OO). > eae het ACCORDION METHOD with fingering indications for both piano and button accordions BY LUCIEN AND RICHARD GALLIANOa Writing a new accordion handbook, together with my father — who was the person who introduced me to the instrument (and to music) — is something that T have only found the courage to da today, at the dawn of my 57th year. Indeed, I believe that teaching, trying to instill a desire to make music in others, is a vocation that needs to be hacked up by experience. My father is 85 years old, and has spent 55 of thase teaching. Next to his work asa professional musician, he has trained dozens of young musicians, both amateur and professional. He has known haw to share the joy he gets in making music to each and every one of them. Even though my own professional experience has been, above all, as a studio musician (in the beginning) and then, later, as a concert performer, I have often had the pleasure of giving master classes in Franee and all over the world, This is why I am so happy to have the ‘opportunity to write this method in collaboration with my father. -Richard Galliano Today, we are proud to prosent the fruit of two years of shared work and reflection. To begin, here is some advice that we consider very important: 1) Select a light and manageable instrument to start with: an accordion with two right- hand registers and 60 to 80 bass buttons should be more than enough. In general, it's easier to play well on a small instrument, and the sound it produces will be more incisive, powerfull, with more pronounced dynamics. 2) Don’t rush! Be patient, and make sure you have mastered a piece or a chapter before moving on to the next one: 3) Aim for perfection. Record your playing: the microphone can be your second music teacher as well as your musical mirror, 4) Be curious: listen to ag much “good” music as you cam: classic. jazz, pop, blues, bal musette, Latino, folk... 4) Listen carefully to your sound and try and make it as beautiful as possible. Handle the bellows with the same grace and flexibility that a good violinist uses when guiding their ‘bow. 8) When you perform, clarity and comprehensibility should bo your goal: use rhythm and harmony judiciously ta bring out the melodic phrasing. 7) Don't forget to have fun, and to enjoy making music. Think of yourself as “playing” rather than “studying” or “workin; And finally, sing your pieces and try to learn them by heart as fust as possible. Freeing yourself from the score will help you to feel and live your music! ~Lucien and Richard Galliano ‘Many thanks to Vietoria Accordions for kindly allowing ws te reproduce their photos of instruments in this book.a westor of the accordion is 2 2000 years before the C! », Cyril Demian invented most illustrious jazz accord g, the instrume is push every count its own natior like the violin, g dion embra n the Nordeste}, in Columb) SA (next to another one of its buttons and keyboard} ry aroun ed by traditional music movements from across the globe: in tle bit of history and organology a Chinese instrument called the cheng (mouth ergan) that wa: hristian eva. he first accordion. Ina method dating from the 1840s, one of ists ever, Gus Viseur, writes me ane! hat has today been re A plays d or pulled lobe has claime Travel instrume ment. nitar oF clarinet, we find the razil (music Argentina (side by side with its cousin, the bandoneon); in the nthe Carpathian lose relatives, the harmonica), in Russia ‘tains, across the Maghreb, in Isracl, At Asia and throughout Europe © accordion, like the bandoneon or the harmonium, i ie up of a number of reed blocks that are activated when s forced thraugh them by the bellow -y are mounted with metal reeds that ean play the entir le £ pp to