this is definitely the most intimidating instrument i have ever seen. all the buttons, the keyboard and the flow of air! its to much at once haha my gears are already grinding!
@@surialpaca6542 How exactly is a bagpipe more complicated than an organ? It works like an oboe with a reservoir and it plays like a recorder. Also, is 18-string guitar really the most strings you could come up with? You could've said harp for example.
Two things you mustn't do: - Never attempt to expand or compress the bellows of an accordion without a key, button or the valve release button pressed. Doing so can damage the reeds and make it sound out of tune. - Never expose an accordion to extreme heat or cold. The reeds of the accordion contain wax (to hold them in place), which can obviously melt if it gets too hot, but can also crack if it gets too cold. Don't leave it in a car for a prolonged period.
Yup, accordions are the best. I added some hall effect sensors to the bass section of one of mine, glued some magnets to the ends of the base buttons and programmed them up to an Arduino to create MIDI. I can then connect it to most cheap auto-accompaniment keyboards for hours of fun! I just found your channel and am so impressed!
The slow motion of the reeds at the end was the most interesting part. I never thought about how they produce sound but of course that movement makes sense. So Cool
Sir, you have uncovered one of my lifelong mysteries!!! Thanks a lot for this video. I imagined it would be a complex mechanism, but it is also really beautiful and ingenious!
Being an organ builder, I recognize the rollerboard/tracker assembly in the chord button section of the accordion. This was invented about 1000 years ago soon after the organ was introduced into Europe by the Moors.
"this is not a video about playing the accordion, its about how the mechanism inside of it works" You just said what I didnt like this video to be and what I exactly wanted this video to be. You deserve the top search result spot~
Thank you so much for this video. It’s the exact video that I needed to find. From a lifelong multi-instrumentalist that has played everything except accordion and has an old Italian grandfather that would really enjoy playing his accordion again. Found his recently and now have to repair it without any understanding of the instrument. So, again, thank you. This is beyond helpful. Best to you 😊
I started watching this video with questions I didn't know I had, and now I have the answers to them all haha. Excellent video, every explanation is very detailed and easy to follow.
That's so cool! I love teardowns explaining this kind of mechanical contraption. I like that method of transferring one input into a selection of outputs, with the pin rollers used as an intermediate stage...
I was recently thinking about learning how to play the accordion, the sound is awesome and I've been fascinated by reeds ever since I tried making my own accordion out of a melodica and a foot pump. Very good video and perfect timing too!
very helpful. helped me repair my stuck buttons. oh also i noticed that you have the same accordion as me only i have it in Black. its a cheap 400€ Accordion from China, wich i whole heartedly reccommend for anyone starting out (or starting again after a 13 year break in my case)
It's just amazing to see what humans can engineer. It must've been a colossal effort for instrument makers back in the day. Thank you for this breakdown!
Question to anyone willing to respond Can I ask where air comes in and out? I was wondering how the exhaust button to the accordions side, exhausts air when I don’t feel anything or see any vents. Thank you
So that's a pretty simple Piano Accordion, of course there are other types like Button Accordions, Luttbeg Double Keyboard Piano Accordions, Free Bass Accordions, Concertinas, you name it.
Great video. Exactly what I was hoping to see & understand. What I don’t understand Is, what Genius mind could’ve imagined this insanely complex instrument! I mean who really invented the accordions 🪗? To my mind this is the most complex instrument invented with the exception if perhaps 🤔 the pipe organ. Must be very expensive to tune an accordion. Far more expensive than tuning my piano. And it shouldn’t need tuning often...I don’t imagine, unless it’s played in a driving rain 🌧 where the reeds could get wet. That’s unlike woodwind instruments played with the very wet mouth. One won’t really worry about changing the reeds too often. Seems, wear & tear are the accordion’s major enemy. Incredible video. Blows my mind🤯.
My accordion tutor book said that beginners think the bellows is the easy part and the left hand buttons are the hard part, but you'll know you are an accordionist when you understand that the left hand buttons are the easy part and the bellows are the hard part.
Well, he did say it was relatively on the cheaper end as far as accordions go, so... not as much of a risk as it could have been? Still though, being able to do it with such confidence and skill is impressive
I just had a go at replacing felts and leathers on an 80 year old accordion. The design was not as simple as this, had to dismantle all the bass side, quite a nightmare. Took me 3 weeks to replace it all ! Now it's all out of tune and I have had to make a tuner using and old bellows. Still have to do this, no idea if I'll ever get it sorted, lol. Lot's of fun trying though. Good luck with your project.
Such an interesting Instrument! I never stopped to appreciate the Accordion because it is mostly played by street musicians or in "Volksmusik/Schlager". Aka. aweful german music.
Looks like some of the buttons correspond to -- i.e., push down first, before triggering the rotation of the cylinders -- vertical bars that themselves open valves. With these buttons, it seems there should be an ever-so-slight delay between the sounding of the "directly linked" note and the notes that follow indirectly from the twofold action of the cylinder spikes and gold bars. (Assuming you start pumping air through the valves immediately as or just before hitting the buttons.) Have you tried playing back music from the chord buttons in slow-mo to see if the lag becomes perceptible?
It's easy if you already know what buttons they are and memorize and if you memorize them buttons you can play the piano and pay more attention to it... It's easy if you keep practicing the buttons
