Developing the MADness very early

One of the reasons I went with diatonic accordion is that there is a very active site in the UK called Melodeon.net where the people there are very helpful in about every way. There are novices and pros - including shop owners and refurbishers too. It's a wealth of information and experience to draw on.

I am going to try to learn this without taking lessons professionally because a. I don't have time to be having lessons (remember, my time, my way to ease stress) and b. I don't want to spend money on lessons if I don't need to because we are paying for college tuition and housing currently too!

They often discuss MAD, or MADness, etc. It stands for:

Melodeon
Acquisition
Disorder

And I must admit I have an advanced case of it already and I haven't even gotten my instrument yet and won't for another week or so.  

You see... I've written all of these posts - all of them so far in one day. It's how I spent the bulk of my last free day from work before the whole Inauguration crap, I mean festivities began of which I had a lot to be present for. I decided I needed to get this all written out as much as possible so that I can return to some sort of normalcy.

Want proof? Here you go.... look at all those drafts? That is 1 post that I created. The rest I wrote between 5 pm and 12:38 am... After a day of some work, some home-schooling, making dinner, doing dishes, and taking my older son out to practice driving. That is a sure sign of MAD.

What am I MAD about? Well, I already have a list of instruments I would like to try/have if I get a hang of this and want to get better. I would like a really nice Castagnari - perhaps a small one and a bigger one:

A beautiful Stierische accordion would be fun to try too:

And then there is the Hohner Morino Club for fun too.

Maybe it's best I don't like to play and find it so frustrating. If that's the case, this will be a very short-lived blog. It will start all jubilant and end in my pulling my hair out.

Starting and and ending like this. Let's hope not!

Learning all the unique voices

So I kept searching through Youtube videos to figure out what I liked in tone and style. I was listening to these beautiful pieces:

There was that post from yesterday with this gorgeous piece:

And I found this one:

 

Then I found this beauty that showcased 13 different instruments with the same player playing the same pieces. It really gives a feel for how they different voices/instruments compare and I know it's the instruments and not the player:

And this one, similarly with 12 different instruments, almost all of them different from what was shared above:

Oh my goodness! So many freaking choices! Then, I stumbled onto something completely different, but still a diatonic accordion with the base I love. This style of diatonic accordion is called a steirische button box/accordion. How can you not love this?

So, on melnet people kept asking me, "What do you like?" All of it???? OK, maybe not all of it. I do not like this... (next post).

I thought I was all set... and march (standing still)!

Just when I thought I knew what I wanted to get - a large Hohner V Club accordion, melodeon.net became active again after days and days of it being down. Now I could look at all the articles and recommendations that had been unavailable and double check on my decision. By now I thought I had a plan. I had decided that I really liked the full sound of this instrument that I saw for sale, used, "fairly" locally.  It has so many options and lots and lots of voices and a nice deep base line. It is in two keys, but all the accidentals were on the third row - and - the clincher for me I thought was that club accordions use the bellows in a simple back and forth motion whereas traditional diatonic accordions play different notes by some being played on push and some being on played on the pull of the bellows (more on that in another post, I promise). Here is the Hohner Ouverture V Club being played.

So, I searched on more info and a lot of people liked them, but liked this one even better (of the same maker and club type) and I agree - the tone is sweeter - Hohner Morino Club What a tone and so many options!

But... nearly everyone said, "Wait. don't start with that." Why? it's heavy. (I find it a bit funny as piano accordions are just as heavy if not heavier.) and it is more than I need for learning basics which makes it more difficult to learn. I was also told I shouldn't think about a one and only instrument for all times. I would probably want another one for different tones and different keys if I really got into this. Their recommendation was that I should pick up an inexpensive, used one now to learn how to work it all without breaking my back and shoulders and bank account, and then if I want, venture on to other types once I knew I liked it and could get a hang of it.

This sounded like a reasonable plan. I'm somewhat of an aesthetics snob, so getting an old instrument in not the prettiest condition was a bit of a bummer, but I also know that there is a good chance I might hate this thing and quit (though I'm getting pretty obsessed... this just seems up my alley!)

So, I kept listening to different music, different types of diatonic accordions/melodeons. Again, the more I learned, the more I realized I didn't know. Isn't that always the case?

By the way, at this point my older son (20) said he now wanted to learn to play too as some of the things I found and had him listen to were pretty darn amazing! (more on that later).

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Addendum:

I wrote these posts several days ago and it's funny to go back and read them and tweak them with new info. Also today was the Women's March on Washington, D.C. and, basically, the world. Wow... it was amazing. I've never been and probably never will be part of something so empowering and uplifting as a group again in my lifetime. While I was there no marching happened as there was no room to march. I know there had to be close to a million people there (and possibly more). We basically stood shoulder to shoulder for hours together to make a point about our thoughts on so many things we think need attention in America (and the world). I know a few people had cheered me on in real life and on the forum. Here's a couple videos:

An Aerial view - not even central to the Mall - it spilled over that much.

