Sandy Nixon

SMiskoe

Message 2609 · 10 Oct 1995 14:04:32 · Fixed-width font · Whole thread

Susan Self writes that accordions are percussive instruments and cannot play
strathspeys properly. Accordions are not percussive instruments, they are
reeded instruments. Air blows through the reeds making them vibrate and
producing the sound. Holding the key down will provide a sustained note,
ornamentation is produced by either successive notes or action with the
bellows. Voicing is produced by the combination of the reeds and the way
they are tuned. A good accordion will have 2-5 sets of reeds which can be
combined into many combinations. The reeds are tuned at different pitches to
provide the various combinations, giving the accordions its voice.
I have danced to good and bad fiddles as well as good and bad accordions.
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord, NH