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Author Topic: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons  (Read 16441 times)

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Wurdal

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Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« on: May 18, 2009, 09:45:03 PM »

I am not sure whether this topic has been raised before. I notice that some contributors have come from the PA to the melodeon. I can see the portability argument but I would have thought that the PA was a more complete instrument (that statement opens up a can of worms). So I wonder if anyone who has made the switch has any comments on their experience.
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xgx

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2009, 10:22:19 PM »

Not  a geordie then ;D

they're all 'squeezables' :|||:
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Graham

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Québécois

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2009, 10:35:15 PM »

It is not a "switch", these are different instruments!

Yet they share common attributes like the free reeds, bellows...

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triskel

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2009, 12:12:09 AM »

... I would have thought that the PA was a more complete instrument ...

Trouble maker!  :o

nousuvesi

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2009, 02:55:21 AM »

We are an incomplete people.
Accidentals are for jazz musicians.
 ;D
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Nathan S.

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2009, 05:11:37 AM »

I started out playing the PA as a kid back in the 50's. (The only type of accordion allowed by law in the U.S. at that time, or so it seemed!) Quit for forty years only to pick it up again when I was approaching sixty.

Then a couple of years ago I started in on the two row diatonic, and I love the instrument. I have a couple of each, and play both types with amazing mediocrity! Which instrument I reach for at any given time depends on my mood, the weather, the kind of music I feel like playing, whichever is closest to hand while I'm waiting for the pasta to boil, etc.  I don't consider it a switch at all, but rather an opportunity to squeeze both ways!

Bob

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C age ing

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2009, 07:20:45 AM »

What is a melodeon?
Is a semitone apart box a melodeon as you can play chromatic runs on them?
Is it just the treble end that must be bisonoric?
If any end is not bisonoric does that rule it out George?
Who gives a whatsit anyway? Play the bloody thing and enjoy it, frustrations and all.
Old and bored Bill.
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Theo

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2009, 07:58:28 AM »

I have been forced to "play" a piano accordion occasionally to check that my repair efforts have been successful.  The experience left me feeling weighed down, how could anyone want to try making music with the equivalent of a small wardrobe strapped on to their chest?
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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boxlad

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2009, 08:20:36 AM »

Of all the PA players I have heard, the instrument seems to have very little dynamic range when compared to a melodeon or button box. It just seems like a stream of notes and even while phrasing and ornamentation might contribute to the overall feel of the tune being played, it doesn't come close to the potential of the button box even in the hands of a good player...in my humble opinion! 
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 09:06:00 AM by Boxlad »
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HallelujahAl

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2009, 08:45:03 AM »

Way to go Boxlad -however IMHO they're two different instruments. My old friend Romano Viazzani can really blow your dynamic range argument completely out of the water. Listen to him playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Winter) on his Beltrami PA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-w3tYIZho
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Pushpull

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2009, 09:19:39 AM »

Way to go Boxlad -however IMHO they're two different instruments. My old friend Romano Viazzani can really blow your dynamic range argument completely out of the water. Listen to him playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Winter) on his Beltrami PA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-w3tYIZho
My dad used to play reductions of classical overtures on the PA and that would blow your socks off. Providing the player is competent, the poor dynamic range and no rhythm arguments are fatuous.

I had the loan of a lovely 4 row Maugein CBA once and I reckon that was one of the most complete and logical instruments there are (the button layout is much more compact than an equivalent PA keyboard too). But I agree with Theo that playing with a wardrobe on your chest isn't much fun. I'll stick to my Tommy.
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Andy Simpson

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2009, 09:42:10 AM »

I saw a guy busking in Munich once playing Bach organ pieces on a 120 bass PA, it sounded magnificent and I just stopped and stood there open mouthed for about 10 minutes.

I think the problem is that a lot of PA players seem to put too much emphasis on how they play the keys and bass buttons and treat the bellows as little more than a necessary evil just there to provide air, ignoring how crucial bellows control is to expression and dynamics and resulting in that "slushy piano accordion sound".

