Phillip Nadvesnik

In deinen augen (F. Arh) tutorial, sheet music and accompaniment

2020-06-28T19:53:00.011+10:00

Instrumental waltz 'In deinen augen' by Slovenian accordionist Franc Arh (Lechtaler Buam).
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Razposajena harmonika (F. Mihelič) tutorial, sheet music and accompaniment

2020-06-20T19:45:00.002+10:00

Instrumental polka 'Razposajena harmonika' by Slovenian accordionist Franc Mihelič (Ansambel Franca Miheliča).

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Cvetoči lokvanj/Seerosen-Walzer (V. & S. Avsenik) tutorial, sheet music and accompaniment

2020-06-12T17:26:00.007+10:00

Popular waltz 'Cvetoči lokvanj' (German: Seerosen-Walzer) by Vilko & Slavko Avsenik from Slovenia.

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Čez Pungrt (R. Žlindra) sheet music

2020-05-24T17:20:00.002+10:00

Instrumental polka 'Čez Pungrt' by Rok Žlindra (Ansambel Roka Žlindre) from Slovenia.

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Denis Novato's Australian tour 2020

2020-01-12T21:40:00.003+11:00

Slovenian world champion of the diatonic button accordion from Trieste, Denis Novato with John Ferfolja from Toronto on guitar will be performing in Melbourne and Sydney in February and March 2020.

Here are the dates and venues:

1 March, 1pm: Austrian Club Melbourne
7 March: Club Italia Mounties, Sydney
8 March: Slovenian Club Triglav Mounties, Sydney

Matiček se ženi (I. Podpečan) sheet music

2019-12-25T15:30:00.000+11:00

Instrumental polka 'Matiček se ženi'/'Fröhliche Hochzeitsrunde' by Igor Podpečan (Igor in Zlati Zvoki) from Slovenia.

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What is the Slovenian Oberkrainer accordion rhythm technique and how to play it

2019-12-21T22:15:00.006+11:00

Slovenian/Oberkrainer style accordion rhythm is a technique used by Slovenian and Austrian alpine style accordionists to complete the rhythm section in a trio or quintet, by playing chords repeatedly as semiquavers in polkas, or quavers in waltzes. In Slovenian it's known as 'tresenje' (shaking), for its 'shaking' sound, and 'spremljavo' (accompaniment). In German it's called 'Oberkrainer begleitung' (Oberkrainer accompaniment). In trios with vocals, or quintets with a trumpet and clarinet, the accordion never only sticks to melody or rhythm, but fluidly alternates between melody and rhythm.

It was developed by Slavko Avsenik who wanted to create a fuller sounding rhythm from the accordion while accompanying the melody sections (vocals and trumpet with clarinet) in his iconic 'Oberkrainer' style, which evolved from the 1950s onward. Here is an explanation which is on display at the Avsenik Museum in Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia:

He felt that he needed to repeat the first note in a bar - so the crotchet in a waltz was played as two quavers, the quaver in a polka was played as two semiquavers, and for the chord he always used the quintal chord. Only with this kind of rhythmical playing of the accompaniment, which actually replaces percussion (drum sticks), he gave the music, especially the polka, real life energy.

The translations on display at the Avsenik Museum call it 'tresenje' in Slovenian, 'flattern' in German and 'tremolo' in English. However tremolo is better known for the vibration that comes from an accordion's musette tuning.

The effect is an energetic rhythm, which, when completed with bass/baritone and guitar, doesn't need any additional percussion whatsoever. Coincidentally, a similar effect is now used in some forms of modern music.

I'd also like to add that there is not much you need to do with the bellows, in this technique. As opposed to the American-Polish polka style, there is definitely no actual bellow shaking (in and out shaking of the bellows). Depending on how you naturally move the bellows during playing, this will accentuate the effect anyway. There is no perfect way to do Oberkrainer accompaniment, and you will find that all accordionists vary slightly in their technique (some accordionists don't even play the bass notes since the basses aren't very important here, and some tap their left hand slightly on the bass side just to accentuate the effect).

