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Accordion – One of the few instruments you need to hug to play
“Complete and Systematic Accordion Course” is a video course tailored for anyone who wants to begin learning the accordion, or early intermediate level, even without prior knowledge of music or the instrument. This course is suitable for students of all ages.
Accordion – One of the few instruments you need to hug to play
“Complete and Systematic Accordion Course” is a video course tailored for anyone who wants to begin learning the accordion, or early intermediate level, even without prior knowledge of music or the instrument. This course is suitable for students of all ages.
Save thousands of dollars and valuable time on lessons. I have spent my whole life learning the accordion, and I am still discovering new things every day. In this course, I will provide shortcuts to the accordion learning process. I will share my entire experience, tips, and insights from my accordion journey. You will save thousands of dollars and countless hours for "zero money”.
The course follows a systematic approach, offering gradual progression with clear, detailed explanations. Each song or exercise is demonstrated step-by-step: first in a regular tempo, then with the right and left hands played separately at a slow tempo, and finally with both hands together, also at a slow tempo.
This structure ensures a thorough understanding, making it easy to follow and master each lesson.
Throughout the course, you will have an accordion book to guide you, specially written for the course, with plenty of marks and notes inside (attached as pdf file in lecture 1).
The Course structure is:
1. Introduction
- Short guide on selecting the right accordion for beginners
- Basic music theory
- Parts of the accordion
- Handling the instrument
- Correct accordion position
2. Playing music (right hand exercises)
- How the fingering are numbered
- Playing whole, half, dotted half, quarters (exercises)
3. Left hand exercises
- Bass Keyboard and the Bass Method We Will Use
- Left hand (bass) exercises
4. Playing together
- Whole notes with quarter bass notes
- Half notes with quarter bass notes
-Quarter notes with quarter bass notes
5. First songs
- How to practice songs (guide)
- My first song
- Ode to Joy
- Lightly row
- Jingle bells
6. Dotted half notes
- Dotted half notes exercise
- The waltz
- Ukrainian folk song
- Allegro
7. When the Saints Come Marching In
8. Introducing note “A”, new finger positions and playing new songs
- New hand position and new note "A"
- London bridge is falling down
- Carnival in Venice
- Oh Susanna
9. Staccato/Legato touch and introducing note “B”
- Staccato touch
- Introducing new note “B” and Old MacDonald song
- Legato touch
- Polka
- My Bonnie
10. Introducing note “C” and C major scale
- The C major scale
- The Can Can
11. The most common mistakes that accordion students make at this level
12. Introducing the second octave & Dynamic signs
- Introducing the second octave
- The Echo waltz & Dynamic signs
13. Que Serra, Serra & She’ll be coming round the mountain
- Que Sera, Sera
- She’ll be coming round the mountain
14. Right hand exercises (Hanons)
15. Eighths notes
- Exercises
- Milica has long eyelashes
16. Dotted quarter note
- Exercises
- Country gardens
17. Accidentals (Sharps, flats and naturals), G major and F major scale
- Whole & half step, accidentals (sharps, flats and naturals), and exercises
- G major scale and key signature
- Lullaby – J.Brahms
- 18.4 F major scale & Happy birthday song
18. Minor bass chord, Minka (Ukrainian song) and Drunken sailor
- Minor bass chord
- Minka (Ukrainian folk song)
- Drunken Sailor
19. Alternating major and minor bass chords
- Major alternating bass
- Playing old songs with alternating major bass chord
- Minor alternating bass
- Playing old songs with alternating minor bass chord
20. Katyusha
21. Seventh chords
22. Learning new songs (Bella Ciao, Wellerman, La Valse d'Amelie)
- Bella Ciao
- The Wellerman
- La Valse d'Amelie
23. Counter bass and C major scale (both hands)
- Counter bass
- C major scale (both hands)
24. Diminished bass chord
- Exercise
- Fascination
25. Major scales in two octaves ( Minor scales (a minor)
27. Chords (Inversions) & Arpeggios (Broken Chords) - Exercises
Additional content 1 - Ear training
Additional content 2 - How to Practice a Difficult Song: A Practical Guide (Katyusha example)
Additional content 3 - Different Types of Accordion Sheet Music and Where to Find It + How to play on Accordion from Piano Sheet music
Welcome to the Ultimate Accordion Course for Beginners!
A warm welcome from Stefan, your experienced accordion teacher, who will guide you every step of the way.
Download the book specially created for this course, and follow along with the videos with the book open.
This short guide will help you decide what kind of accordion to choose for playing
Short Basic Music Theory
Watch this video a few times, and revisit it occasionally.
Proper posture is crucial for your back and for the quality of your accordion playing. Make sure to follow these instructions
Playing from sheet music begins on page 13 of the book I’ve attached.
In this video, you will learn to play the following notes: C, D, E, F, and G, as well as which fingers to use for each note. You will also learn how to count the beats for the notes you are playing.
