Here is a collection of short items. Most are too short to justify pages for themselves. Mostly just a bunch of hinks, kinks and tricks.
The harmonica offers a cheap way to learn the diatonic system. It is arranged and played just like the diatonic accordion, but is far less expensive to purchase.
The kick-back I frequently get from someone who is taking this advice is "I can't get the harmonica to play single notes."
Of course it's hard for a beginner to play single notes on a harmonica. That's the way it's made. A beginner should not worry about playing single notes. It sounds better when two or three notes are played at a time. A single reed, played by itself, doesn't sound great. Ask a violinist (fiddler) how easy it is to play two or three notes at a time on that instrument. How about a five-note chord? They'll think you're crazy. Anyway, you don't have to play single notes to learn the diatonic system.
There's a variation in the key layout which is sometimes called Slovenian tuning. It's on the Hohner club models. An accordionist who plays an instrument with this tuning has told me it's desired for certain types of music.
With this tuning, the middle key in all but the outer row plays the same note on the push and the pull. It's the middle So. The middle La is missing, but can be found on the next row out, the same way the low La is played.
Germans use a key notation that differs from the English. It shows up in Hohner catalogs. The one I have has the text in three languages but the diagrams are strictly German.
In the German diagrams, B-flat is just B or b. B-natural is H or h. For the rest of the keys, the suffix "is" means sharp and "es" is flat. But it seems like when the note is a vowel, the "e" is dropped, so Es means E-flat and As is A-flat.
An accordion that is very heavy can be hard to play, and so can an accordion that's very light. Some kinds of music play better with a heavy accordion, and some with a light instrument.
Weight has inertia. It takes effort to move it and effort to stop it. With smooth music, a certain amount of weight is an advantage because its inertia helps keep the bellows opening and closing in a smooth fashion, resulting in smooth notes.
In playing lively music, like jigs and reels, lightness is an advantage. It's quicker and easier to change the direction of the bellows. When the fingering is fast it is hard to notice choppy bellows movement.
A stiff bellows can make a lightweight instrument a real challenge, especially if it's played with a thumb strap. The solution is to mount a sturdy shoulder strap and keep it tight.
A lightweight instrument is less tiring to play than a heavy one if it's set up right.
Music is meant to be shared. Entertaining one's self is enjoyable, but entertaining others greatly expands the joy. The reaction of an appreciative audience is a reward greater than can ever be measured in monetary terms.
After I retired from the South Carolina state hospital system I began thinking how I might be able to serve less fortunate human beings. I had seen volunteers at work in the health care environment, but the type of tasks they performed did not appeal to me.
Eventually I got up the nerve to offer my musical services. I contacted the agency's volunteer coordinator and she gave me the names and phone numbers of volunteer coordinators at some of the hospitals and nursing homes.
I contacted the volunteer coordinator at the main nursing home complex and we worked out a schedule of two afternoons a month, performing in two different buildings, one which housed only military veterans, and another which had residents with major physical debilitation. Many in this building were young adults.
The volunteer coordinator was pleased that I played old tunes, which were familiar to the older people. She told me that the more contemporary musicians who sometimes performed for the residents did not get through to them.
The first day I prepared a list from which I would play. Since this was a state facility, I was not sure how hymns and Gospel tunes would be accepted. I had only secular music on my list.
I went through my play list and invited requests. Immediately I was asked to play sacred and inspirational numbers. They were so well received that now I try to make the last third of my program sacred and inspirational.
The reaction from the nursing home residents is inspirational. Some of the veterans are very vocal in expressing their appreciation. In the other group, most of whom have lost their speaking ability, the reaction is more subtle but it's there. One elderly lady sings along when I play When the Role is Called Up Yonder. One man likes for me to play Jesus Loves Me. The last request I had was for Give Me that Old Time Religion.
Internet auctions are a lousy way to buy accordions. In most cases, the sellers disclaim any responsibility for an instrument once it's shipped, and the quality of the instruments is questionable.
Most of the accordions on eBay are either cheap new instruments made in China, or old worn-out instruments.
One musical instrument vendor on eBay has a whole bunch of disclaimers. He operates out of his home, and you can't go there to pick up a purchase. The instruments are kept in a warehouse somewhere and are shipped from there. If they are damaged in transit, the vendor says he will help with the claim against the carrier, but he won't file the claim himself and replace the instrument.
China can make good instruments. Hohner has done manufacturing in China. I have seen two Chinese Hohner piano accordions and their owners say they are satisfied with them. Hohner is currently making a three-row diatonic accordion, the Panther, in China. It started out priced at $500, but now it's down to $350. I haven't seen one of these, but it would be a much safer buy than a no-name box from a no-name dealer.
One Chinese manufacturer will make cheap crummy accordions and very nice ones, and price them accordingly. I have seen accordions of the same brand priced very low on one web site and quite a bit higher on another. Reading carefully, I could see that they were not the same models. I have seen a very cheap Chinese box which wasted so much air it was difficult to play.
Now about the decrepit boxes. A typical disclaimer is "we got this instrument when we bought out an estate. We don't know anything about it but it seems to work." This may be an honest statement, but taken at face value it doesn't say much.
Sometimes it's difficult to avoid purchasing from a distant dealer, but there's a world of difference between dealers. A reputable accordion dealer will have a business location with a mailing address and telephone number. New instruments will be covered by a warranty. On used instruments, he will allow a trial period of two weeks or a month, during which time he will take the instrument back and refund the purchase price if the customer is not satisfied with it. Also a good dealer will check out each instrument when he takes it in, and will make any needed repairs. At the very least he will have looked inside to make sure the reeds and other components are in good shape.
Many good dealers have web sites, but to place an order, particularly for a used instrument, I would dial up the telephone and speak with the owner or manager.
How many sets of treble reeds does an instrument have? If there's a Roman numeral in the model name, it tells the tale. A Hohner Corona II has two sets of reeds, a Corona III has three sets. This is a convention observed by many manufacturers. The numeral IV means four sets.