This technique has since been used by thousands of accordionists around the world who play this style, predominantly in Europe, but also spanning to North and South America, Japan, and Australia. Every Slovenian/Oberkrainer style accordionist uses this technique, whether accompanying a band or just another accordionist.

I've been asked several times how this sound is achieved, and luckily now there are online resources that can help you learn, for free. Since it is hard to find any resources in English, hopefully this list can help anyone who cannot speak German or Slovenian.

TurboReini's ebooks

Reini (TurboReini) from Germany with Mario Brunetti published 3 free ebooks to help learn the technique for piano accordion, and 2 ebooks for the diatonic button accordion (steirische harmonika). They can be obtained from turboreini.de (add it to your cart, then download it for free). I've linked to them below to help anyone who doesn't understand German (although you can use Google Translate on his website). The books are mostly sheet music with different variations and techniques that can be used, along with fingering and different keys/chords. You don't have to understand German to understand these ebooks:

However, reading sheet music isn't a requirement to learn anything in music, after all Avsenik himself did not learn how to read sheet music until later in his life. Reini has also made videos explaining the technique. Although it's in German, he shows the technique slowly and clearly as he's doing it.

Turbo Reini's tutorial video part 1

Turbo Reini's tutorial video part 2

Other resources on YouTube

Ottino Christian from Austria has also made a video on 'begleitung' for the diatonic button accordion (steirische harmonika), spoken in German.

Jakob Bergmann from Tirol has done one as well, for the diatonic button accordion, also spoken in German.

Štefan Kokalj from Slovenia has done a tutorial on 'tresenje' or 'spremljavo' in Slovenian, for the button accordion.

I hope you've found this helpful. Please contact me or leave a comment, if you'd like any additional pointers on the technique.

Hišca ob cest stoji (traditional Slovenian) basic sheet music

2019-12-13T21:27:00.000+11:00

Here are 2 basic variations of Slovenian folk song 'Hisca ob cest stoji'. First version was recorded by Boris Frank, second by Kvintet Avsenik and later by Alpski Kvintet. To keep it simple, it's only the melody of the folk song itself, and not the extra instrumental sections created by these bands.
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The first new Oberkrainer album on vinyl

2019-11-12T11:19:00.002+11:00

The first new Oberkrainer/Narodnozabavna album on vinyl in several years has been released by Andrej Toplišek Septett, called Postkarte aus Slowenien (Postcard from Slovenia). It features top Oberkrainer style musicians and vocalists from Slovenia and Austria; Andrej Toplišek (formerly Okrogli Muzikanti, accordion), Sandi Jug (Quintett Juchee, lead vocalist), Mojca Bitenc Križaj (formerly Mitja Kvintet, vocals), Mike Orešar (Igor in Zlati Zvoki, guitar), Nejc Merc (Oberkrainer Power, baritone), Tomaž Zevnik (formerly Ansambel Saša Avsenika, clarinet). It was entirely produced in Toplišek's studio.

The compositions are Toplišek's originals and are inventive, and the musicianship is full of heart and quality. The sound is very natural and not too bright or compressed or loud, compared to many recent recordings produced in Slovenia and Austria. The clarity and natural quality reminds me of some 1960s and 1970s Avsenik recordings. I can listen through the whole album without skipping a single song, unlike some several recent albums to have come out of Slovenia. This album isn't trying to make this genre into something it's not, while it still brings something new to Oberkrainer music that will make you want to listen to it again and again. Meanwhile, you will hear something you haven't heard done before in this space.

The only reason I'm writing about this, is because a lot of new recordings from Slovenia and Austria sound too similar to one another, and don't stand out from one another. The same goes for the songs themselves. Perhaps a lot of them are made for the sake of merely having an album and some self promotion.

This sort of creativity and quality is worth a listen for any Oberkrainer fan, and I hope this album inspires more creativity and quality in this genre, which is currently facing a bit of a personality crisis; the Slovenian TV and Radio space seem to be trying to turn it into something that this music is not, and are taking away from the music itself. Maybe this is the start of an 'underground' Oberkrainer/Narodnozabavna, that focuses on the soul of the music instead of marketing, sexiness or gimmicks.