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pete /acorn

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #12 on: May 19, 2009, 10:48:14 AM »

Hi,
Re Piano accordions,I agree that weight and size are a problem,that is one of the reasons I,me selling my 72 bass accordion and have bought a CBA,
To get this in perspective the CBA is 3 voice, 90 bass giving C# at top to Cb at bottom,40 treble buttons,57 total allowing 2 rows of repeats with keyboard allowing G before mid c to a# over 3 octaves,size only 310 cm high,390 wide and 19 deep,not much bigger than melodeon and more versatile than PA with that range.Obviously heavier than melodeons at 7.8 kg but sill lighter than my accordion and because of size doesn't feel like wardrobe . Still keeping a melodeon though.
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 We also have the largest stock in the UK of  pre loved melodons all fully serviced,and with 12 months warranty
UK and international customers catered for
www.acorninstruments.co.uk

Sandy

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #13 on: May 19, 2009, 10:55:04 AM »


I think the problem is that a lot of PA players seem to put too much emphasis on how they play the keys and bass buttons and treat the bellows as little more than a necessary evil just there to provide air, ignoring how crucial bellows control is to expression and dynamics and resulting in that "slushy piano accordion sound".


Think I have a similar problem with the melodeon. However, some tunes I play are becoming that much more familiar so I can really work on the bellows control and punctuation of the rhythm. I think we learn to play the melodeon with a grasp of tunes and then the next step is to continually learn to play it properly.

Personally, the PA is really not for me.  Not quite sure about drawing comparisons but in terms of English folk then the melodeon is much more sexy!

cheers

Sandy
 (:)

HallelujahAl

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #14 on: May 19, 2009, 11:15:16 AM »

Quote
[Re Piano accordions,I agree that weight and size are a problem,that is one of the reasons I,me selling my 72 bass accordion and have bought a CBA,/quote]
what system is it Jilly?
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pete /acorn

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #15 on: May 19, 2009, 11:22:10 AM »

Hi.
C system
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Acorn Instruments are the official retailer for Castagnari Instruments,Melodeons and Accordions for England and Scotland and have an extensive stock of new instruments on the shelf for prompt delivery in standard layouts however these can easily be changed to customers specia lrequirements
 We also have the largest stock in the UK of  pre loved melodons all fully serviced,and with 12 months warranty
UK and international customers catered for
www.acorninstruments.co.uk

juker

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #16 on: May 19, 2009, 12:56:27 PM »

I have been forced to "play" a piano accordion occasionally to check that my repair efforts have been successful.  The experience left me feeling weighed down, how could anyone want to try making music with the equivalent of a small wardrobe strapped on to their chest?

haha! yes indeed, they are much heavier than melodeons, much more 'serious' too. I love the fun feel and sound of the melodeon - they are made to be played by ear. The comparison is a bit like prose and poetry. Melodeons are poetry. Mine is very mediocre, but poetry nevertheless!
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WillQ

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #17 on: May 19, 2009, 02:46:21 PM »

well of course there are PAs and there are PAs. My first serious PA looked and sounded, even in my hands, beautiful, but weighed half a ton. As I've got older and more vulnerable orthopaedically I've been downsizing (my PAs, that is). My current machine, at 7.4kg just under the combined weight of my two melodeons, I don't find too much of a wardrobe. Still, like others on this thread, for me the melodeon has the edge in terms of dynamics and nuance. I play the PA mainly in larger line-ups where others may be less able or willing to compromise in terms of keys etc, and where (non-)subtlety from me is less of an issue. I prefer melodeon when playing on my own or with just one or two others. But I think the main reason I like playing melodeon is not its upside in terms of lightness etc, but rather precisely its downside - the creativity necessitated by having to cope with fewer notes and bisonority. Is that the right noun?

Since you're comfortable with 7.4kg (as a piano accordion), I wonder whether you've tried wearing both melodeons at once (still only 7.4kg) which would give you a much wider key range. You'd need some funny straps, but you'd have an amazing "look"--sort of like those rock musicians with two-necked guitars  :D

But more seriously... you could carry both melodeons to gigs, and switch off tune-by-tune as relevant. I used to carry a D/G and a C/F to English dances, and between the two of them I could cover probably 70% of the tunes. I think I kept a Bb harmonica in my pocket to cover some of the rest. This doesn't help you at all with chromatic (eg, jazz or classical) pieces, but it does help you cover a pretty wide range of folk tunes while retaining the benefits of a melodeon.
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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #18 on: May 19, 2009, 03:27:32 PM »

The experience left me feeling weighed down, how could anyone want to try making music with the equivalent of a small wardrobe strapped on to their chest?
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Theo

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Re: Piano Accordions vs Melodeons
« Reply #19 on: May 19, 2009, 03:28:17 PM »

Here is a nice size piano accordion.  It is a Hohner Imperial II, the case is identical in size and shape to a Hohner Liliput.

Two octave treble, 24 bass,  who needs more?
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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