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    • NL - newer >
      • Candlelight_and_Wine
      • Fishing_in_a_dory
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    • NL - older >
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      • Great big sea hove in ...
      • Harbour Le Cou
      • I'se The B'y
      • Jack was every inch a sailor
      • Kelligrew's Soiree
      • Let me fish off Cape St Mary's
      • Lukey's boat
      • Now I'm 64
      • Ode to Newfoundland
      • Old Brown's daughter
      • Old Polina
      • Paddy and the whale
      • Ryans and Pittmans
      • Squid jiggin' ground
      • Star of Logy Bay
      • Sweet forget-me-not
      • Tiny Red Light
    • OTHER - newer >
      • Both_sides_now
      • Did_she_mention_my_name
      • (The) Farmer's Song
      • Four strong winds
      • I'm movin' on
      • Log_drivers_waltz
      • Make_n_Break_Harbour
      • Sea-People
      • Song-for-Mira
      • Working-man
    • OTHER - older >
      • Bluebird
      • Farewell_to_NS
      • Maggie
      • O Canada
      • Peggy Gordon
      • Red River Valley
    • Christmas Songs >
      • (A) Children's Winter
      • Christmas_fancy
      • Christmas in the harbour.
      • Mummers song
      • Old_Christmas_waltz
    • BY "EAR" >
      • Bluebirds_sing
      • Capelin time
      • From an island to an island
      • Land_of_fish_and_seals
      • Light and Power Boys
      • (The) Music takes me back
      • Mussels in the corner
      • Newfoundland_waltz
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    • USA - newer >
      • Adios_Amigo
      • Annie's song
      • Ballad of the Green Berets
      • Blowing in the wind
      • Blue eyes crying in the rain
      • Bridge over troubled water
      • Bye bye love
      • Country roads
      • Crystal Chandeliers
      • Four thousand years ago
      • Have I told you lately that I ...
      • I can't stop loving you
      • I overlooked an orchid
      • I recall a gypsy woman
      • I walk the line
      • Me and Bobby McGee
      • Missing in action
      • Moon River
      • Old flames
      • Rambling Rose
      • Ring_of_fire
      • Roses are red my love
      • Send me the pillow ...
      • Try _a_ little_kindness
      • Waltz across Texas
      • What a wonderful world
      • You're my best friend
    • USA - older >
      • America the beautiful
      • Billy_Boy
      • Careless_love
      • Down_in_the_valley
      • Hammer_song
      • Happy Birthday
      • Home_on_the_range
      • My grandfather's clock
      • Oh, what a beautiful morning
      • Old_lamplighter
      • Old_Smokey
      • Shenandoah
      • Star-Spangled Banner
      • Streets of Laredo
      • Tennessee_waltz
      • This land is your land
      • Wabash cannon ball
      • Wildwood flower
      • Worried man blues
      • Yellow_Rose_of_Texas
      • You are my sunshine
    • Christmas Songs >
      • An old Christmas card
      • Frosty the Snowman
      • Here comes Santa Claus
      • Jingle Bells
      • Jolly old St. Nicholas
      • Must be Santa
      • Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
      • Silver Bells
    • BY "EAR" >
      • Edelweiss
      • If I should fall behind
      • Mary Ann regrets
      • Oh so many years
      • You're the nearest thing to Heaven
  • World
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      • Waltzing_Matilda
    • (The) Bahamas >
      • Sloop_John_B
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      • Bread_and_Fishes
      • Fiddler's Green
      • Let it be
      • Let me be there
      • Norwegian Wood
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      • Dirty_old_town
      • Drink to me only ...
      • Girl_I_left_behind
      • Heave_away
      • It's a long way to Tipperary
      • Long_long_ago
      • Navvy_boots
      • Scarborough Fair
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      • A_little_peace
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      • Brahms_lullaby
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      • After all these years
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      • Fields of Athenry
      • Gypsy Rover
      • My lovely Rose of Clare
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      • Roads of Kildare
      • Rose of Mooncoin
      • Town_of_Ballybay
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      • Black velvet band
      • Come back Paddy Reillly
      • Connemara Cradle
      • Danny Boy
      • Galway Bay
      • Galway Shawl
      • Irish washerwoman
      • Maid in the Garrett
      • Molly Malone
      • My wild Irish Rose
      • Red_is_the_rose
      • Rocky Road to Dublin
      • Rose of Aranmore
      • Wild_Colonial_Boy
      • Wild Rover
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      • You_raise_me_up
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      • Come by the hills
      • It's a dream come true
      • Mull of Kintyre
      • We'll meet again my friends
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      • Auld Lang Syne - New Year's
      • Comin' through the rye
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      • Miari's Wedding
      • My_Bonnie
      • Road to the isles
      • Wild mountain thyme
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      • The Ash Grove
      • Sweet_Jenny_Jones
    • Mixed origins >
      • Jolly good fellow
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      • Deck the hall
      • Good_King_Wenceslas
      • We wish you a Merry Christmas
    • BY "EAR" >
      • Among the Wicklow Hills
      • Hills of Glenshee
      • In an Irish country home
      • It's good to see you
      • Love me when I'm old ...
      • My homeland
      • The little shirt my Mother made for me
      • Going out the same way you came in
  • Dance Tunes
    • Jig family >
      • Auntie Mary (Cock of the North)
      • Irish washerwoman
      • Larry O'Gaff
      • Up_the_pond
    • Reel family >
      • Aunt_Rubys_garden
      • I rowed up in a dory
      • Maple-sugar-reel
      • Maxwell's rant
      • Pretty_little_Mary
    • Marches >
      • Banks of Newfoundland (Up the Pond)
      • Cock of the North (Auntie Mary)
  • Gospel
    • Songs - newer >
      • Because He lives
      • God on the mountain
      • He touched me
      • I_know_who_holds_tomorrow
      • It is no secret
      • May_the_Good_Lord_bless
      • Millenium Prayer
      • One day at a time
      • 'Till the storm passes by
      • Unclouded Day
      • Will you walk with me
      • Wings of a dove
    • Songs - older >
      • Beautiful isle of somewhere
      • Church in the wildwood
      • Count your blessings
      • Do Lord
      • Give me oil for my lamp
      • Higher ground
      • How beautiful Heaven must be
      • I'll fly away
      • In the sweet by and by
      • Just a closer walk with Thee
      • Keep on the Sunny Side
      • Kum ba yah
      • Let_the_lower_lights
      • Life is like a mountain railroad
      • Mine eyes have seen the glory
      • Precious memories
      • Shall we gather at the river
      • Standing in the need of prayer
      • Stranger of Galilee
      • When the roll is called up yonder
      • When the Saints go marching in
      • Whispering hope
    • Hymns - newer >
      • Give_to_us_laughter
      • Here I am Lord
      • How great Thou art
      • Jesus you have come to the lakeshore
      • Morning has broken
      • Pass it on
      • Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness
    • Hymns -older >
      • All people that on earth
      • Amazing Grace
      • Be Thou My Vision
      • Blessed_Assurance
      • Crown_Him_with_many_crowns
      • For_the_beauty
      • In the garden
      • I love to tell the story
      • Immortal_invisible
      • Jesus loves me
      • Joyful, joyful, We ...
      • Precious_Lord_take_my_hand
      • Softly and tenderly
      • Take time to be holy
      • We love the place O God
      • What a Friend we have in Jesus
      • Will your anchor hold
      • Wonderful_words_of_life
    • Christmas Carols >
      • Away in a manger (JRM)
      • Away in a manger (WJK)
      • The First Noel
      • The friendly beasts
      • Go, tell it on the mountain
      • Hark the herald angels sing
      • I heard the bells (Marks)
      • I saw three ships
      • Joy to the world
      • Mary's Little Boy Child
      • O come, all ye faithful
      • O little town of Bethlehem
      • Silent Night
      • When a child is born
    • BY "EAR" >
      • Lord, don't give up on me
  • Kids
    • Billy_Boy
    • BINGO
    • (My Darling) Clementine
    • Frere Jacques
    • If you're happy
    • London_Bridge
    • Mary had a little lamb
    • Twinkle little star
    • Where has my little dog gone
Button-Accordion Tutorial  Project

