Vancouver Squeezebox Circle
- All things accordion for Vancouver, BC (Canada)
Homework ~ Calendar ~ Musicians & Bands ~ Lessons ~ Accordion Noir Fest ~ Merch ~ Comics ~ Contact
The Vancouver Squeezebox Circle meets on the first Thursday of every month at Spartacus Books, 684 East Hastings Street. The next session will be on August 4th from 8 to 10 pm
It's "an informal gathering of accordions and their players from around the Vancouver region. Some play, some watch, some bring snacks. No experience necessary, punk-rockers and polkas welcome.
Set up a lesson, learn a lick, share a song, plan the squeezebox revolution (it is at Spartacus Books after all.)" Check out the link for homework: tunes we played at past sessions or hope to play at upcoming ones.
The circles are hosted by Bruce Triggs and Rowan Lipkovits, co-hosts of Vancouver Coop Radio (CFRO)'s Accordion Noir radio show (every Wednesday, 10 - 11 pm on CFRO 102.7 FM or anytime online at http://accordionnoir.org).
Get on the Squeezebox Circle email list by contacting Rowan. Watch a video short on the Circle made by TelusTV in February 2011.
Contact: To add your event, band, or other resource to this website - or for more information, email Alan
Resources:
Where (and how) to buy an accordion (in and around Vancouver)
• Accordions for sale on Vancouver Craigslist (note - many people misspell 'accordion' in these ads - also check Accordian and Accordeon or even Acordian or Acordion - sigh!)
• List of accordion manufacturers and brand names
• Highlife World Music on Commercial Drive always has a couple of accordions in the window
• Rickey Mann- Accordion (and piano) repairs and sales: 604.270.2708
• Petosa Accordions- in nearby Seattle, WA.
• Pretty Complete Guide to Squeezeboxes: online book with chapters on 'Choosing an accordion', 'About Buying Old Accordions' and more
• Franco Rizzo, the Sultan of Squeeze: accordion cleaning and minor repairs, buy/sell accordions: 604-951-9562
• Tempo Trend Music in Victoria specializes in accordions and accordion repairs.
Info about playing and maintaining accordions
• Accordion Basics - a series of YouTube clips
• Accordion Bass Notation - a scan of a page from the American Accordionists' Association about how bass notation should be written
• Free online accordion lessons
• Accordion Playing for Beginners - 6 part video lesson series, including how to read accordion sheet music
• Accordion Radio - UK online radio station: accordion music 24 hours a day
• Accordion Repairs Made Easy - 80 page printed guide published in 1956, $24.95
• Print your own Accordion Revolution stickers onto label paper!
• Accordeon accordion simulator with versions for iPhone, Ipad, or iPod Touch - search iTunes App Store for other accordion-learning apps for piano accordion, chromatic button accordion, and button box - such as the Piano Accordion Pro for iPad - watch this YouTube clip to see it in action!
• Accordion Trainer: learn the left-hand buttons with this (Windows-only) computer game
• Accordion WikiBook - an introduction to the piano accordion: history, how it works, and an instructional guide to beginning to intermediate-level playing
• Bass range chart: see the bass buttons for standard (Stradella system) accordions - 12, 24, 32, 48, 60, 72, 96, and 120 bass accordions. Here's the equivalent chart for the treble keyboard side and one to decipher the symbols on the treble registers
• Big Nick's Cajun Button Box lessons
• Alan's article: Working with jazz charts on the accordion. For more sophisticated options, see: Hans Palm's Chord Combining article and the Stradella Bass Combining chart (how to combine buttons to get fancy chords).
