Free-bass system

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Main article: Accordion

A free-bass system is a system of left-hand

performer greater ability to play melodies with the left-hand and form one's own chords. The left-hand buttonboard consists of single-note buttons with a range of three octaves or more, in contrast to the standard Stradella bass system, which offers a shorter range of single bass notes, plus preset major, minor, dominant seventh, and diminished chord buttons. (Pressing a single preset chord button sounds a three-note chord.) The term "free-bass system" refers to various left-hand manual systems that provide this functionality:[1]
The Stradella system does not have buttons for different octaves of the bass notes, which limits the types of melodies and basslines that can be performed with the left hand.

Three chromatic free-bass systems compared
  • Two related layouts exist as mirror versions of the chromatic button accordion, these were marketed in the US by the Giulietti Accordion Company as "Bassetti".[2][3][4][5]
  • The "quint" free-bass system invented by
    Willard Palmer – later patented by Titano, has extra bass rows to extend the existing bass arrangement of the Stradella system.[6]
  • The quint version and chromatic-button versions were available in "converter" (or "transformer") models with a control to switch from standard Stradella to free-bass.[7]
  • A piano-like layout exists that mirrors the right-hand keyboard of a piano accordion, with round buttons laid out like piano keys. This system is popular in Asian piano accordions, especially in Azeri garmon.
  • A hybrid Chromatic/Stradella system known as the Moschino free-bass system is available. The system arranges the left-hand buttons so chromatic arrangement of keys, adjoining Circle-of-Fifths, chord inversions, and alternate chord voicings are available to the player simultaneously. A famous accordion musician and proponent of the advantages of the Moschino free-bass system was George Secor, and links to a more detailed description of the system is included on his wikipedia page.
  • Other less popular arrangements exist, such as the Kuehl system.

History

By the year 1900, the

chromatically ordered single notes next to the standard bass.[8] In 1900 in Moscow Russian master Bakanov made a garmon with piano keyboards for both right and left hands each w/ 30 Keys from C to F. From 1906 the brothers Kiselevs' factory in Tula began to produce bayans with the three-row free-bass left keyboard.[9]

In the United States, the virtuoso John Serry Sr. designed and built a working model of a free-bass system to assist in the performance of both classical and symphonic jazz compositions in 1940. It incorporated dual keyboards for the soloists' left hand based upon two sets of reeds which were tuned in octaves. This provided the soloist with a total range of tones which exceeded three and one half octaves. The dual keyboard design is illustrated below and was accessed through the use of a switch mechanism to provide independent access for the performers thumb onto Keyboard #2 and the performer's remaining fingers onto Keyboard #1.[10][11]

Keyboard #2 

 __F#_G#_A#____C#_D#____F#_G#_A#____C#_D#____F#_G#_A#____C#_
 _F__G__A__B__C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C__D_

Keyboard #1 

 ___F#_G#_A#____C#_D#____F#_G#_A#____C#_D#____F#_G#_A#____C#__
 __F__G__A__B__C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C__D_

Efforts to popularize

Thus this

traditional music roots into an established instrument for orchestras.[12] An orchestra was put together, touring Germany to introduce the new concept. The company also supplied sheet music for this new type of accordion.[12]
Although these were reportedly popular, it was not until later when the instrument became more widespread.

In Northern Europe, free-bass accordionist

composers in his native Denmark began to write works for him since 1958.[15]
In 1968 he arranged the manufacture of accordions with nothing but free-bass layouts to accommodate newcomers, as free-bass accordions would otherwise always include standard bass.

