Don’t worry Steve you’ll still need your earplugs at Twinwoods as I’ll be taking my new toy, this 120 bass Italian piano accordion:
As well as being a superb traditional accordion with musette tuning, it also has a midi output on every note, so is a bit like an electronic keyboard as well. Using an external expander I can have all sorts of different sounds with the accordion including automatic percussion from the bass notes, a bit like a theatre organ. It’s great for quickly arranging midi files in Cakewalk too as I just play and record in real time – I never got on with piano or keyboard instruments, but was somehow able to pick up the piano accordion quite quickly. I’ll have to try connecting the midi output to a midi controlled organ sometime to see how that sounds!
:org: Some YouTube videos showing the above accordion for anyone interested further:
In traditional form playing Carl Frei’s “Serenade No 13”…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=puj1t47r5SY
Busking in Hereford at a Christmas Market…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kT-gphWtB3c
Demo of midi system (interrupted by phone ringing and then camera battery going!)…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUI1rKGxtA