• Debra Peters (formerly from here, now in Austin) offers 3 volumes of DVD lessons: The ABCs of Piano Accordion Basics
• Dave Evans teaches how to do the bellows shake
• How it's made - Science Channel video clip (5 minutes)
• How To Play Accordion.net - tips from Enzo Giribaldi
• How to be an accordion player by Geoff Berner: Introduction online
• How to Maximize the Life of Your Accordion: Accordion Apocalypse
• Inside an accordion
• Let's Polka blog about new accordion-learning books: http://www.letspolka.com/2009/07/learning-to-play-accordion/
• Pretty Complete Guide to Squeezeboxes: online book, with chapters including 'Repairs & Maintenance', 'Care and Feeding Your Squeezebox', and more
Links- Vancouver and area:
• Accordion Noir radio show - donate to CFRO (put 'for Accordion Noir' in the comments)
• Accordion Noir Festival - annual best of accordion in Vancouver
• Accordions for sale on Vancouver Craigslist
• Accordion players wanted or Accordionists seeking other musicians on Vancouver Craigslist
• Accordion Street Parade video from the 2009 Accordion Noir Festival
• Bruce Trigg's Accordion Uprising blog
• Geoff Berner & the Squeezebox Circle Accordion Orchestra live at the 2009 Accordion Noir Festival
• Camosun College (Victoria) is offering two-year jazz and classical accordion diploma programs. Deadline for applications - May 31 for the following September
• Libertango - Vancouver tango website - information on local tango events and more
• Accordion repairs: Rickey Mann- 604.270.2708
• The Quintessential Jack Velker: article remembering this Vancouver keyboard and accordion player
• Franco Rizzo, the Sultan of Squeeze: accordion cleaning and minor repairs, buy/sell accordions: 604-951-9562
• Squeezebox Circle Facebook Group
• Tempo Trend Accordions (Victoria)
• Repairs, etc: Vahnik Musical Instrument Repair - North Van, by appointment: 604-980-6960
• Vancouver Coop Radio (CFRO) - donate to CFRO (put 'for Accordion Noir' in the comments)
• Victoria (BC) Accordion Club - club meets on the first Sunday of every month at 2 pm at the Victoria Edelweiss Club (108 Niagara Street)
• Western Swing Music Society
Links- everywhere else:
• Accordion Apocalypse Online Store - plus a nice article about them and an August 2010 (front page!) piece from the San Francisco Chronicle
• Accordion Apocalypse circle (San Francisco) mini-documentary featuring Skylar Fell and Duckmandu
• Accordion Association of Calgary
• Accordion backstraps
• Accordion Heaven - Minnessota shop featuring custom designed Planet Accordion accordions and more - 'Welcome to Heaven - here's your accordion'
• Accordion Idol - great YouTube clip, even though it's too late to win the free accordion
• Accordion USA - news and more
• Accordions Canada - Toronto store since 1960
• AccordionLinks.com
• Accordion Museum at Alex & Bell Accordions, New York City
• Accordions Worldwide: Weekly accordion news from around the world about accordions and other related bellows driven instruments.
• Accordionist.org: The Online Accordionist Community is a great place to meet other accordionists, accordion teachers, and repairers. Share practice techniques and repair tips; news of concerts, recordings and competitions; music files and sheet music for accordion.
• Borsini Accordions - Factory Direct Sales, Service, & Tuning
• Boxes Without Borders offers a growing set of sheet music for traditional tunes from many cultures, with recordings of each.
• The Button Box- Massachusetts accordion and concertina store
• Bay-area accordionist Henri Ducharme offers accordion sheet music arrangements of punk classics and more
• Gabbanelli Accordions - premium handmade accordions, made in family-run shop in Houston, Texas, and shipped world-wide. Here's a Houston Chronicle article about them.
• The Great American Accordionist - Pro tips, choosing and packing an accordion, musican listings and more
• Hohner Squeezebox App - mimics the company's Corona diatonic models - a variety of 2 row and 3 row accordions in different keys, for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch - even virtual pulls and pushes.
• Infinite Accordion - multi-genre Internet radio station playing non-stop accordion music
• John's Accordion Service - Windsor, Ontario
• K&K Accordion miking system- order it locally from Bone Rattle Music on Commercial Drive
• KRVS- Louisiana Cajun public radio
• MuseScore - free music composition and notation software for Mac, Windows & Linux
• RareTunes - listen to recordings of traditional tunes of Scotland, etc
• Raymond Laforest had what might be the largest collection of accordions in Canada, with many photos online.
• Let's Polka- accordion directory website; events, listings, and more
• Liberty Bellows in Philadelphia has video demos of a variety of accordions for sale - see and hear different types of accordions played
• Main Squeeze shop in New York City.
• Music Prevents Delinquency - you better believe it! From a 1959 book of accordion lessons for beginners.
• Paris Accordeon
• Petosa Accordions- in nearby Seattle, WA. Read this newspaper article about their history.
• Quebec Accordion Museum & Carrefour Mondial de l'Accordeon
• Savoy Music Center - for Louisiana cajun accordions
• Smythe's Accordion Center - Oakland California
• Virtual Accordion Museum - images and info on many models (mostly Hohners), often with sound samples
• WWOZ- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage community radio
Accordion Noir Festival
Gone but not forgotten: click here for more information about September 2010's 3rd incarnation of the Accordion Noir Fest, a full week (plus a day) worth of accordion-friendly music and events. Thanks to all who helped organize and volunteer to help make it happen, to all the musicians, and to all who attended.
Click for more details - or listen to the radio promo from the week-long festival. Video clips of performers at the closing event at Cafe Montmartre can be viewed on YouTube.
But squeezebox playing happens all year round - After the September festival, keep your eyes peeled for Accordion Noir's ongoing Pleasing Squeezing series of performances - with events posted on squeezeboxcircle.org.
Bonus: National Film Board of Canada animation - The Necktie (http://www.nfb.ca/film/necktie/) - watch it online!
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