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[Deleted User]

Naw, not Accordions, this is what you need Midi Concertina

That's rather unique.

[Sam Spoons]

I believe Concertina Chap of this parish has one, or something very similar.

[shufflebeat]

That is amazing! A digital accordion that makes every instrument it models sound exactly like....an accordion!

Hopefully they will bring out an inventive soundscape synth version, hardcore Accordion. Perhaps a fitting style that would fit in Hacktivist.

Accordions are making a comeback. 2015 The Year Of The Accordion A.D.

The Truth In Accordions.

That's funny now, but be very careful what you wish for.

[Wonks]

It would create a huge speed-up in global warming when they light the bonfires.

[Deleted User]

That is amazing! A digital accordion that makes every instrument it models sound exactly like....an accordion!

Hopefully they will bring out an inventive soundscape synth version, hardcore Accordion. Perhaps a fitting style that would fit in Hacktivist.

Accordions are making a comeback. 2015 The Year Of The Accordion A.D.

The Truth In Accordions.

That's funny now, but be very careful what you wish for.

Whac-A-Mole.

[The Korff]

Accordions are making a comeback. 2015 The Year Of The Accordion A.D.

The Truth In Accordions.

That's funny now, but be very careful what you wish for.

It's happening... To be honest I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner, but then the mainstream music biz has always been pretty slow on the uptake.

[Dr Huge Longjohns]

The Midi Concertina. What next? Midi bagpipes? No, please don't tell me they already exist...

[Deleted User]

The Midi Concertina. What next? Midi bagpipes? No, please don't tell me they already exist...

HEVIA.
VPipes.

Best Sound Module I've Heard Thus Far....

[Deleted User]

....and now for something completely different.

[Dr Huge Longjohns]

That is jaw-dropping. No idea what it's got to do with this thread but thanks for the link nonetheless. Absolutely fantastic and a new one for this philistine.

[iWalkEast]

I've always thought piano was the best to learn for the sake of learning music theory.. I also thought learning guitar would teach you music theory the same, am I wrong? Isn't it that once you know enough music theory its easier to pick up any other instrument?

[Ben Asaro]

I've always thought piano was the best to learn for the sake of learning music theory.. I also thought learning guitar would teach you music theory the same, am I wrong? Isn't it that once you know enough music theory its easier to pick up any other instrument?

Theory is theory, the instrument is irrelevant. Having a solid foundation in music theory may make it easier to grasp what another instrument is capable of (as would knowledge in arranging and orchestration) but not necessarily make it easier to play ... any instrument requires a lot of practice, there are no shortcuts.

I think they only (arguable) advantage a piano type of keyboard has is that the notes are all laid out in front of you in a format that is imprinted on pretty much everyone's psyche at this point and you don't necessarily need to develop a special technique to get sound out of it (again, arguably).

(Apologies for the necro-reply, but I found the question interesting)

[Martin Walker]

I think the only (arguable) advantage a piano type of keyboard has is that the notes are all laid out in front of you in a format that is imprinted on pretty much everyone's psyche at this point and you don't necessarily need to develop a special technique to get sound out of it

Spot on Ben - this is something my wife discovered when she started playing harp a few years ago.

Although the strings on a harp are arranged 8 to an octave (with on a lever harp the options of 'sharping' specific notes in each octave, so you can play in various keys), they extend away from you, so you have to judge which note/interval you're playing by front/back spacing rather than having all the notes spread out from side to side in front of you.

It takes some getting used to!


Martin

[CS70]

Isn't it that once you know enough music theory its easier to pick up any other instrument?

Well in the end theory only tells you that so and so intervals and so and so chords exist etc.

It's the fine-control neural structures in your brain that allow you to move your fingers quickly and precisely with easy, and it takes a good amount of time with good practice to build them up.

One advantage that you may, or you may not have - depending on your proficiency in your current instrument - is that you may already know how to practice well, the rules are mostly independent on the instrument, and that definitely allow you to get some where as fast as possible. But not usually that fast.

[Wonks]

There's also a difference between learning on a monophonic instrument and a polyphonic one. I learnt to play the trumpet when I was young, gave it up after grade 5, but in hindsight I didn't really learn any theory apart from note lengths; I just read the notes from the sheet music and played them. You got to know the fingering for a note and then it was (fairly) easy to sight-read. Didn't really help me at all when I took up guitar and it takes me a long time to read a piece of music and work out the notes, whereas with the trumpet I didn't really think too much about the note names, just that it was a certain note on the stave and I used x combination of valves to play it.

[The Bunk]

....I'm late to this thread (no, I'm not a drummer.... ) but reading the last few posts...
The Harp one is intriguing, and yes I bet that takes some getting used to. But if you consider a violin, which I took to grade 5, you've actually got it similar but the other way round - the scales/notes go up as you play the "neck" towards you. Plus, if played properly, it should be nigh-on horizontal and perpendicular to your eyes IIRC. And it's also fretless, once you get beyond the level of your teacher marking out frets with thin strips of masking tape - at least that's how it was done when I was a kid. So your angle of view if you like is, like the Harp, not a good one; far-to-near, with no obvious visual guide, unlike a piano which is, as Martin said, one side to the other and probably easier to suss out (at least I think that's how they phrase it in the Oxford Musical Dictionary).
Personally I found going from guitar (and the violin years ago) to the piano easier in terms of the theory side (i.e. notes 1, 3 and 5 for a major etc) but the actual finger / hand movements - especially the left hand - tricky. But one tip I did learn from a teacher is that basically, you're teaching your hands / fingers to do something they're not used to...so it will come. And the point about practice discipline mentioned also is highly relevant.

[blinddrew]

There's also a difference between learning on a monophonic instrument and a polyphonic one. I learnt to play the trumpet when I was young, gave it up after grade 5, but in hindsight I didn't really learn any theory apart from note lengths; I just read the notes from the sheet music and played them. You got to know the fingering for a note and then it was (fairly) easy to sight-read. Didn't really help me at all when I took up guitar and it takes me a long time to read a piece of music and work out the notes, whereas with the trumpet I didn't really think too much about the note names, just that it was a certain note on the stave and I used x combination of valves to play it.

I found a similar thing learning the cello, I wasn't really learning the notes, or how to read music; just that this mark here meant that finger there.