The accordion is tuned to match Flaco’s unique sound, has a noise reduction fingerboard, and sports a shiny gold finish complete with Flaco’s signature.

For years, accordionists have been exercising their hands and arms while their poor feet wither away due to neglect. But no more! Behold the foot bass (or “Basse aux pieds”), a 12-key bellows-driven instrument played entirely with your feet. Invented by Joseph Alexandry in 1894, this instrument was (supposedly) popular in the first half of the 20th century and, thanks to renewed interest by contemporary musicians, is poised for a comeback. A brand-new foot bass, built by Harry Geuns in Belgium, will set you back nearly 2000 Euros, but at least your feet will never be bored again.

Foot Bass playing “The Merry Widows” mp3

When journalist Gregory Warner took his accordion to Afghanistan, he hoped the music would help him where his phrasebook failed. The instrument turned out to be a better ambassador than he ever imagined.

His fantastic video, “Afghanistan: An Accordion Journey”, shows how his music helped bridge the gap between foreigner and natives by recalling Afghanistan’s own accordion hero, Ahmad Zahir. (Thirty years after his death, Zahir is still Afghanistan’s most popular and enduring musical icon.) I particularly love the scene where Warner performs Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” for a cheering Afghan crowd. Is there any culture where the accordion doesn’t fit in?

Time to brush up on your accordion history! The following piece was written by Yimeng Huang and appeared in a recent Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society newsletter.

I had a great time at the American Accordionists Association festival in August. Besides the great performances, the interesting workshops, the banquet, and other events, we had a little treat in one of the workshops: a short demonstration of the Chinese traditional music instrument, the sheng, and a short sheng/accordion duet. The accordionist was Chen Jun, vice president of the Chinese Accordionists Association, and his colleague played the sheng.

Up until that moment, I had never connected the accordion with the sheng, an instrument that I heard often in traditional Chinese folk music when I was growing up in Beijing, China.

When Chen said that the Sheng has 5,000 years of history and is the father of the accordion, it really intrigued me. The traditional sheng is a bunch of pipes — with holes in them — that are positioned vertically over a sort of cup. From the side of the cup comes a mouthpiece that you blow into (or suck out of — it works both ways like a harmonica).

The instrument sounds to me like something between a flute and a bagpipe. It can play chords, giving it a rich sound. Interestingly, it also uses reeds, and the reeds — like accordion reeds — are waxed onto the pipes. The reeds used to be made of bamboo and nowadays are made of steel.

As for the sheng being the father of the accordion, at first I had my doubts, but after some research, I found many sources that said in the early 1800s the sheng was brought to Europe and inspired the invention of the harmonica, accordion, and reed organ.

As young kids, we were taught to be proud of the four big inventions by the Chinese: the compass, gunpowder, paper-making, and printing. Now we have the accordion added to the list… or is that stretching it a little?

For more information, check out these links:

• Wikipedia entry on the Sheng
• Diagram of a Sheng’s parts
• Video of a sheng and accordion duo, performing a traditional piece with a modern flavor

Thanks to Yimeng Huang and Mara Cherkasky of the Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society for allowing us to reprint this piece!

Before Rolling Stone, before Spin, even before Let’s Polka, there was Accordion World magazine — keeping its finger on the pulse of America’s hottest up-and-coming instrument. Zevy Zions sent us this fantastic piece from the November 1936 issue which excitedly discusses violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz’s interest in the accordion and what it means for the instrument:

“THE EMINENT VIOLINIST, JASCHA HEIFETZ, is shown in the above photograph, apparently taking his accordion very seriously. It has become now, not a fad, but a matter of real interest with some of our most prominent musicians in other fields, to take to their bosom our beloved instrument.

Mr. Heifetz is studying the accordion and may soon surprise some of our best players.

A few years ago a photograph like this would have appeared preposterous. Today our Symphony orchestras are accepting the accordion one by one. Three or four of our universities are already admitting the instrument and giving credit for it. A great many of our high schools have their own accordion bands. Our great name orchestras are not only including but featuring the accordion. And now our greatest musicians are taking it up. That is progress.”

Progress!

Today I was going through my record collection, wondering if any of my old accordion records were available on CD. Sadly, many of them have not been remastered to CD. However, in my search I discovered that accordionist Henry Doktorski has taken the time to remaster some of his historic accordion records to CD! He sells copies of the CDs from his website for $15 each plus extra for shipping, handling and (optional) insurance. He has several albums by Myron Floren and Charles Magnante, as well as others. Take a look! While the recordings are not perfect (there are unavoidable hisses and skips), this is definitely a great resource for fans of the accordion.

Rock stars of tomorrow, uploaded by ‘56 Mojo

As we’ve seen before, I have a soft spot for these old photos of kids accordion bands. (This one apparently dates from around 1935.) But while these bands seemed to be a dime a dozen in those days, I’d really like to see photos of modern-day kids accordion bands. Anybody know of one?

Boy with Accordion
uploaded by BrannEver have one of those days? The kind where everything drags, just getting out of bed is a chore, and when you pick up your accordion, it feels like a ton of bricks. Well, imagine how this poor kid feels. First, Mom makes him wear a tie and a pair of knickers. Then he has to stand out in the sun and pose for a photo with an accordion that’s nearly as big as he is. The grimace on his face says it all: “Hurry up and take the picture… I can’t hold this much longer…”