bottom using several differ Bi \ professional accordion, which about 500 reeds, ¢ he instrument ght sides of h weighs between 24 an livided betw n the left and ally, apart from the instrument maker's skill and the aterials he 1 easoned wood, animal skins, mother: f-pearl buttons, ete), the soul of the instrument remains the reed: which is why having ndmade reeds (voci @ mano} and tuning them by ear (rather than by electronic means) ible elements in the construction of a musical instrument suitable for all emain irrep les and genres of t (bal S= cS cS x oS Re ih = — fz o * r e C7 4 io e . ° musette, jazz, classieal, comtemporary, ete.)how to hold the instrument figure 1 a button accordion aa front view piano aecar front view figure 3 figure 4 button accordion piano accordion side veer side view figure 5 left-hand sidepiano accordion: keys and bass buttons top of keyboard | right hand left hand (24 bass buttons) aright-hand buttonsid buttons (basses) top of keyboard ‘eegVeeeeeeeee oth sco aaby Sustained notes = Held notes with a slight swell in the middle 1-72 Slowly By ¥ A > pull Sustained breaths = a held note, control the air going into the accordion so that it makes a slight swell in the middle ‘Breath in! A Breath out! * Use the air button (left hand) note Concerning registration indications: Throughout this volume, we have chosen not to impose registrations, preferring to let the student andlor teacher decide on different registers according to the piece, taking into account above all, the balance and timbre of the individual instruments, almelodies using 2, 3 or 4 notes on 2 notes L half note = 2 quarter notes B Question? Answer! Oo Tock 3 Sing while you play! Biles Petites Marionettes a8)on 3 notes Bi The Little Soldier Boy @ o=u ‘The line under the fingering indicates that you should play the E buss button across fram the C button, Ninna nanna (lullaby) @ G Pierrot lunaire Oo Took?on 4 notes oe G4 Nursery Rhyme o rach 8 one ¥ A HA Conversation oO jog Track 9 =88 ¥ A ‘ . = * ¢ oo: 7 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star é = aes ye * Start with the bellows slightly open.Just for Fun @ oO Teh) the tie ¥ Start with the bellows slightly open D Round and Round oO the semibreve dotted ae rest notes. cay OD Dcaily the quarter rest the half rest Apreparation for 5-note exerciseson 5 notes BD Ode to Joy (£. van Beethoven) ook VBD Right hand alone B Left hand alone EE Z SS se ee? Toe 28 the Good King Dagobert eas f aa) 2s : a ss : count: (1) 2) @) Without instrument za! (3) (3) zal (2) (3) (then count 2 and 2 silently)bass notes and chordschapt ‘written sauadiree ited Patches: CM GM PM maj. Gmaj Braj aS the major chord BJ Bass notes alone Chords alone cM GM CM FM Ae ® ya BY Chords and bass notes together cM GM cM FM CM v A v GM FM cM u oe I inand chords bass notesaapter 2 introduction to harmony - unitven eounddin, pitei prehoss cM GM FM maj. Gmaj. Pena the major chord Bass notes alone y A y 3 : ¥ Chords alone cM aM FM om 2 y ‘ AZ ya A Bd Chords and hass notes together CM oM CM FM cM v A a cM GM FM eM 4 A v A o oe ¥veritten worming ited: putes C min, G min. F min. the minor chord. B Bass notes alone ¥ A y ¥ 7 3 7 Chords alone Cm Gm cm Fm cm AS ' Va 1 wa BJ Chords and bass notes together cm Gm Cm Fm Cm A y ¥ 2 : oe ‘otk 18 the fermata 9569 With a religious feel (try fo sound like an organ) Cm Gm GM cm v A v Ne \ mf FM Fim cm GM cmintroduction to rhythm FM cM OM FM cMCm Gm Cm Fm Cm e=100 Cm omboth hands together BD Moving On (Major) Q re BB Sad Waltz (minor) g ono Ve heEB Moving On (with variations)chapter 3 on 7 notes if exo 2 r 4 In black: fingerings for button accordions. In red: fingerings for piano accordions. |.Ancient Tune Oo Tek 22 teount half notes) Pleearoon 10 notes 