Button-Accordion Tunes 2 Play 4 Fun
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    • BA1-main
    • BA2-main
    • BA3-main
    • BA4-main
    • BA5-main >
      • BA5-Unit 4 >
        • I walk the line
        • I saw three ships
        • Norwegian Wood
        • Home_on_the_range
        • Blessed_Assurance
        • Down_in_the_valley
        • Heave_away
        • Old flames
        • Wonderful_words_of_life
        • Connemara Cradle
    • BA6-main
  • Canada
    • NL - newer >
      • Candlelight_and_Wine
      • Fishing_in_a_dory
      • Grey foggy day
      • Joe Batt's Arm longliners
      • Loss of the Marion
      • Music and friends
      • Northern Lights of Labrador
      • Outport people
      • Rose in her hair.
      • Rubber_boots
      • Saltwater joys
      • Song for Newfoundland
      • Sonny's dream
      • Surrounded_by_water
      • Take me to the country
      • The St. John's Waltz
      • This Is My Home
      • Towards_the_sunset
      • Woman of Labrador
    • NL - older >
      • Badger_drive
      • Cliffs of Baccalieu
      • Feller from Fortune
      • 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.
      • Marys_lullaby
      • Mummers song
      • Old_Christmas_waltz
    • BY "EAR" >
      • Bluebirds_sing
      • Capelin time
      • From an island to an island
      • Land_and_Sea_Theme
      • Land_of_fish_and_seals
      • Light and Power Boys
      • (The) Music takes me back
      • Mussels in the corner
      • Newfoundland_waltz
  • USA
    • 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
      • Far-Side Banks of Jordan
      • 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
      • We shall overcome
      • 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
    • Australia - older >
      • Waltzing_Matilda
    • (The) Bahamas >
      • Sloop_John_B
    • England - newer >
      • Bread_and_Fishes
      • Fiddler's Green
      • Let it be
      • Let me be there
      • Norwegian Wood
      • Streets_of_London
      • World_of_our_own
    • England - older >
      • Dirty_old_town
      • Drink to me only ...
      • Girl_I_left_behind
      • Heave_away
      • It's a long way to Tipperary
      • Jerusalem
      • Long_long_ago
      • Navvy_boots
      • Scarborough Fair
    • Germany- newer >
      • A_little_peace
    • Germany- older >
      • Brahms_lullaby
    • Ireland - newer >
      • After all these years
      • (The) Ferryman
      • Fields of Athenry
      • Gypsy Rover
      • My lovely Rose of Clare
      • Nancy Spain
      • Roads of Kildare
      • Rose of Mooncoin
      • Town_of_Ballybay
    • Ireland - older >
      • Black velvet band
      • Come back Paddy Reillly
      • Connemara Cradle
      • Danny Boy
      • Galway Bay
      • Galway Shawl
      • Home by Bearna
      • 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
    • Norway >
      • You_raise_me_up
    • Scotland - newer >
      • Come by the hills
      • It's a dream come true
      • Mull of Kintyre
      • We'll meet again my friends
    • Scotland -older >
      • Auld Lang Syne - New Year's
      • Comin' through the rye
      • Loch_Lomond
      • Miari's Wedding
      • My_Bonnie
      • Road to the isles
      • Wild mountain thyme
    • Wales-older >
      • The Ash Grove
      • Sweet_Jenny_Jones
    • Mixed origins >
      • Jolly good fellow
    • Christmas Songs >
      • Christmas in Killarney
      • Deck the hall
      • Good_King_Wenceslas
      • We wish you a Merry Christmas
    • BY "EAR" >
      • Among the Wicklow Hills
      • Beautiful Sunday
      • 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)
      • Father O'Flynn
      • Garryowen
      • Haste to the wedding
      • Hundred Pipers
      • Irish washerwoman
      • The Kesh
      • Larry O'Gaff
      • Pop Goes The Weasel
      • Up_the_pond
    • Reel family >
      • Aunt_Rubys_garden
      • Aunt_Rubys_garden (guitar)
      • 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, Open My Heart
      • 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 ...
      • Make_Me_A_Channel_Of_
      • Precious_Lord_take_my_hand
      • Softly and tenderly
      • Take time to be holy
      • Trust and Obey
      • 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
    • Pop Goes The Weasel
    • Twinkle little star
    • Where has my little dog gone