How many recent albums in this genre come out, that actually make you want to recommend it to others, and listen to every single song, again and again?

You won't be able to find this album for purchase online, but can order it directly from Andrej Toplišek (he speaks English, Slovenian and German) through Facebook, and he has no problem sending it anywhere. It comes with an mp3 download code so you can listen to it anywhere you want, but it's a great experience just listening to the vinyl, without your phone, with no distractions.

Matjakova polka (Ansambel Tomaža Rota) sheet music

2019-09-20T17:20:00.000+10:00

Instrumental polka 'Matjakova polka' by Tomaž Rot (Ansambel Tomaža Rota) from Slovenia.

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Harmonika Valček (J. Golob) sheet music

2019-07-24T17:37:00.002+10:00

Instrumental waltz 'Harmonika valcek' by Janko Golob (Kvintet Štatenberg from Germany).
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Slovenska polka (A. Blumauer) sheet music

2019-03-28T17:41:00.000+11:00

Instrumental polka 'Slovenska polka' by Andrej Blumauer (1932-2013) from Slovenia. This arrangement for the accordion is inspired by Jože Galič from Slovenia's arrangement for Ansambel Slovenija (melody was played on harmonica by Galič) recorded in the 1980s. I've written up arrangements in the original key (Db) and in a less challenging key (C).
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Gremo v Mengeš (F. Mihelič) sheet music

2019-03-04T13:01:00.006+11:00

Instrumental polka 'Gremo v Mengeš' (Going to Mengeš) by Franc Mihelič (Ansambel Franca Miheliča) from Slovenia.
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Denis Novato's Australian performances 2019

2019-01-23T00:14:00.001+11:00

Slovenian world champion of the diatonic button accordion, Denis Novato with John Ferfolja from Toronto on guitar will be performing in Australia in February 2019.

Click here to read more »

What accordion will give you the typical Slovenian sound?

2018-11-24T18:55:00.001+11:00

When I started my search for a piano accordion with a typical Slovenian (Oberkrainer) sound (see Avsenik, Alpenoberkrainer, etc), I had no idea what to look for. Further information was hard to obtain through research of my own, so I had to turn to contacts from central Europe who were happy to explain what they use and what makes the sound that we know and love (as well as using Google Translate on German and Slovenian accordion forums).

I hope the following information can assist anyone who is looking for that sound and not sure where to start, particularly outside of central Europe where it is difficult to find this information. Please note this also applies for chromatic button accordions.

Please only take this information as guidance; there's no solid rule about the accordion you should use. If you're able to, try as many as you can for yourself and choose the sound and feel that you like. There's no right or wrong.

Which alpine sound are you looking for?

Do you prefer the Oberkrainer sound, or the button accordion (Steirische) sound? Both are available on piano accordions, but it will affect the accordion's tuning, construction, weight and price range.

If you aren't sure, look around on YouTube and give different bands or accordionists a listen. Once you are able to hear the subtle differences, you will eventually notice two distinct types of sounds: some boxes sound like Steirische/Slovenian button accordions, and some have a distinct, different, Slovenian Oberkrainer sound to it.

If you don't mind either sounds or don't have a preference, that'll make your purchase a lot easier (the cheaper one!). On the other hand you may prefer one over the other, as many do. If you do, here's what you will need to look for.

Button accordion sound

Piano accordions which emulate the steirische harmonika sound feature a 3 reed musette tuning and helikon basses. Most alpine accordion brands offer these types of accordions in their non-casotto variants, often using the naming convention of MH (musette and helikon).

These accordions are typically cheaper as they do not feature cassotto, and often feature high quality Tipo-a-mano reeds instead of the more expensive and higher quality A-mano reeds. I believe some cheaper brands use lesser quality reeds than either of those, which you may as well avoid. Higher quality reeds will give you a louder, richer, brighter sound compared to the lower quality reeds.