2 Dorrie sons ER SARL 2100 Va 8 1 mf vaccaso cMBD the Little Mexican Boy oO Track 24 = 80 (count half notest 2 : mfa short, expressive piece written —sowndeng writen soundin, pitch: “pitchene ‘pith “pilehes D Major D minor M m x R 4 A Major A minor M m Se=—9= g2=f51= a DM Dm AM Am DM M m M ™ M Ve i Va Ne Va 2 ————— ee ere 7 @ Evening Harmonies Track 25dynamic indications ~~ * continue to slow down like a machine winding down articulationOD Ritornello oO Track 28 ene) — sraccaia APolka Musette Oo Tractthe dominant 7th chord EJ In the Old Town = 100 e mf" Dm A ral , BiMajor 7 J - * Other fingering options: 42432 button accordion, 321221 piano accordion.Preliminary exercise. Can also be used as an introduction to the following pieee = . * * tremolo (blues) El] Hello, Clifton! oO Trak 28 p= oe : = —— = = z ( aa y SE no 2 <= a (2% i G a 7 : Sa | : : Se | DS = = — 2a 5 oe ia walternating basses #108 cM rM c™ GM o™ . staccato GM ) Sing it! Play it! Sing it!i) Tango Ricordo o Track Ba 2-100the C minor scale relative minor of Eb Major Sing it! if C minor chord a rs the mordent a= 0tvibrasealternate possibility scales and arpeggios for the left hand the major scale eT Tore bob ee as = & * recommended fingering the minor seale alternate possibility a 2 £ 8 2 2 * 2 oF eof or oe 4 7 - F SSS 2 > a 5 @ 2 ze 1 68 © * * 4 ry recommended fingering sa the chromatic scale oie sat © Major A minor Cdim7 nie arpeggios 2 2 5 2 a ! . & = T - = e ~ 2 £ * 4 2 8 3 2 2 4 = = a : 5 e = = 3 3 wedat] introduction to jazz and blues boogie-woogie xercise: pay attention to the fingerings! (at the bottom of the keyboard) oO Trek 56 Preparatory M 3 = a z —— 2 SSS Qu Se ae [riple rhythms ~ divisions in threo (diffieult) Oo Tek 88 tk sim BEG Duple rhythms ~ divisions in two Tot 58the appoggiatura (grace note) El Boogie-Woogie Accordion Track 61mf o=—=== p27 I - 3 = ° a2" id cr Bg tas as as Se = = + a —4. 3 i fetes qe. anf win —— DACAPO oi Cada Se ba oI ele maf v6appendix 1 chords and arpeggios Bh c Major. 2scales on two notes Bh br thiras: om pep tt tt tt ta, x n ss 7 Ss eee EL eo ee aoe mss Bc oe 4 tot Bobo ot 2 fob gos po a gy Ce ee a — or “a 40m 8 1 ¢ Paw © ad ° Eh 2m octaves 2 8 fd sim 2left hand seales Bh chromatic pase sss eset Vets sas pea [El Arpeauio on a diminished seventh chord 2 8 2 ® 4 i [B] Scales to be played forward and backward [Bh Chromatic scale in major thirds 4 ! i i i 3 i & Se — oo 1 of t _ t i t + oF : ee Bh Chromatic scate in minor thirds wt ; ; BB onic. fifth anc octave pind i ® © £$ € 2B 2 ad: 4 Pe: isa ea ht FP i P|] SS eae <= o_o - or o i 7 11? tft. & 3e i ww bb Re A et wee ude fs ¢ ' ‘ [Ol Chromatic scale in major sixths fon ob og osm ‘ it 3 i joo tao je 2 (2 == Se = Bh Chromatic scate in minor sixths Pe ee ee bof fb E i ‘2 io 2 y = , 2 toate feof ©-_ See = iteEd Sweet Bellow oO Track 62 = 100 Allegretto Kam ete DM M GMM sappendix 2 writfer pitch sounding piteh right hand 8 foot sounding pitch: bai { coleste — aboe —musette written sounding pitch. pitch: 4 4 — = 2 — + ® & SSlow and legaroAM "T 2eae en es) Se aa PassBoM rests as a4 on DSMeres state # 2 Em Bmett ths casas Gm Bibles tart gaan tbe ae wteteBbm+ = relative major + = relative minor *cMWhen a fingering is circled, it should be played on the fourth row. -DM + AM'EM + Cém + BM = Gem‘FM * BbM: two kinds of fingerings, with and without the use of the thumb * Gm: two kinds of fingerings, with and without the use of the thumb pea bag ¢ bedien bartSs a i Pre t —— 7 see: [emir + ELM + AbMi «Eommmaon snore | Root Position Ist inversion 2nd inversion cM GMminor chords 2nd inversion Ist inversion Root Position 2dominant 7th chords 8rd inv. 2nd inv. Root Position ist inv,swore | Ebb) em ee ai ao |diminished 7th chords st position | i 2nd position