  ACCORDION   MUSIC  FUNDAMENTALS


1.   What is Accordion Music?

For the button-accordion player, Music has five principal components:
  • Melody (including melodic rhythm) - as played mainly using the right-hand buttons.
  • Harmony and chords - by playing multiple right-hand buttons at the same time, or certain single left-hand buttons, or a combination of both right-hand and left-hand buttons.
  • Rhythmic beat - usually involving the left-hand bass and chord buttons, and sometimes accompanied by regular variations in the strength of pushes or pulls on the bellows.   The beat may also be provided by other accompanying instruments such as drums and/or guitars.
  • Tempo - the pace of the tune, relating beat intervals to real time (such as beats per minute).
  • Dynamics - includes how loud or how quiet each note should be played.
​

2.  The Simple Basics of Playing Tunes on the Accordion
To play a tune on the button accordion we need to know
  • which buttons to press (resulting in musical tones);
  • whether we are pushing (compressing) or pulling (expanding) the accordion bellows;
  • the order in which to press them (sequence);
  • how long to keep each button pressed (the relative duration in terms of beat intervals);
  • how powerful the push or pull (which mostly determines the loudness of the sound),
  • the tempo or pace desired, and
  • how to make it smooth, pleasant and interesting for playing, listening, or dancing.


3.   Simple Basic Notation for the Right Hand
The right-hand treble buttons are numbered from 1 to 11 for the outside row (o), and from  1 to 10 for the inside row (i), from accordion top (near chin) to bottom.  The melodic tone  associated with each note, in a selected accordion key  and row, is written in terms of right-hand button numbers, with
  • plain button numbers (such as  4   5   7   3 )  if the bellows are to be pushed or compressed, and by
  • button numbers and an asterisk, or star (such as  3*  6*  5* ) if the bellows are to be pulled or expanded.

The pattern of duration for the various notes is essential to melody and melodic rhythm.  Our reference for duration is the beat, or beat interval, such as can be provided, for example, by tapping your foot uniformly, or by the beat of a drum, or by the click or tone of a metronome.

Dots (or periods, if you prefer) are most often used to indicate durations of one beat interval or larger.  For example,
  • a dot or period (such as  .7 ) means press and hold button 7 for one beat interval.
  • a colon, which is really two dots  (such as  :6 ) means press and hold for two beat intervals.
  • a dot and a colon (such as .:6 ) for three beat intervals, and
  • two colons  (such as ::6 ) for four beat intervals.

For durations of less than one beat interval, apostrophes are used most often.  For example,
  • an apostrophe (or single quote), such as  '6 , means press and hold the button for a count of one-quarter of a beat interval. 
  • A double apostrophe (or double quote), such as "6 , means press and hold the button for a count of two quarters (or one-half) of a beat interval.
  • A triple apostrophe (or single quote & double quote combined), such as '"6 , means press and hold the button for a count of three-quarters of a beat interval.

Notes are sometimes held for one and a half beats.  This can be shown by either
  • by a combination of a dot and a double apostrophe (such as ".4 ), or 
  • (more commonly) by a semi-colon (such as  ;4  )


4.  Simple Basic Notation for the Left-Hand
Here we focus on the beat pattern that is an important feature of music.  Waltz music, for example, is identified by a 1-2-3 beat pattern, which can be provided by a Bass-Chord-Chord pattern using the appropriate left-hand buttons. 

So we need a notation that will guide the playing of the left-side (bass and chord) buttons.  We will use the bar (or measure) notation, where groups of beat intervals are separated by vertical bar lines for this purpose.    For example, for a waltz tune,
  • the accordion notation might look like  the following with three dots (or beat intervals)  in each bar      |  .3   .4    .5   |     .5    :6       |      .:7*       |        where
  • the button numbers are for the right-hand melody, and
  • the vertical bar lines guide the left-hand beat-pattern.

 
The first beat in a bar is normally given a greater emphasis than the other beats.  For a waltz tune, we could  play the appropriate bass button on the first beat, followed by the chord button on the second and third beats, following the rhythmic pattern  | Bass-Chord-Chord | in each bar.


5.   Where To Go From Here ...
If the stuff on this page seems simple and straight forward, then you may be ready to go on to learn the tunes available from the drop-down menus.  You can refer to the Accordion Notation "info" drop-down pages as needed to make sense of all of the notation features.

If, however, the above is as clear as mud, then perhaps you need to go more slowly through the remaining pages on these Info drop-down menus, perhaps starting with the "basic" pages, or at least come back to them on points of confusion.


Basic Accordion Music
Intermediate Button Accordion Music
Advanced Accordion Music

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