The main specifications shared between these accordions include:

Full 3 reed musette: 3 middle octave reeds tuned apart from one another to produce a degree of 'wetness' or 'tremolo'. These boxes aren't tuned too wet though, otherwise they'd be heading into French musette territory. Often abbreviated as MMM.

Additional reeds such as the lower or higher octave can make the accordion more versatile, as it can produce different sounds suited to more styles.
No cassotto (also known as tone chamber).
Helikon basses: larger and wider bass reeds which produce a deeper sound, like the steirische harmonika basses. In my opinion they don't sound identical to a real button accordion's helikon basses (but I loved them until my tastes changed). However more recently, they are becoming louder and deeper with newer developments.

Many brands currently offer these accordions but they are also available second hand. Earlier on, only Zupan sold these, however nowadays many brands offer these accordions. Those brands include but are not limited to: Beltuna, Fismen, Rutar, Alpengold, Rutar, Mengascini, Kaerntnerland and so on. There is also the Weltmeister Monte from Germany which served me well until my tastes and needs changed.

Oberkrainer sound

This is the sweeter, mellower sound that you will hear from most Oberkrainer style bands who use a piano accordion. It's become the standard for this style of music, and really suits it well. That's not to say you can't play this music on a non-cassotto accordion; in fact, don't let anyone persuade you to get a certain accordion because of what they think. Follow what sound and style you love the most.

If you are looking for this sound, there are many different options, but they all share the one feature: 3 reed musette tuning with the straight tuned reed sitting inside a tone chamber or 'cassotto', mellowing the sound emitted from that reed (here's a link to a Wikipedia article that provides a great summary of cassotto).

The musette-cassotto combination dramatically changes the musette sound, creating a smoother, sweeter, mellower sound that you will hear from most Oberkrainer bands from Europe since around the 1960s onward. Slavko Avsenik got onto it early in the 1960s with the Excelsior 1320s. Before then, it was more common to choose dry tuned musette boxes including the Hohner Verdi and Hohner Atlantic. In fact before Avsenik moved to musette-cassotto accordions, he performed and recorded for several years with a Hohner Verdi III B.

The basses on these accordions are typically not helikon bass. They are however, 4 to 5 reeds, and often feature bass cassotto, which to my understanding is not an actual tone chamber, although the reeds are positioned differently to produce a richer sound. This technique is called Winkelbass in German. My Fismen Proline has this, and the basses sound chunkier and brighter than other accordions - I like it a lot.

Different brands and models will use different reeds, construction, wood and tuning, therefore all accordions will vary with how they sound and feel. Below the most common musette-cassotto accordions that are used.

Older commonly used Oberkrainer accordions include

Hohner Morino VM - produced in the 50s and 60s in Germany. 5 reeds on bass and treble.

Slavko Avsenik played it in most recordings from some time in the 1960s till his final recordings.

This is still the go to instrument for the classic Avsenik sound, although apparently the mechanics are dated and its wooden keyboard is an old 'waterfall' style, hence some find it not ideal for playability, and some prefer it.

Many accordionists still aspire to own a Morino VM. The Morinos are also popular in other types of music as they are extremely versatile (as most 5 reed cassotto accordions are).

I've tried a Morino VM before, and the sound was just incredible - loud and full, just on the 3 reed musette register. The keys would take getting used to for me, but this is because I'm used to playing newer accordions with smoother, narrower keys compared to the VM. You can see lots of demos of the Morino VM on YouTube.

The VM has also inspired some newer oberkrainer style accordions in looks and sound. I will discuss these later.
Hohner Morino VN and VS - produced in Italy by Excelsior (and possibly some of them in Germany) in the 60s to 80s. 5 reeds on bass and treble.

Apparently they don't resemble the VM in construction or materials, and it is also heavier.
Some people describe the feeling of the keyboard something to get used to (but it depends on the individual). However many bands have performed and recorded with these accordions since the 1960s, and it has the very round, sweet sound that has become the standard.

In my opinion the sound is thicker and wetter than the classic Morino VM.
Excelsior 1320s - produced in Italy by Excelsior.

