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Book: Fingering for the Accordion |
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Robert L. Smith has been kind enough to release his fine book, Fingering for the Accordion (rev. 2018), with a Creative Commons license and with an express instruction to share freely.
I was privileged to proofread this book, and I am privileged to share his pdf free on this website.
Most importantly, Smith did historical research on the literature of piano fingering and more importantly on the literature of organ fingering, and discovered that organists knew how to play legato thirds and legato sixths. He details the technique for thirds on major scales starting on p. 23 of the book. The technique can be adapted to use on sixths for major scales as well. These techniques seem like a crab or sidewinder climbing or descending the scales.
He clarifies just how an accordion is not a piano in terms of fingering, and how we can adapt. He catalogs varieties of right hand fingering for different size hands, and expands our understanding of left hand fingering as well.
I provide a pdf to each of my students, and use Smith’s alternative fingerings extensively in my teaching.
Much of the information in this book is new to accordionists, to my knowledge, and I recommend it to anyone squeezing a box. Happy reading!
I was privileged to proofread this book, and I am privileged to share his pdf free on this website.
Most importantly, Smith did historical research on the literature of piano fingering and more importantly on the literature of organ fingering, and discovered that organists knew how to play legato thirds and legato sixths. He details the technique for thirds on major scales starting on p. 23 of the book. The technique can be adapted to use on sixths for major scales as well. These techniques seem like a crab or sidewinder climbing or descending the scales.
He clarifies just how an accordion is not a piano in terms of fingering, and how we can adapt. He catalogs varieties of right hand fingering for different size hands, and expands our understanding of left hand fingering as well.
I provide a pdf to each of my students, and use Smith’s alternative fingerings extensively in my teaching.
Much of the information in this book is new to accordionists, to my knowledge, and I recommend it to anyone squeezing a box. Happy reading!