Once you’ve completed the first exercise, you can move on to the next one. Remember to practice slowly at first and gradually increase your speed. Playing the accordion will teach you that patience is essential for mastering certain skills. Practice part by part, line by line, and focus on achieving small, short-term goals.
Practice at least five days per week and stay consistent. Pay attention to what and how you are practicing. Work smart, but also work hard :)
Enjoy!
Fundamental bass row – 4th finger
Major bass row – 3rd finger
Page 18 in the book:
Capital letters (C, G) – Fundamental bass row (2nd row) – play with the 4th finger
Capital letters + M (CM, GM) – Major chord row (3rd row) – play with the 3rd finger
Remember to play the basses short!
Pay attention to the sound; avoid changing the bellows during long notes on the right hand.
When you are done with this exercise, then you can go to the next one.
Very useful exercise for independent hands. Practice slow!
Finish this song (100%), then go to the next.
New bass in this song - "D" (D bass is above G)
Dotted half notes - 3 counts
In these song, we have tied notes. This means that the two notes are connected, and you don't need to play the second note again.
Not easy song. Practice separate hands, pay attention to the tied notes!
Introducing new note "A"
Practice separate hands and practice section by section. This song needs time!
Very nice exercise for independence, because the fingers are not written.
A new note and a new finger position to learn! This song also features a short bass solo.
Legato - smooth playing
After each slur (curved line), try to create a short gap. This helps to shape a musical phrase (musical sentence).
If it feels too difficult, don’t worry. You can gradually incorporate it into your practice and performance.
Song with legato & staccato (mix).
This is a super popular song that starts with an incomplete measure. There are also many stretches in the right hand. Practice the first two lines (the first part) first. Once you’ve mastered this part, move on to the 3rd and 4th lines. Be patient with this song! It will also be great if you can play the right hand legato and the left hand short. This song is perfect for training hand independence
Pay attention to the fingers switching!
Try to memorize at least 5 notes from the second octave (C, D, E, F, G)
In the following exercise, please check the notes you are playing with the notes that we learn in the previous video. if is too difficult to learn, feel free to write some letters to the note, but few notes, not literally every note. Make sure you use the correct fingering.
Song is starting from 1:02, before that you have explanation about Dynamic.
Practice section by section, pay attention to the stretches on the right hand.
Gradually increase the speed, practice slow.
Excellent warm-up exercises. Practice them daily, gradually increasing the speed.
This song you should to play one octave higher.
Here in this song you have some new dynamic signs (crescendo & decrescendo).
A very important lesson, especially on accidentals. By mastering accidentals, you can greatly expand your overall knowledge of music.
- A sharp (♯) raises the note a half step (on the accordion keyboard, moving in the direction on your feet). Play the next key to the right.
- A flat ( ♭) lowers the note a half step. Play the next key to the left.
- A natural (♮) cancels a previous ♯ or♭. A natural is always a white key
G Major song: It's great if you can play this song legato, follow the slurs (phrases), and create gaps between them.
Pay attention to the fingers, they are different then C and G major
Great song for making combo - major/minor chord
From bar 9, the song is having kind of variation, very similar to the first part.
The bass pattern for a major alternating chord is as follows:
Step 1: Press the C bass note (root) with your 4th finger.
Step 2: Play the C major chord button, with your 3rd finger.
Step 3: Alternate/cross to the G bass note (dominant) with your 2nd finger.
Step 4: Return to the C major chord, with your 3rd finger.
From 2:09 I am playing the exercises.
Ode to Joy & The Waltz
The bass pattern for a minor alternating chord is as follows:
Step 1: Press the C bass note (root) with your 4th finger.
Step 2: Play the C minor chord button, with your 2nd finger.
Step 3: Alternate/cross to the G bass note (dominant) with your 3rd finger.
Step 4: Return to the C minor chord, with your 2nd finger.
From 1:10 I am playing the exercises.
Very popular song. Pay more attention to the 3rd and 4th line. Practice slow, line by line.
Watch carefully the video. Pay attention to the coordination between both hands. Listen!
Practice slow, section by section, be patient with this song.
The bass remains the same throughout the entire song (Dm, Am, F, C). Listen carefully to the rhythm and the coordination between both hands. If you understand it at the beginning, you will be able to play the whole song without any issues, as the same rhythmic patterns are repeated.
First, learn the scale with your left hand. Once you are ready, start practicing with both hands.
My advice: Practice only the ascending scale first (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C). Then practice only the descending scale (C, B, A, G, F, E, D, C). Finally, practice both ways, slowly.
The last row of chords is called DIMINISHED chord row.
The diminished chord is indicated by a small “d” above the note or in some another books with “dim” above the note.
Pay attention to the stretches. Also, this song has very nice, rich dynamics.
Don’t rush with the scales. Once you master one scale, move on to the next.
In this video I am playing only A minor scale (natural and harmonic way), in the picture which is attached in the video you have more minor examples with written fingers. Feel free to try the another scales, but even if you practice only a minor, will be totally enough and usefull.
Practice slow, then gradually increase the speed.
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