(Dual-row G-C, A-D, D-G or C-F with Accidentals)
Based on  tunes2play4fun.com  &  Facilitated by ZOOM

MINI-COURSE BA1:   BASIC MELODIES

UNIT ONE (of FOUR)
​
Playing Very-Familiar Melodies
​(
on the Dual-row Button Accordion)

Return to  BA1 - Unit 1 Page
                                               WEB SLIDE SET

This is a somewhat compacted version of the slides used in the first Zoom session, and is included here primarily for Zoom participants who have already seen the full Unit 1 slide set, and may want to review parts of it.  
​
                                    INSTRUCTIONAL SESSION ONE
Web Slide 1                                                                                                                   Zoom Slide 1
Welcome to our basic-level dual-row button-accordion mini-course. 
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​Web Slide 2                                                                                                        Zoom Slides 2 & 3
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Disclaimer:  This mini-course has been assembled by a (mostly) self-taught player, who is neither a professional  musician nor a professional music-teacher, but with a tutoring and instructional development background, and with a new-found love of the button-accordion.
                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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​Web Slide 3                                                                                                                   Zoom Slide 4
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​Web Slide 4                                                                                                                  Zoom Slide 5
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​Zoom Slide 5                                                                                                         Zoom Slides 6 - 8
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​Web Slide 6                                                                                                                   Zoom Slide 9
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Although these individualized 25-minute sessions are optional, it is likely that most folks will make use of one (or both) of them in each three-week interval.

Thus in the first session you are asked to select an individualized slot that may be convenient for you for each of the scheduled Wednesdays

​Web Slide 7                                                                                                      Zoom Slides 10 & 11
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If this were Sesame Street, Unit 1 would be brought to you by the letter "L".  

Mastering the button accordion does involve a lot of looking, listening and learning. 

​However the two most important words in learning are Practice, and Fun, brought to you by the letters "P" & "F".   (Please forgive my "weak" attempt at humour!)

