I've found the button accordion is a great instrument. I picked it up from my background playing blues harp and saxophone and the diatonic box turns some heads. And doing the Rock and Roll thing by throwing some stompboxes on it . . . I might not be as good as Flaco or Beau Jocque, but it's a unique sound.

Thank you very much Patricia and Gilbert for this excellent interview and discussion. I am a lifelong player of Hohner harmonicas and accordions. I play other makes and models, but Hohner is always good and reliable.

I believe one of the problems about the bad judgment about the Accordeon in United States, is the culture around the music industry now a days and maybe since the 80's or maybe since 60's. is the idea that everything "Shall be Cool"... what is Coolnes? to be modern? to hate tradition? to hate all the musical inheritance from the past?. and pretend that everything that is new is Better!!! best! with quality!!! to adapt modern trends or fashion is to have a great status, this conceptions are very related also to consumerism, music is a product that can be consumed as any other product and rejected in the future, in order to consume other music... What wrong ideas!!! they need to think more...Music is ART! ... I have face in the past the same comments: the accordeon Is an old fashion instrument, and my response is: following your criteria, all instruments, are old fashion, today is everything made with computers. But many people see the guitar (another popular instrument) very cool, or more trend, but I believe is because of Rock. Also they link an instrument to a genre of music: they believe accordeon is for polkas, guitar for rock and roll, pianos and violin for classical romantic music.... which is also a wrong ideas, they simply instruments, you can do whatever. He mentioned "Los Tigres del Norte"... I am from north Mexico, and we love in north Mexico the accordeon, is part of the folk 'Mexican Polka" and also "Regional Norteña Music" which is very close to "Tex Mex Conjunto music".... In Mexico, exist a lot of promotion for our Folk Culture, in the schools, in primary schools, secondary schools, high school.... and Mexico promote this because is part of our identity, is "Culture" and our own expression, and Mexican people don't see this as an old school, or something to hate... Mexicans celebrate they culture, and they are proud of it. I believe that is the reason Accordeon in Mexico has other perception... We have also all the influence from United States trendy music.... but Mexico always promotes they cultural inheritance as part of us. Now I live in The Netherlands, and here is see something similar to USA, this country does not promote their cultural inheritance. Accordeon is simple an instrument, and is one of the newest instrument in relation to Piano, Violin, Guitar, they are more old instruments than accordeon. For me Accordeon and all instruments is live Art expression, old music, is truly art, learning accordeon is learning the real Art of music, a beautiful instrument that express deeper feelings and that you can play whatever you want to... is a Piano in your Arms and your legs.

Diatonic means the notes form a major scale. Bisonoric means there are different notes on the push and pull.

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Everybody loves the accordion, but nobody wants to admit it.

Sadly, growing up in 1960s America, we were trained to hate the accordion. Yet, I liked Lawrence Welk & Myron Floren. Still do.

I recently watched the documentary "Accordions Rising." It was mostly about piano accordions, which I found incredibly odd since as you've pointed out, they didn't arrive until the 1920s. Yes, they've popularized the instrument while also making fun of it...because quite frankly, piano keyboards should be on a piano, but I digress. My point is this about that documentary, which were a bunch of hippies, which is that they were encouraging use of the instrument without it become an establishment instrument. In other words, this hippie free flowing idea that no institutional or classical limitations should be placed upon it. But that is exactly what will guarantee its proliferation, which are university degrees, BA, MA, and PhD in Accordion, Accordeon, Akkordeon, Fisarmonica, etc...and for that to take place, classical pieces need to be rendered accordingly in recitals. Yeah, I know, the hippies hate hear this, but alas, I'm right. And for that to take place, only a five row chromatic button accordion will suffice....the $10,000-$20,000 kind that they sell in Europe...

This was fascinating! Thank you.