Although this isn't as common as the Morinos or Zupans, it can be heard on many of Avsenik's recordings from the 1960s, before he moved to the Morino VM. In my opinion it too had a thicker, wetter sound.
Zupan Alpe V EA or IV EA - initially produced in Slovenia and then in Italy. The V models are 5 reeds bass and treble, and the IV models are 4 reeds bass and treble. Usually the EA models treble range span from E to A (unlike the Morinos), and feature musette with cassotto.

This became the standard in the 90s and has influenced most of today's oberkrainer style accordions in sound, feel and aesthetic.

The sound is closer to the Morino VN/VS than the Morino VM, but it is still its own sound in the end. After so many years I can tell apart the Zupan sound from the rest.

I've tried a 90s V EA (I believe made in Italy) and it felt only as heavy as my current 4 reed 96 bass Fismen. The sound was bright and Morino-eqsue, and the mechanics were smooth. It didn't feel very different to my Fismen at all.

These are still being produced, however to my knowledge by a different manufacturer than previously.
Hohner Alpina - produced in Italy. All sources indicate that it should be very similar to the Zupan Alpe. Its aesthetics and sound is inspired by the Zupan. There are also button box style Hohner Alpina piano accordions.
There are others which have been used for this style of music, including the Hohner Gola, Hohner Imperator and others.

If you live in Europe or are planning to visit soon, I personally recommend going for second hand rather than new accordions, since their availability seems so high and it's a much more affordable option for not much of a sacrifice.

In my opinion, there aren't many advantages of getting a brand new accordion. The benefits of getting a used one however include the dramatically lower price, and the fact that it has already been 'played in' - it has already reached its loudest and fullest sound, and its best playability.

However if you are looking to buy a brand new accordion, here is what I have learnt from my own experience.

Currently produced accordions

Many brands sell (not necessarily all of them produce them) variants of 3 to 5 reed accordions with musette and cassotto. These brands include but are not limited to:
Beltuna (Italy), Fismen (Italy), Rutar (Slovenia - but have recently moved to Austria), Zupan, Munda (Slovenia), Alpengold (Austria), and so on.

Every now and then a new brand pops up, and it's hard to tell whether they simply order accordions from Italy to their own specifications (or very little specifications), or actually play a part in manufacturing some part of the accordion. This is the hardest information to pin down, as some companies will lie about their involvement in manufacturing the instrument.
Most Italian made Oberkrainer accordions follow the below naming convention for their models:
Number of treble reeds, number of basses, M for musette, and C for cassotto.

For example:
496CM: 4 reeds, 96 bass, cassotto and musette.
They are also available with helikon bass but it is not the typically chosen option.
Most of these come with A-mano reeds - apparently the highest quality reeds produced in Italy at the moment. From my own experience, these take the longest to develop their fullest, brightest sound, but are brighter and louder than the other types of reeds.
I'd like to mention Alpengold, whose Krainer models I am eager to try due to their sound. You can find videos on YouTube of the Krainer VM model which I think sounds very close to the classic Hohner Morino VM. The visual style of the accordion also seems to be inspired by the Morino VM.
Rutar, Munda and Fismen also seem to sell some accordions which seem inspired by the Hohner Morino VM in terms of looks and sound. Keen to try these too.
Hohner still makes variants of the Morino, however many people say that these to not resemble older Morinos in any way, and still bear the high price mark, despite some of these models carrying the Avsenik name.

I hope this can assist anyone with their hunt for a Slovenian or Oberkrainer style piano accordion. Please leave a comment if anything I've written is factually incorrect, or if you have any questions or additional information that could be helpful for other accordionists!

Edit: There is a third Slovenian sound which is utilised on piano accordions; the 'Cleveland' style sound most utilized by American Slovenes. This seems to be typically achieved on a musette, non-cassotto accordion. However the difference here is that the musette is 'dry' tuned - that is, with less tremolo than the musette sound used in Europe.

Slovenian (Steirische) button accordion - how to start?