Here's one I took while trying to work my way through the Mall.


Here are some photos:

My husband Sven and I. A daughter of a member of the organization I work for finished the hat while waiting to start the march. I wore it initially, but my balding husband needed it more.

Part of our coningent. About 1/4-1/3 of our organization's membership was at the March - not all could get to us or find us before we started out (as it was already that crowded). Some stood with other friends/groups.

My favorite photo I got of the day. Two women of color in the middle (standing for their rights!), a pink pussy hat, a rainbow flag wrapped around a lady's shoulder's, masses of people with signs, and the Capitol Building in the background.

Atop a garbage can view of our little group in the middle of the mall .

My husband and I feeling empowered and having fun.

MAD, but fearful?

As I have mentioned already. I already have a case of MAD (Melodeon Acquisition Disorder). I haven't even received my melodeon yet, and I'm already scouring the used sites for my next acquisition.

You see - this is a hobby of mine - buying things used, on the cheap. The entirety of my home furnishings save our mattresses and a few IKEA bookcases are used. I have gotten quite good at spotting bargains. People list things without complete names or with misspellings, or list them so poorly that their descriptions steer people away.

However, with an accordion, you simply do not know what you are getting for a playing condition without looking inside and hearing it play. And since the vast majority of them (especially?) in the United States have sat in basements and attics in old people's homes, the chances of it being in bad condition is really high. The older person dies and then the family liquidates the property and it's contents and they list things like, "I don't play accordion, but all the buttons/keys work and sound comes out of it." That tells you absolutely NOTHING.

Like right now there is a highly sought after small melodeon for sale on eBay. Don't get too excited to buy it as I'm writing this post more than a week in advance of it's posting date to Blogger. Of course, it's possible it's still not sold as this is the third time it's been listed and the seller drops the price by $50 each time. This club accordion is called the Liliput Hohner. The seller has the starting bid at $149 and buy it now at $199. It is listed as "accordian". Not even button accordian, or diatonic accordian. I found it by searching for Liliput Hohner.

This is the listing description:

Vintage Hohner "Liliput" small (miniature?) accordion from the 1940's with original case.

Accordian measures 9" X 9 1/8" X 5". Good condition with little wear. Plays well but I'm not familiar with the sound of this instrument so it may need to be tuned. Original leather hand and neck strap, straps have light wear. Hohner name and "Liliput" on top surface of accordion, on the colored surface, The cloth screening behind the metal frill appears to be a little loose at the bottom and the wood front has surface wear to the black paint, from use (see fourth and seventh photo). All the buttons work well, with none sticking and the center ballast has no holes and no deterioration. No chips, cracks, marks or damage to the marbleized colored surfaces. The case has some interior and exterior wear, the metal front locking latch has surface rust, the latch does work but I don't have the key to lock the latch. The original carrying handle is firmly attached to the case.

This tells me nothing but the exterior cosmetics. Absolutely nothing. It's also being sold by someone who sells for a living I think - buying things at flea markets or estate sales which I can glean from the sheer quantity he sells and his seller's name.

When I was talking with Ron Uhlenhopp when I was first starting my journey of finding an accordion, he told he that refurbishing one could by $300-$600 in repairs - depending on the internal damages/wear. Well, all of a sudden that $149 instrument doesn't seem so cheap!

And that is going to be difficult for me as I will need to rely on refurbishers to get any accordions and there goes some of the savings. I wonder how much of the guesswork they make too in purchasing these older instruments? Like, do they buy it low and "hope" they can flip it for profit? Probably.

And what is a bargain then - Most of the time the Liliput is listed on eBay for around $400 USD. On secondhand sites that refurish them, they are listed (and sell) for between $650 and $750. So, it is true this one at $149 is very likely to be a good deal.

I'm tempted by this one for another reason too - it's a club version and is small and lightweight. It could be a good learning instrument that has the different bellow action that I may or may not prefer. It's also good for resale (without losing much on it) as there is a market for these when they are in good condition.

See, I have MAD before even starting to play. It is taking everything in my power to not buy it! And we will see if I do or not. I might ask Scott about it to see if it's worth buying and him refurbishing. He might buy it for his shop for resale!

Lest you think I don't have my eye on other ones, you know me so little. Here are others tempting me:

This one for $199:

This one for $359

This one for $999.

This one for $1020

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Editing to add... That Hohner Liliput now on it's way to getting refurbished. I bout it for $149. I could not resist. The good news is, I am now no longer wanting to try another new box. I have a traditional 2 row on the way and a club style on the way. I will learn pretty quickly which way is easier for me to learn from.