Accordion Revival

Accordion Revival is a triple entendre. Its aim is to save and "revive" old accordions by helping accordionists maintain, repair, and modernize them. But it also supports the ongoing accordion "revival" by providing information about accordions. In addition, I have been accused of approaching accordions with a "missionary fervor", as one might encounter in an old time "revival" meeting. So I think I have chosen a good name for this site.

Most of the space here is dedicated to helping you maintain, repair, and modify your accordions. You will find articles on a variety of specific topics. and I will add more as time allows.

Even if you have no intention of doing your own repairs, you might like to understand what needs to be done and how it is done so you can better choose a professional repairperson and better evaluate his or her work. With that end in mind, I am beginning to accumulate a list, posted down the left margin of this page, of professional accordion repair persons as a resource to those who do not wish to do their own repairs. If you wish to be on that list, just email me your contact info and the information you would like me to include in your listing.

This site is organized as follows:

Accordion Repair 1 on the sidebar is oriented toward evaluation and diagnosis of problems and provides specific instructions for making the simplest and most common repairs.

Accordion Repair 2 provides specific instructions for making many of the more challenging repairs.

Accordion Repair 3 is dedicated to tuning.

Owner's Manual describes and makes available "Piano Accordion Owner's Manual and Buyers Guide", which is a good primer for this website, as it provides the context and background knowledge needed to fully understand and appreciate the articles posted here.

PIANO ACCORDION OWNER'S MANUAL AND BUYER'S GUIDE.

This 164 page fully illustrated soft cover book explains and shows how accordions work, what features and options are available, and how to recognize which options your accordion has. It explains and illustrates what most commonly goes wrong and shows you how to recognize when those repairs are needed. It provides you the information you need in order to decide which type of accordion to buy, and offers suggestions on where to look, how much to pay, and how to take proper care of it. You can order it here.

Use the links below to explore this site. Questions? Comments? Contact me via email.

George Bachich

About The Author

I am fascinated by accordions and see a great need to rescue the old instruments that have been deteriorating for decades. I get a real boost every time I am able to breathe new life into a neglected old accordion.**** I began repairing my own accordions about eleven years ago. However, as word of that spread, other people in my area began to ask me to help them with their accordions, too. At first I never charged anyone because it was my hobby, I was still learning, and above all, I wanted to help them get their accordions back into action. But eventually, it got to be too much. There was obviously a lot of demand for accordion repair, especially free accordion repair, and I only had so much time, so I began to charge. Word continued to spread and people began to come from farther away. I took on more interesting repair jobs, tuning projects, and some complete rebuilds, and I got pretty good at it.

In the process I found myself answering a lot of questions about how accordions work, what goes wrong with them, and what to watch out for when buying a used accordion. A few friends began suggesting that I write a book to share with everyone what I had been sharing with them, and I thought that sounded like fun, so I wrote Piano Accordion Owner's Manual and Buyers Guide for everyone who owns or is considering owning an accordion.

To my pleasant surprise, it has received very good reviews, and sales have exceeded my initial expectations. It also appeals to a much wider audience than I had in mind when I wrote it. Although I thought I was writing for a primarily American audience, I have learned that the USA comprises only a tiny portion of the accordion market. Approximately half my sales have been to people in other countries (37 other countries, as of October 23, 2019). If you click the book title above, the link will take you to the "Owner's Manual" page, where you can learn more about my book and decide whether you might benefit from owning a copy.

George Bachich, October 23, 2019

Why Accordions?

The accordion is the most capable and versatile instrument I know. It can effectively accompany and complement practically any other combination of instruments, it is one of the best solo instruments, it can even be a one man band, and it is portable.

The best accordion players inspire us all to try to learn to play like them, but it doesn’t matter if we ever achieve that level, as we can all get plenty of enjoyment out of our accordions at whatever level we play. The accordion is really everyone's instrument. It is easy enough to manage that any of us can learn to play simple, satisfying, beautiful music at home, even if we never intend to perform on stage. Accordions are alive; they breathe, they vibrate warmly on our chest, they generate mood and excitement. Their haunting timbre draws us eagerly into the music.

All this makes it hard for me to understand how such a fine instrument could have suffered such an ignominious decline in popularity over the last half of the twentieth century. For cultural reasons, and through no fault of its own, the accordion fell from being a universally accepted multicultural icon to being an embarrassment, and the butt of snide and condescending jokes. Neglected in basements and garages for decades, the millions of accordions produced and sold in the United States between 1935 and 1970 slowly deteriorated, and many died.

But that is turning around now. In just about every musical genre, creative artists are rediscovering that the accordion has a proper and meaningful role to play. Accordions appear on stage with the big stars, as well as in music videos and in TV commercials. Accordions are cool again. It's okay to have one now, and to admit that you play. Long dormant accordions are being pulled out of storage and brought to life by long dormant musicians eager to recapture the music of their past. Life-long piano players are discovering the benefits of the accordion's versatility and portability, and are adding accordions to their stable of instruments. Younger generations, unaware of and unaffected by the oh, so yesterday notion that accordions might somehow be uncool, are embracing accordions as they deserve to be embraced.

As this modern accordion revival unfolds, the old instruments are being called back into service. They are coming out of the closet and finding their rightful places in living rooms, parks, restaurants, clubs, and even on stage. This new interest in accordions creates a need for information about accordions. Accordion Revival intends to provide it.

Because there are so many old accordions that need rescue and currently so few people to rescue them, I am dedicating this website to recruiting the army of rescuers needed. I am happy to know that you are interested in joining that army. My goal is to provide you all the information you need to get the job done.

I also offer Piano Accordion Owner's Manual and Buyers Guide, a soft cover book providing good background information about how accordions work, what features, options, and configurations are available, and what commonly goes wrong with them. Click the book title to learn more.

George Bachich

Questions? Comments? Contact me via email.