2018-11-11T18:55:00.000+11:00

This is a list of resources I've compiled for learning and finding a Slovenian or Austrian diatonic button accordion, targeted to those who live outside of central Europe, where it can be difficult to find the resources and assistance to get started with it. I've been asked a few times for help on how to get started, what instrument to get and where to buy one, so I hope this can assist others wanting to take up this instrument.

How they work

This Wikipedia article gives a great summary on how they work, it's only a very quick read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steirische_Harmonika

Like any other accordion, the left side (if you were holding it) is the bass (harmony/accompaniment), and the right side is the treble (melody).

These accordions are bisonoric, meaning that each button on the accordion produces a different note depending on the direction of the bellows' movement (push or pull).

Helikon bases are the deep sounding bases unique to this type of accordion. The bases are typically constrained to the tuning of the box, and only allow major chords (bright tunes only, as is the style of music). Almost all of these accordions have decorative horns on the bass side but have no relevance to the sound at all.

Terminology

In Slovenia and Austria, musical notes are referred to by the German alphabetic system. Names of the tunings for the accordions follow the German system.

For example:

CFBb would be CFB.

BbEbAb would be BEsAs.

C#F#B would be CisFisH.

What to look for

While there are other ordinary diatonic button accordions around, and easier to find, they don't have the same keyboard and bass button layout as the Slovenian accordion or steirische (not to mention the unique sound and aesthetic). So you would need to look for an actual Slovenian or Austrian diatonic button accordion.

In Slovenia, these accordions are called frajtonarca or diatonična harmonika. They normally have 3 rows on the treble side, which means you can play songs in the 3 keys you're given.

For example on a CFB box, you are limited to playing songs in the keys of C, F and Bb. But that's never an issue, as songs are normally written within the constraints of 3 keys.

They come in 4 to 5 row variations as well, however that's much more common in Austria. The most common keys in Slovenia seem to be CFB and BEsAs. I used to own a less common ADG but found it too low for chirpy Slovenian songs.

I won't list brand names as there's so many of them around today and are still actively produced by both small and large companies. Nowadays, some brands assemble accordions themselves, and others contract Italian producers.

In Austria they are known as steirische harmonika and are also manufactured in Austria. They are the same as Slovenian, but are typically found in 4 or 5 row variations, often tuned just a little differently (wetter or drier), but they have the same music style, sound and appearance. Austria too has so many active brands, however to my knowledge there are more brands that produce their own rather than outsource to Italy.

How to find one

These may not be so easy to obtain where you live (for example UK, Australia, Canada, etc) but there are a few avenues to consider before buying online from Europe:

Visit a local Slovenian, Austrian (may be worth trying German as well) social club, and ask around for someone who may have a button accordion for sale, or someone who may play one. From here you may be able to find one second hand and not so expensive.
Talk to your local accordion dealer if you're lucky enough to have one! They might know someone to order from, or even have one in stock.
Look at local online trading sites like Gumtree, eBay, etc. Use search terms like slovenian accordion, austrian accordion, diatonic button accordion, steirische. If you're not on a hurry, you can set up notification emails so that you get alerted as soon as someone starts selling one in your area (or within a radius).

For beginners, there may not be lots of value in spending too much on the first accordion, as you don't know how it will pan out. You may find that you don't like it or lose enthusiasm to learn. Typically as skill and interest progresses, people turn to better accordions, but start off with a cheap box. You won't notice the difference between a basic box and a great box when you start out.

If you're planning on visiting Slovenia or Austria any time soon, it may be worth checking the local Gumtree/Craigslist equivalents like bolha.com using Slovenian keywords (diatonična harmonika, frajtonerca, and rabljena which means used) or willhaben.at with keywords used in Austria (steirische harmonika, and gebrauchte which means second hand). It seems that decent used boxes start at around 800 Euro. Whereas brand new range from 2,000€ through to 6,000€ and beyond.

