If you want to learn how to play the accordion and begin accordion lessons, you’re going to need an accordion to play and practice on!  Hahaha, makes sense, right?  The problem for a lot of people is that the accordion can be a fairly expensive instrument and if you are just starting out you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on an accordion only to discover after a few months that you’ve decided you aren’t as into it as you thought.  Now you have a thousand dollar decoration!

I decided to put together a short list of some accordion buying tips.  This list is aimed mostly at those just getting into the accordion and looking for accordion lessons.

Rentals

I highly recommend to all of my own students and those looking to begin accordion lessons to start with a rental.  Nearly every town and city has a few music shops, and almost all of these offer rental instruments.  You can usually get an accordion for a very reasonable monthly cost.  Please note here that you want to take extra special care of a rented accordion…you do not want to ruin the music store’s instrument and have to pay a lot of money to fix or replace it!!

Used Instruments

Another place to start would be looking at used accordions.  You can usually find these by doing an Internet search, possibly on eBay, looking in the classified ads, and even on bulletin boards at music stores.  You want to be sure the accordion you are buying is in good condition, doesn’t make any “rattling” sounds, etc.  Since you haven’t yet begun accordion lessons and therefore probably don’t know how to play the accordion, you might even ask the seller to play you something, just to ensure there is nothing wrong with the instrument.

Smaller Accordions

If you cannot find rental or used accordions, or simply just really want to own your own, then I recommend starting with a student-sized “12-bass” accordion.  These are smaller than standard accordions, but they are much cheaper and a lot easier to learn on for a beginner.  Once you’ve developed your chops a bit and decided you really want to stick with it, then you might want to think about upgrading to a “120-bass” accordion.   This way you will both save yourself a lot of money and learn how to play the accordion faster.

That about wraps up my accordion buying tips; these are the exact same things I tell my new students and prospective students when starting accordion lessons.

Thanks for reading and keep playing that accordion!!!

Beth

An accordion can be a fairly expensive instrument.  Cheaper accordions are of course available for those just starting with accordion lessons and rentals are pretty easy to find as well.  I wanted to make a post for those who want to know how to get the best sound out of their accordion and how to do a little “preventative maintence.”

Keep Your Accordion Upright!

Most accordions have four little “feet” for the accordion to rest on at the bass end.  If you store your accordion “flat” (with the piano keys horizontal), some important internal parts called reed valves can open.  This causes a permanent “rattling” sound when the accordion is played and can be quite costly to repair.  You don’t want that added expense, especially if you are just beginning your accordion lessons.  Take it from me and store the accordion upright!!

Keep Your Accordion Away From High Temperatures!

Really high temperatures (like the inside of a parked car on a summer day) can cause the reed wax to melt.  The reeds can actually fall off and when those notes are played all that is heard is the sound of rushing air.  Again, this can be quite costly to repair, a cost you don’t want to sustain – especially if you are just beginning accordion lessons.

Carry The Accordion Case With The Lid Against Your Body

This is, of course, in case the lid accidentally opens.  This can happen with even more “expensive” cases and if the lid opens the accordion could fall to it’s demise.

Never, Ever Lift The Accordion by The Strap

The strap could break or come off, causing the accordion to fall and sustain damage.

Let Your Accordion “Warm Up”

This is true for when the accordion is brought into a warm area from a cold one.  If you take private accordion lessons, do not leave your accordion in your car for an extended period of time, especially if it is cold out, after your lessons.  Condensation on the reeds from the cold could cause the reeds to rust.  It is much better to let the accordion “warm up” slowly before playing it, so that condensation is not created inside the accordion from the warmer air in the room coming into the accordion.

Keep Your Accordion Away From Animals! (Pets)

This one should seem obvious, but some people just do not think about it and leave their accordion out where a cat or dog could get at it and have their way with it.  So please, keep that accordion away from the pets!

Those are the main tips that I recommend to all of my private accordion lessons students.  Really you just want to treat your accordion with care and remember that it is an instrument, often an expensive one, and that it is very fragile.  Treat it with care and (after taking accordion lessons) you will get a lifetime of playing enjoyment out of it!

Check out my youtube videos page showing two videos on how to care for your accordion!

As always, thanks for reading guys!

Beth