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  • 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.
      • 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
  • 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
      • 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
    • 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
      • 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
      • 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
      • 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
 Beginners' Button-Accordion Course 

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

       MINI-COURSE BA1
  An Introduction to the Button Accordion, its Music & Notation


 UNIT FIVE (of TEN)  -  PART A
​

Button-Accordion Innards


Return to BA1 - Unit 5
                  SLIDE SET & NOTES 

Picture
SLIDE 1

​Welcome back to our button-accordion tutorial project.

It requires high-speed access to both ZOOM and the tunes2play4fun.com web site.
​

Picture
SLIDE 2

​BA1 is a mini-course intended to beginners.


The completion of Unit 5 places us at the mid-point.  The remaining five units start in February and run until April.


Picture
SLIDE 3

​Unit 5 will be completed with the individualized practice sessions on the date high-lighted (in yellow) at left.


​

Picture
SLIDE 4

Unit 5 is divided into two part.

Part A covers button-accordion innards.

Part B introduces more fractional-note melodies.



Picture
SLIDE 5

Here are the topics for Unit 5.

Our slides are divided into two parts - a and b.

Part 5a (which follows) = Topic 1

Part 5b  = Topics 2 to 8
                (separate slide set)


​
​

Picture
SLIDE 6

Here is the break-down of the first Topic (Unit 5a)


Picture
​The outside is fairly simple.

Three main parts. 
A bass end, operated by left arm,  hand, thumb & fingers.

A treble end operated by right arm, hand, thumb & fingers.

The bellows that are pushed and pulled from the bass end.

Picture
Next, a more detailed look at the bass end, with six visible parts, as listed.

Also, the bellows - 
​            
- reinforced cardboard
            - bellows straps
            

Picture
DEMO:

Treble End - four visible parts, as listed






​HEADS UP:  Unless you are an accordion repair expert, it may NOT be a good idea to take your accordion apart.  There are exceptions, of course.

Picture
SLIDE 7

DEMO:  A single-row key-of-D
button-accordion 60-70 years old.


So, what is going on inside the accordion that gives us the various sounds, the notes and chords?


Picture
SLIDE 8

Once, the treble dust grill is removed, you can see that each button is connected by a lever mechanism to an elongated cover. 

When lifted, a pair of holes will be exposed. 
​
There are ten pairs of these treble holes, in total.

Picture
SLIDES 9 - 12

When a button is pressed, the lever action lifts the corresponding cover, which allows the air to escape through two holes when the bellows are pushed and allows the air to be sucked in when the bellows are pulled apart.

When the button is released, a built-in spring action closes the cover.
Above . . . Because of the camera angle, ony one of the two holes can be seen when button 5 is pressed, and its elongated cover is lifted.  (The live Zoom-based demo shows both holes)

​So, What is on the other side of these covers & holes, as viewed from inside the bellows?

Picture
SLIDE 13

The ten reed plates in each of the two columns are matched to the ten treble buttons.  

When a button is pressed, and the bellows pushed (for example), the air flows through two holes to activate two very similar metal reeds (one on each opposite reed plate).



Picture
SLIDE 14

The two reeds on each plate give two different notes, one corresponding to the "push" and other other corresponding to the "pull".

​

Picture
Slide 15

​Longer reeds give lower-pitched notes, and shorter reeds give higher-pitched notes.

For a single-row accordion (without accidentals) in the key of C,  the lowest note (on button 1 push) corresponds to the piano note E3 (165 vibrations per second).  The highest note (on button 10 push) corresponds to the note E5 (1319 vibrations per second), using piano notation.



Picture
Slide 16 - 17

The view inside the bass end after the bass strap and bass plate have been removed.​

Controlling the bellows and air-flow is an essential part of playing the accordion.  That is the function of the air-lever which, when pressed, lifts the cover from the large air hole.




Picture
SLIDE 18 - 19

This slide shows more of the bass-end lever and air-hole covers. 

​
The air-lever can help you quietly gain or release air from the bellows.



Picture
SLIDE 20

This photo shows more of the bass-end lever and the four bass-button air-hole covers. 

For this single-row button-accordion, two of the bass buttons (1 & 3) connect by a lever mechanism to elongated hole covers and control the flow through three holes, corresponding to the three notes that make a chord.

The other two (2 & 4) connected to smaller hole covers and control the flow past two bass reeds that give us the bass-note sound.

Picture
SLIDE 21

This photo shows that three holes are uncovered when bass-end  button 1 is pressed.  

Pressing button 1 can give two chords,
one sounds on the push and the other on the pull.  

So what is on the other side of these holes, covers and levers?

The next photo shows that on the other side of each of these three holes are three reed plates, with three reeds sounding on the push and another three sounding on the pull.
Three notes played together give the chord sound for bass button #1.

Similarly for the other chord button #3,  we have the lower three reed plates.
Picture
SLIDE 22 - 23
​
What about the bass-note sounds?

​The pairs of bass-note reeds are "hidden" in the block to the left of the reed plates in the photograph.  They are opposite the air holes that are opened by the bass-note buttons #2 and #4.



Picture
SLIDE 24 - 25

In your dual-row accordion, there are more than twice as many buttons, levers & reeds as shown for this single-row.

As a result, the treble-reed plates and the chord-reed plates have the same orientation as shown here for the bass-reeds.

That way they fit neatly into a box only slightly larger than the single-row accordion.

Picture
SLIDE 26

Remember that the process of repairing and retuning button accordions requires specialized knowledge and equipment.

So . . .

     . . .  on to Topics 2 to 8

​and the next set of slides.

Return to Top of Page
Return to BA1 - Unit 5