Here's a link to the button accordion section on bolha.com, and here's a link to the steirische section on willhaben.at

There would also be dealers and manufacturers willing to ship internationally. Here's some examples of dealers from Slovenia and Austria stocking some used boxes however I can't vouch for them personally:

Learning resources

At the time of writing this, the most promising resources I've found are listed below, with an emphasis on resources in English.

Instruction books by Al Jevsevar

I haven't used it but it sounds promising and it's been around since the 70s. It's written by Al Jevsevar from Pennsylvania, in English, catered for the Slovenian button accordion/Steirische, and doesn't require any prior ability to read sheet music. It comes in three books, starting with a beginner level one that goes through all the basics. It's available on eBay (here's the link).

There's an app for this too

At the time of picking up the button accordion, I used a desktop app VSLN (Vsak se lahko nauči, translates to Anyone can learn) to get started, and it did a great job in place of a teacher. I believe it was only available in Slovenian at the time, but now there's an online version called GoterPlay and is also available in English. The person behind both is Slovenian button accordion teacher and champion Robert Goter.

But he's gone further than that, and gotten a mobile app done as well. It's free and available on both iOS and Android. I'm really impressed by it. Here's a link to the Android app and iOS app.

Goter demonstrating the app in Slovenian

To start learning, you choose a song from a numbered level, and it will start playing it while highlighting the buttons that need to be pressed (both bass and treble), the names of their notes, and the bellows direction.

It also allows you to switch between English, German and Slovenian, change the (virtual) accordion's tuning/keys to match your accordion, and the song speed, so that you can follow along at your desired pace. I believe extra songs are available through purchases. If you have a large enough device (or tiny fingers on a smaller device) you can play on the app's accordion too (see below).

This isn't Slovenian style but it's fantastic and this guy is rocking it on his tablet

Learn your first song with this video

Here's a tutorial video by Fred Ziwich. I found that this was an easy song to start off with (this was my first song), and learning it made me familiar with the keyboard layout and common button combinations. He's not using a Slovenian style button accordion here, but the one he's using shares the same layout it seems.

I'll add the disclaimer that I started button accordion after years of learning piano accordion, which probably made it easier for me to pick it up. You may find that this video might be more helpful after covering the basics, it just depends on the individual. If you're already familiar with another type of accordion, you might like the challenge of jumping into this tutorial.

Sheet music

Slovenia and Austria both have books available with sheet music and different types of notation.

If you're looking at Austrian books, it'll probably use the Griffschrift tabulature system that the Austrians have developed. There's an in depth explanation of it in English: https://www.volksmusikschule.at/enggriffschrift1.htm

Sheet music from Slovenia usually has normal music notation for accordion, with the corresponding button name above each note (eg. B3 for 3rd button from the chin on the 2nd row from the outside), as well as indicators for the bellow direction.

Additionally there's free sheet music available online:

If you're comfortable with using Google Translate or understand some Slovenian, frajtonerca.net forum can be a fantastic resource with free sheet music and other knowledge being shared
https://github.com/mojca/frajtonarca/tree/master/tablature

Keywords to help search for sheet music:

Slovenian: frajtonarca note, frajtonarca tablature
German: steirische harmonika griffschrift, steirische harmonika lernen, steirische noten

Other resources

Here's a video in German explaining some basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mZD4BRPb0
This link from Austria covers lots of information (in English), including how it works, sheet music examples, techniques, etc: https://www.volksmusikschule.at/english.htm
This guy blogged about his learning over a period of weeks: http://steirische.blogspot.com
You may also want to watch or listen to some accordionists who helped shape this style of music and the instruments themselves over the past 50 years. Among them are Lojze Slak and Franc Mihelič from Slovenia, both of which have written countless of popular compositions and even influenced extra buttons to be added to the instrument for ease of use and better play-ability

I hope this can assist you in getting started. If you have any additional resources you'd like to share or any questions please don't hesitate to leave a comment.

An easy way to clean metal accordion grills

2018-10-16T21:37:00.002+11:00

After researching methods to clean metal accordion grills without successfully finding an easy and not so risky approach (commonly discussed methods included having to remove the grill cloth then using a metal polish such as Brasso), a fellow accordionist recommended the Mayflower Metal Care Cloth which apparently can be used on your accordion's grill without affecting the grill cloth underneath.

