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You ar e h e r e : Hom e > Ac c or dion Play Gu ide

Welcome! Our team here at Instrumental Savings is excited to share with you tips on how to get started with
playing the Accordion. We will answer common questions that beginners have when learning the dos and
donts of playing the accordion, to get you on the right track as you begin your study with this instrument.

What is the proper way of holding the accordion while playing?

What is the proper posture to have while playing the accordion?
How do you play the accordion?
What should I practice on the accordion as a beginner?

What is the proper way of holding the accordion while playing?

Holding the accordion properly is the first thing you should learn as a student of this instrument. By holding
the instrument correctly, you are able to play the instrument with great ease and precision.
Placement of the Accordion

Rest the base of the treble side of the accordion on your left thigh with the bellows hanging off the edge of
your thigh allowing it to expand
Put the right strap of the instrument over your right shoulder and the left strap over your left shoulder
Place the bottom edge of the keyboard on the inside of your right thigh for additional support
Slide your left hand in the bass strap to operate the bass buttons, move the bellows, and change the bass
switches
Keep your right hand by the keyboard to operate the keyboard and change the switches by the grill
Watch a video on how to hold the accordion while playing

Watch a video on how to hold the accordion while playing

How to Hold an Accordion -- powered by ehow

What is the proper posture to have while playing the accordion?

Having good posture while playing the accordion will help you play longer and put less strain on you as you
play the heavy instrument. The following are some key points on how you can have proper posture while
playing:
Always keep your back straight. If you are sitting down, do not lean on the back of the chair; instead, sit
more towards the edge of the chair so that you can keep your back straight while playing.
Always keep your feet flat on the floor. By having both feet flat on the floor, you are able to support the
instrument well without straining your legs too much. Avoid tucking your legs under your chair or having them
sprawled out in front of you. Your legs should be in front of you with your knees at a 90 degree angle and
slightly apart.
Always keep your shoulders relaxed. When playing the accordion, do not raise your shoulders as this will
make your arms tense which would strain them very quickly. By keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, your
arms and hands will feel more relaxed as well.
Correct posture to have when seated

How do you play the accordion?

Learning how to play the accordion involves learning how to play its 3 main sections: the bass, the treble,
and the bellows. We will discuss how to play each section starting with the bass.
Bass Section
The bass of the accordion is made up of many little buttons that you can press down to play bass notes and
bass chords on the accordion. The key to learning how to play the bass section of the accordion is to study
the bass button fingering chart. The bass button fingering chart of the accordion shows you how to position
your fingers to play the different notes and chords available to the accordions bass.
Bass Button Fingering Chart

As you can see, the bass section (of a standard 120 bass accordion) is made up of 6 rows of buttons. The
1st row is made up of the counter bass notes, the 2nd row is made up of the fundamental bass notes (or
single bass notes), and the rows under the 2nd row are the chord rows related to each fundamental bass
note. The chord rows are: major, minor, 7th, and diminished.
If you have an accordion that has a smaller bass section than the standard 120 (like 72, 60, or 24 bass
accordions), you will only need to familiarize yourself with the buttons included in the bass size you have. The
bass sizes are color-coded in the chart above; so if you have a 24 bass accordion, study only the fingering
within the brown section of the chart.
If your fingers get lost among the many bass buttons while playing, you can easily find the C bass note which
will have a different surface texture among all the other buttons. You can use this bass note as your
reference point if your fingers ever get lost among the rows of buttons.
Watch a video on how to play the single bass notes of the accordion

How to Play Accordion Bass Notes -- powered by ehow

Watch a video on how to play the bass chords of the accordion

Accordion Bass Chords: a Free Online Music Lesson for Beginners -- powered by ehow

Treble Section
The treble section of the accordion contains the keyboard. The keyboard of the accordion functions the same
way as any instrument with a musical keyboard (such as a piano).
Musical keyboards are made up of octaves. A longer keyboard will have more octaves while a shorter
keyboard will have less. An octave is a series of 8 notes that begin and end on the same note. Octaves along
a keyboard simply repeat thus the notes found in one octave are the same notes found in others.
Octave on C

Memorize the pattern of notes in the octave above as these are the notes you will be playing on the
accordion keyboard. If you get confused while playing, you can use 2 notes on the keyboard as reference
points to find other notes. These 2 notes are the C note and the F note.
You can find the C note on the keyboard easily as it always the white key that comes before 2 black keys
that are grouped together. In the picture of the octave above, you will notice that the first C comes before
the set of 2 black keys (i.e. the Db/C# and Eb/D# keys). By keeping this tip in mind, you will never lose your
way to the C note.
To find the F note on the keyboard, simply locate the white key that comes before 3 black keys that are
grouped together. In the picture of the octave above, you can see that the F note is located right before the
set of 3 black keys (i.e. Gb/F#, Ab/G#, and Bb/A#).
When playing the keyboard of the accordion, curve your fingers over the keys and keep your right hand (i.e.
the hand that operates the keys) relaxed as you go up and down the length of the keyboard. Furthermore,
use only the tips of your fingers to press the keys down.
Finger placement on the keys will change depending on what notes you play; but generally, each finger
should be placed on each successive note from where your thumb is. Refer to the picture below to get an
idea of how this looks.

Here, the thumb is on the first C and each finger after the thumb is placed respectively on each note after
the first C.
Bellows Section
The bellows of an accordion can be expanded or compressed to produce sound and manipulate sound
articulation. It is operated by pulling the bellows outwards or pushing it inwards with the players left hand. To
learn how to expand and compress the bellows properly, simply watch the short instructional video below.

Operating the Accordion Bellows -- powered by ehow

Keep in mind that if you want to learn how to play the accordion, you must:
Study the fingering chart of the bass section
Familiarize yourself with the keyboard of the treble section
Learn how to manipulate the bellows of the instrument
Watch a video on how to play all 3 sections together

What should I practice on the accordion as a beginner?

Apart from your bass fingering, you should also practice playing the different scales of the instrument.
Learning how to play scales will help you play the notes that you have learned smoothly as they transition
from one to the other. Furthermore, practicing the scales regularly will give you a great foundation for playing
all kinds of accordion music.
Practice the Major Scales of the Accordion Keyboard

Remember, practice makes perfect!

Summary of Accordion Playing Tips

Hold the accordion properly by supporting the instrument well as you are seated. Make sure that you are
wearing its shoulders straps and that the bellows is free to expand.

Observe good posture while playing by keeping your back straight, your feet flat on the floor, and your
shoulders relaxed.
Study how to play the bass, treble, and bellows sections of the accordion.
Practice bass fingering and playing the major scales of the keyboard of the accordion.

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