            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Web Slide 8                                                                                                                 Zoom Slide 12
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In Unit 1, we are looking AT the accordion, the outside.

In three weeks (Unit 2), we'll look INTO the treble end of a button accordion (one of my older ones), to see what is going on inside when we press on buttons and push & pull the bellows.

​Web Slide 9                                                                                                                 Zoom Slide 13
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The bass-end:
​
The Strap hold the player's wrist somewhat tight against the bass plate, with the left fingers wrapped around to reach the bass-end buttons.

The air lever is controlled by the left thumb.

​Web Slide 10                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 14
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The bellows are constructed out of reinforced cardboard.  

It is a good idea to keep the bellows from rubbing against clothing.

​It is also important not to force the bellows to open too far.

When moving the accordion, close the straps to keep the bellows tightly closed.

​Web Slide 11                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 15
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The treble end thumb strap is used by some players, negating the need for the shoulder strap(s).

However most players prefer the shoulder strap, with the thumb pushing against the button bar, holding the accordion in place.


​For playing whole standing, many prefer two straps, one over each shoulder.

​Web Slide 12                                                                                                      Zoom Slides 16 - 18 
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Never lift by the thumb strap.

Transport in a cushioned container.


Keep away from direct sunlight.
​
Store at moderate room temperature and humidity in a low-dust environment.




​Web Slide 13                                                                                                      Zoom Slides 19 - 21
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Playing & Listening Demonstrations

Melodies are played by the right hand, using the treble buttons.

Tunes involve playing with both hands, where the left hand adds harmony and/or bass rhythm.
​



​Web Slide 14                                                                                                      Zoom Slide 22 & 23
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We'll begin this Mini-Course with very familiar melodies, the most universally familiar of which is the birthday song.

So, our challenge is to move from the song in our heads to playing the melody using the treble buttons of our accordions.

​ Web Slide 15                                                                                                     Zoom Slides 24 - 30
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​Web Slide 16                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 31
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​Web Slide 17                                                                                                              Zoom Slide 32
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When to PUSH or when to PULL?

Each pressed button can generate two notes, one for the "push" & one for "pull".

 A push on the bellows closes them, pushing air out of the bellows cavity.

A pull on bellows opens them, pulling air into the expanding bellows cavity.


​Web Slide 18                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 33
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Matching button notes to lyrics:

This is the easy part.  We simply print each treble button-note above the sung syllable, as illustrated at left.

​Web Slide 19                                                                                                              Zoom Slide 34
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"Happy Birthday To You" is a classic, with a simple rhythm and a melody that is universally familiar.    Start with bellows at mid-point (half-way between closed and a safe-max-open), using air-lever only if needed.
                      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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​Web Slide 20                                                                                                              Zoom Slide 35
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Play on inside row.  Place your first finger at button 3 and your little finger at button 6, covering all the needed buttons with your four right fingers.   Start with bellows at mid-point (half-way between closed and a safe-max-open), using air-lever only if needed.
                 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

​Web Slide 21                                                                                                                Zoom Slide 36
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Play on inside row.  Place your first finger at button 2 and your little finger at button 5, covering all the needed buttons with your four right fingers. (You will need button 2 for the Web 2nd half.)
                  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Web Slide 22                                                                                                     Zoom Slides 37 - 42
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​Web Slide 23                                                                                                              Zoom Slide 43
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​Web Slide 24                                                                                                      Zoom Slide 44 - 49
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Someone once claimed that mastering most skills is 10% knowledge and 90% practice.  While the actual percentages may be different, the mastery of the button accordion certainly depends on some knowledge combined with lots of practice, preferably in small non-tiring periods that are fun.
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Web Slide 25                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 50
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Play on outside row.  Place your first finger at button 5 and your little finger at button 8, covering all the needed buttons with your four right fingers.  Start with bellows at mid-point (half-way between closed and a safe-max-open).
                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Web Slide 26                                                                                                            Zoom Slide 51
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Play on either row.  Place your first finger at button 4 and your little finger at button 7, covering all the needed buttons with your four right fingers.
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Web Slide 27                                                                                                              Zoom Slide 52
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53
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Play on either row.  Place your first finger at button 5 and your little finger at button 8, covering all the needed buttons with your four right fingers.
                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Web Slide 29                                                                                                              Zoom Slide 54
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A reminder of the optional 25-Minute individualized session on Wednesday, Sept 21
and
​Sept 28.

​Web Slide 30                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 55
Try to sign in to Zoom just before the starting time.  You will be admitted to the Zoom session from the waiting room at (or close to) the starting time. 

There will be time for discussion & explanation, but mainly for playing.  Have your accordion ready.  It will be a short session, but also helpful & "fun" once you get use to it. 

​Web Slide 31                                                                                                        Zoom Slide 56 - 58
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Looking ahead to Unit 2 . . .  summary outline above.
Note that we'll also start Unit 2 with the very familiar Birthday Song, but this time with a focus on melodic rhythm and rhythmic notation.

                   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Web Slide 32                                                                                                               Zoom Slide 59
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