Rediscovering_The_Wonders_Of_Accordions

							Title:
Rediscovering The Wonders Of Accordi
ons

Word Count:
421

Summary:
There seems to be fewer and fewer b
ands which include accordion in the
  list of instruments they play. Typ
ical modern bands use drums, electr
ic guitar, bass guitar, and keyboar
ds but accordions? No. It is no won
der Generations X and Y generally r
egard accordion as a thing of the p
ast. Although there are still one o
r two modern bands which proudly in
corporate accordions in their music
, it would still take a lot of conv
incing before several people buy th
e idea of listening to ac...
Keywords:
Accordions, keyboards

Article Body:
There seems to be fewer and fewer b
ands which include accordion in the
  list of instruments they play. Typ
ical modern bands use drums, electr
ic guitar, bass guitar, and keyboar
ds but accordions? No. It is no won
der Generations X and Y generally r
egard accordion as a thing of the p
ast. Although there are still one o
r two modern bands which proudly in
corporate accordions in their music
, it would still take a lot of conv
incing before several people buy th
e idea of listening to accordion-ac
companied music on a regular basis.
  But those who are interested to di
scover the wonders of accordion can
  listen to bands like Those Darn Ac
cordions (TDA), a rock-and-roll ban
d with an exciting twist. In their
website, TDA members Susan Garramon
e and Susie Davis assure listeners
that the band would try its best to
  revolutionize people's view of the
  said instrument.

Wait, what exactly are people's und
erstanding of the squeezeboxes (ano
ther term for accordion) that needs
 to be rearranged in the first plac
e? Well, for one, accordions are bu
lky and lack the sleek sophisticati
on of modern instruments. Squeezebo
xes look like a much more complicat
ed, 'pleated' version of keyboards.
 Though dating back from the eighte
enth century, squeezeboxes have new
er models which are more refined in
 appearance but somehow, accordion
is still seemingly outdated in toda
y's band standards. As a matter of
fact, squeezeboxes are often the su
bject of ridicule in cartoons and s
itcoms. On the brighter side, thoug
h, squeezeboxes are the choice inst
rument of famous musicians John Lin
nell, Boozoo Chavis and Beau Jocques.

Music-wise, the sound produced by a
ccordions is incomparable. To be sp
ecific, music is derived when the '
pleats' of the squeezeboxes are alt
ernately compressed and expanded. B
utton accordion, an older version o
f keyboard-like squeezebox, have bu
ttons that a musician press to crea
te distinct and pleasant melody, es
pecially when appropriately accompa
nied by other instruments such as g
uitar and drums. For instance, four
 members of TDA play accordions whi
le the other two play drums and bas
s guitar. The result? Well, let's j
ust say that people love it. Long b
efore TDA, the Ulster-Scots have al
ready discovered the wonders of squ
eezeboxes, whether played alone or
as an accompaniment to flute or har
p. Accordion, indeed, has a niche i
n the rich musical culture of the S
cots. But Scots or no Scots, many c
an appreciate squeezeboxes only if
they give these underrated instrume
nts a much-deserved chance. The you
nger generation, adventurous as the
y are, should make it a point to li
sten to modern accordion-playing ba
nds to enrich their musical senses
and add variety to their playlists.