In some Russian, Canadian

conservatoires, free bass accordion is considered a serious instrument for study and there is now a large modern repertoire for it. Free bass accordion is taught at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. In the United States, free bass instruments are much less well known despite attempts to popularize them by Palmer and Hughes and the Giulietti Accordion Company[17][18] in the 1960s and 1970s. In Canada, the accordionist Joseph Macerollo even collaborated on the development of a detailed syllabus for students of the Free-bass accordion while on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music Toronto (RCMT) in the mid 20th century.[19]

During this period several American accordionists demonstrated the unique orchestral sound of the instrument through live performances as well as by composing original works which featured the instrument. Included among this group was

Accordion music genres
)

Notes

  1. ^ Monichon wrote, "En 1912, la maison Hohner produira ses premières « basses chromatiques » .... La 'Coopérative Stradella' mettra au point, en 1912, un instrument de 120 basses avec trois rangées de 'notes chromatique'..."—Pierre Monichon, Francesco Giannattasio and B. Bugiolacchi, Chronological Synthesis of the Evolution of the Accordion (1984).
  2. ^ Ole Schmidt made the following comment: "I hated accordion until I met Mogens Ellegaard. He made me decide to write an accordion concerto for him." Ole Schmidt, cited in the CD booklet for Contemporary Danish Accordion Music, performed by Mogens Ellegaard with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ole Schmidt (Solrod Strand, Denmark: Independent Music, 1987).

References

  1. ^ Dan Lindgren, "Free-bass Systems Compared"
  2. ^ "Freiburger accordion workshop, document on free bass". Archived from the original on 1 May 2007.
  3. ^ Index of patents Issued by the United States Patent Office, 1968, p. 481 - Giulietti Accordion Co. - Patent issued for the bass section of the accordion on Google Books
  4. ^ The Giulietti Sound: In Search of the History of My Accordion. Neijnens, Sander. The Netherlands, 2008 The Giulietti Sound on wolrdcat.org
  5. ^ "The Purchaser's Guide to the Music Industries, 1972. p. 168 Giulietti Accordion Corporation in New York City on Google Books
  6. ^ "Titano Accordion Company, History". Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Converter Bass". Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  8. ^ Bjarne Glenstrup, Harmonikaens Historie (1972), The University of Copenhagen (Faculty of Music), p. 43
  9. ^ Mirek, Alfred (1968). Справочник по гармоникам (in Russian). Moscow. p. 92.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ISBN 978-0-252-03675-0
  11. ^ "Accordion Lessons and Rentals in Buford, Dunwoody and Lilburn GA". Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  12. ^ a b The Accordion Archived 2017-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, paragraph 25.
  13. ^ "University of Toronto - Faculty of Music - Our People". music.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  14. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia - Biography of Joseph Macerollo on thecanadianencyclopedi.ca
  15. ^ Mogens Ellegaard, cited in "Interview," The Classical Accordion Society of Canada Newsletter (March 1990), 3–5.
  16. ^ "University of Toronto - Faculty of Music - Our People". music.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  17. ^ Index of patents Issued by the United States Patent Office, 1968, p. 481 - Giulietti Accordion Co. - Patent issued for the bass section of the accordion on Google Books
  18. ^ The Giulietti Sound: In Search of the History of My Accordion. Neijnens, Sander. The Netherlands, 2008 The Giulietti Sound on wolrdcat.org
  19. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia - Biography of Joseph Macerollo on thecanadianencyclopedi.ca
  20. ^ Eastman School of Music - University of Rochester - Sibley Music Library: John J. Serry Sr. Collection score "Concerto in C Major (1967) for Free Bass Accordion " Folder 15 & 16 p. 10 archived at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music Sibley Music Library Special collections on esm.rochester.edu
  21. ^ Library of Congress Copyright Office, "Concerto in C Major for Bassetti Accordion", Composer: John Serry, June 4, 1968, Copyright # EP247602.
  22. ^ Accordion World, Bedford Hills, NY, 1968.
  23. ^ Library of Congress Copyright Office - Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series - Music - July-December 1968, Vol. 22, Part 5, Number 2, Section 1, 1970, p. 1626 "Concerto in C Major for Bassetti Accordion" Op. 1 John Serry 1968, Solo Arrangement Jan. 1, 1968 No. EP247602 on books.google.com
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