It's a Hohner Bravo II 48 bass, in red. It's so cute. It comes with a backpack style gig bag that makes me feel like a 9 year old going to school with an oversized rucksack of books. More on that later.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
28 July, 2009
Wearing an accordion
I also got my new accordion today, which inspired this sketch:
It's a Hohner Bravo II 48 bass, in red. It's so cute. It comes with a backpack style gig bag that makes me feel like a 9 year old going to school with an oversized rucksack of books. More on that later.
It's a Hohner Bravo II 48 bass, in red. It's so cute. It comes with a backpack style gig bag that makes me feel like a 9 year old going to school with an oversized rucksack of books. More on that later.
03 September, 2008
My first accordion has arrived
So, I got a German piano accordion with Italian reeds sent from England to Finland.
It was my former step-father's father's instrument, which probably dates it to some time in the first half of the 20th century at its youngest. Boy does it look its age righ now. In fact, probably older. My not-quite-grandfather died before I was born, so for at least as long as I lived, this accordion has been stored in attics, under beds, and who knows where else. It's full of dust, but that's the least of the problems.
Here's a few things I have to fix:
On the plus side, it is light and the reeds that work are making a nice sound. I'm not sure it is even worth it's postage at the moment, but perhaps. I'm not going to be able to learn much on it.
Now, some pictures (hopefully the 'before' of a 'before and after):
It was my former step-father's father's instrument, which probably dates it to some time in the first half of the 20th century at its youngest. Boy does it look its age righ now. In fact, probably older. My not-quite-grandfather died before I was born, so for at least as long as I lived, this accordion has been stored in attics, under beds, and who knows where else. It's full of dust, but that's the least of the problems.
Here's a few things I have to fix:
- Replace the leather straps
- Clean the dust out from behind the grates (yeuch)
- Reattach/replace the bass reeds, which by the rattling and lack of sound, are loose.
- Solve the problem of the sticking keys
- Replace the gauze behind the grates
- Replace the metal screws and hooks that are missing or rusty
- Get it tuned
- See whether the scuffed bellows can be perked up
On the plus side, it is light and the reeds that work are making a nice sound. I'm not sure it is even worth it's postage at the moment, but perhaps. I'm not going to be able to learn much on it.
Now, some pictures (hopefully the 'before' of a 'before and after):
08 August, 2008
Accordion News
It's amazing what you find out once you start talking about different topics of conversation with people.
I just found out that my former stepfather has an old piano accordion gathering dust at his place. It used to belong to his father, who I never had the privilege to meet. It is funny how you can grow up in the same house as someone and never know so many things about them. Whenever I talk to him on the phone, we talk about a huge range of topics for a couple of hours, and still there are stories I've never heard before - and this guy has never even had a passport.
Still, back on topic. The accordion should arrive in a couple of weeks. Mum was going to ship me a few things anyway, so I've asked if she can ship that too.
He says it's a German accordion, but may have some cracks in the bellows, so I don't have any expectations of it being playable. I'll see what I can do to bring a little life back into it, though, and give it a more reverent place than under a bed!
I just found out that my former stepfather has an old piano accordion gathering dust at his place. It used to belong to his father, who I never had the privilege to meet. It is funny how you can grow up in the same house as someone and never know so many things about them. Whenever I talk to him on the phone, we talk about a huge range of topics for a couple of hours, and still there are stories I've never heard before - and this guy has never even had a passport.
Still, back on topic. The accordion should arrive in a couple of weeks. Mum was going to ship me a few things anyway, so I've asked if she can ship that too.
He says it's a German accordion, but may have some cracks in the bellows, so I don't have any expectations of it being playable. I'll see what I can do to bring a little life back into it, though, and give it a more reverent place than under a bed!
29 July, 2008
Why the accordion?
Many people from the UK consider the accordion to be a comedy instrument, if indeed they think about it at all. It is not something that is often portrayed in the media and it is certainly not trendy. So why do I want to learn it?
Well, I played violin, piano and treble recorder as a child and had the usual school music lessons. As usual, my ability to pass academic studies without too much thought was the source of an apathy that led me to let the chance to really enjoy learning music slip by. Later, with little money and other things on my mind, I further failed to make any effort towards music.
Now that I am a fraction older, living comfortably and surrounded by musical talent I have been reminded how much I do love music. It's frustrating to me that I cannot talk the language that I want to with my more learned friends. I notice how much I sing and how often I seek out music. I know myself well enough to know how to focus on the root of my enthusiasm and use it to achieve a useful outcome - in this case, learning more.
I have known for some time that I need to really get a buzz for something to be able to follow up on it continuously and get through the rough spots. I thought about various instruments like the piano, the guitar, the drums, violin and realised that while I love them, I did not want to play them. I'm the person who thought they were bad at languages, then decided to learn Finnish. I like to explore things I know nothing about, things that are slightly unusual and things that take a little more effort in general. I knew I wanted to play an unusual instrument, but had no idea what it was going to be. I supposed it would be an obscure ancient Asian instrument and made a mental note to bear it in mind if I ever went to Asia.
Thankfully, lightning struck rather closer to home. There I was sitting on the tram, when I saw a shop full of accordions. I wanted one. I don't usually care for things in shop windows. It was a total eureka moment, true Melody-Jane style, but just to be sure I did some research. The more I did the more excited I got about it and the more certain I became that this was an instrument I actually wanted to learn. If I were anyone else I'd not have been so sure, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm the person who decided to learn Finnish on a whim. Now I've relocated to Finland permanently and have a basic level of spoken Finnish that I am continuing to improve on.
I want more accordion. And I'm going to get it!
Well, I played violin, piano and treble recorder as a child and had the usual school music lessons. As usual, my ability to pass academic studies without too much thought was the source of an apathy that led me to let the chance to really enjoy learning music slip by. Later, with little money and other things on my mind, I further failed to make any effort towards music.
Now that I am a fraction older, living comfortably and surrounded by musical talent I have been reminded how much I do love music. It's frustrating to me that I cannot talk the language that I want to with my more learned friends. I notice how much I sing and how often I seek out music. I know myself well enough to know how to focus on the root of my enthusiasm and use it to achieve a useful outcome - in this case, learning more.
I have known for some time that I need to really get a buzz for something to be able to follow up on it continuously and get through the rough spots. I thought about various instruments like the piano, the guitar, the drums, violin and realised that while I love them, I did not want to play them. I'm the person who thought they were bad at languages, then decided to learn Finnish. I like to explore things I know nothing about, things that are slightly unusual and things that take a little more effort in general. I knew I wanted to play an unusual instrument, but had no idea what it was going to be. I supposed it would be an obscure ancient Asian instrument and made a mental note to bear it in mind if I ever went to Asia.
Thankfully, lightning struck rather closer to home. There I was sitting on the tram, when I saw a shop full of accordions. I wanted one. I don't usually care for things in shop windows. It was a total eureka moment, true Melody-Jane style, but just to be sure I did some research. The more I did the more excited I got about it and the more certain I became that this was an instrument I actually wanted to learn. If I were anyone else I'd not have been so sure, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm the person who decided to learn Finnish on a whim. Now I've relocated to Finland permanently and have a basic level of spoken Finnish that I am continuing to improve on.
I want more accordion. And I'm going to get it!
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