Eager to try something quickly, I found an alternative stocked in Australia, Cape Cod Fine Metal Polishing Cloth (contains petroleum distillate, whereas the Metal Care Cloth is non-toxic) available for around $13 AUD. I can only imagine the non-toxic alternative would be a better and safer solution, however the Fine Metal Polishing Cloth worked wonders. If choosing the Australian alternative, I highly recommend doing this in a highly ventilated area, such as an outside space.

For optimal results, I recommend polishing the grill twice, buffing in between each round with a soft, dry cloth. This process took all of 10 minutes, without the need to remove the grill cloth, and left me feeling as though my accordion was brand new.

Hopefully this can help anyone looking for an easy way to make their dulled accordion grill shiny again.

See below before and after shots.

Before

After

V gabrovem (R. Bardorfer) sheet music

2018-02-11T22:31:00.000+11:00

Instrumental polka 'V gabrovem' by Slovenian composer and accordionist Rudi Bardorfer (Ansambel Rudija Bardorfer).

Click here to read more »

Moj valček (R. Bardorfer) sheet music

2018-01-27T14:12:00.001+11:00

Here is my arrangement of instrumental 'Moj valček' by Slovenian composer and accordionist Rudi Bardorfer (Ansambel Rudija Bardorferja).

Click here to read more »

Moje dekle (R. Bardorfer) sheet music

2018-01-23T19:12:00.002+11:00

In 1963 Ansambel Rudija Bardorferja recorded 'Moje Dekle'. Here's my arrangement available in F# (original key) and F, which might be an easier alternative for some.
Click here to read more »

Pomladna Idila - Spring Idyll (R. Bardorfer) sheet music

2016-08-21T21:13:00.000+10:00

Here is my arrangement of Rudi Bardorfer's instrumental Slovenian polka "Pomladna Idila" (Spring Idyll).

Click here to read more »

Harmonikawalzer (W. Agaton) sheet music

2016-08-10T19:09:00.003+10:00

Willi Agaton (1941-1998) was an Austrian accordionist, who played the Austrian button accordion (steirische harmonika) in Agaton Trio. Here is my arrangement of his waltz "Harmonikawalzer" (Accordion waltz).

Pod Oknom (R. Bardorfer) sheet music

2016-08-09T21:34:00.003+10:00

Rudi Bardorfer (1933-2000) recorded with Ansambel Rudija Bardorferja in Slovenia in the 1960s before being exiled and continuing his music career in Switzerland (with his recording studio Kronton and producing his own brand of accordions).

Here is an arrangement of Bardorfer's "Pod Oknom" (Under the window), arranged by Don Quattrochi and myself.
I hope some fellow accordionists will enjoy playing this as much as we enjoyed arranging it. Stay tuned for some more arrangements of rare melodies in the future.

Ansambel Svetlin in Melbourne 2004

2014-01-28T23:19:00.000+11:00

Here is footage of Ansambel Svetlin from Slovenia performing at the Slovenian Association Planica and the Old Vine (Stara trta) event in Victoria Australia in 2004, filmed by Matt Cestnik. Thanks to Matt Cestnik for providing this footage for historical and archival purposes.

Any additional information or videos of such music/cultural events in Australia are most welcome. If you know anyone who might have more footage like this, please contact me!

More videos are at http://youtube.com/accordionmaniac.

Veseli Plansarji Janeza Jeršinovca in Australia 1983

2013-11-24T22:21:00.004+11:00

Here is a playlist of rare footage of Veseli Planšarji (Ansambel Janeza Jeršinovca) from Slovenia performing at the Slovenian Assoc. Melbourne in 1983. Unfortunately these 3 songs are the only audible songs from this video tape, but it is rare and of great historic value.

Any additional information or videos of such music/cultural events in Australia are most welcome. If you know anyone who might have more footage like this, please contact me!

More videos are at http://youtube.com/accordionmaniac.