Hi all,
I have been applying Alan's awesome concepts to piano for a few years now with great results, but I was surprised to discover that many tenets don't transfer well to piano accordion, which I've picked up recently. I'm writing this post to hear what others have to say, and also because I imagine that Alan and any of his Serbian students must have thought about this, being in a country with a rich accordion history.
OBSERVATIONS
in piano I don't deviate my wrist very much most of the time - it feels relaxed in a high tonus kind of way (when/because my arch is potent) - in accordion, the wrist Is constantly deviating as the hand travels up and down the keys, and the tonus of it is much reduced to allow this. as a result my arch is less potent. cardinal sin number 1, but it feels necessary! even when my hand is not moving up and down, allowing a stronger arch, the normal semi-stiff high-tonus I like on piano just feels clumsy and clunky.
finally, legato doesn't sound nearly as nice on accordion as on piano - I wonder why.
I should add that I'm a very amateur accordionist, these are just my observations, certainly not gospel truths. I'd love to hear what others have to say
A
Alanfraserpiano
Hello, your perceptions are actually right on.
I have watched MANY Serbian accordionists over the years and am blown away by their virtuosity. And yes, what they do seems to go against much of what I teach. However, it only to. In fact, what they do is a highly evolved use of the hand that incorporates things I teach and then integrates them to such a point that they become invisible.
I have some Serbian accordionists actually reading my book and learning from it - they are helped by all that arch stuff!
So why don't you see their arch so high?
Because on the accordion, because of the angles, the arch can't BE so high. But it can still be comfortable. Similarly, legato mostly doesn't work on the accordion so they use a kind of bouncy non-legato that ends up sounding very melodic. I am reminded of Natasha Margulis, the great cellist, once telling me that her legato stemmed mostly from the bow arm and that even when she was playing a really legato, singing melody that her "fretting" fingers didn't really play that legato.
I hope this helps clarify, at least by validating the seeming contradictions!
AFF
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