3D bellows in accordion pedagogy
Bellows technique in pedagogic methods
The importance of the bellows and how to operate them, is clear. The bellows serve as lungs for the instrument. Therefore, comparable to singers and wind players, it is crucial for accordionists to master bellows ‘breathing’ technique. In Bettina Buchmann's guide The Techniques of Accordion Playing - which can be considered a representative source about accordion techniques in the contemporary accordion world - Buchmann explains that the bellows allow a very precisely controllable airstream. The volume of the air and the speed of the bellows motion directly influence dynamics in music. Consequently, the accordion is extremely flexible in its dynamic use. Buchmann states that the bellows support the entire spectrum of finger articulations (Buchmann, 2010, pp. 23-24). However, this is not necessarily true - when maintaining a sufficient air supply, finger articulations are disconnected from the bellows support.
Apart from rhythmical techniques such as bellows shake (tremolo), ricochet and vibrato, instructions on bellows technique in accordion methods are concise (because opening and closing bellows is supposedly simple). The connection between bellows technique and sound quality has not been elaborated. Generally, accordion players are taught to operate the bellows in musical phrasings and in such a way that a continual sound flow is ensured. The opening and closing of the bellows should not be heard and are indicated with a notation similar to bow technique in strings (see figures 1 to 3 for examples of instructions). For decades now, accordionists have been looking for ways to play interrupted bellows quasi uninterruptedly. Nevertheless, when changing bellows at the end of a musical phrase, the musical energy collapses. The air supply stops and new reeds have to speak: a continuation of musical energy is in fact impossible.
3D bellows
The stimulus for this research about 3D bellows were the insights of accordion expert An Raskin. She herself has intensively researched this technique. However, her research remains unpublished.
From my own experience in former accordion schooling, I already understood the rarity of being taught about three-dimensional bellows movements. Finding a starting point for this research, I looked at several written accordion methods (for beginners up to more advanced accordionists) among which some methods that were available in the public library of The Hague. I was not surprised that from tens of consulted methods, the possibility to use the bellows extra-dimensionally was not explicitly mentioned anywhere. Only in one technique book there is notice of the direction in which the bellows should move: Italian accordionist and Alexander Technique expert Claudio Jacomucci suggests that the left arm - which is led by the rotation of the thorax - should not be stretched forward or downwards but should follow the rotating torso (2013, pp. 28-29). As I am familiar with Claudio Jacomucci's work (I have a.o. followed a masterclass by him), I would assume from his background in Alexander Technique, this suggestion has to do with human ergonomy. Indeed, following the rotation of the torso is a very natural circular movement and can be seen as the base of three-dimensional bellows use.
Survey
In conclusion to this all, I hypothesized that extradimensional bellows are taught only by a small number of accordion teachers worldwide. To get more data about this, I set up a survey among accordion teachers. They were invited to anonymously fill in a Google Form questionnaire to explain how bellows technique – whether 3D or not – is addressed in their pedagogy.
The following questions were asked:
(background information)
1. How long do you have experience with giving accordion lessons?
2. In what kind of educational system are you an accordion teacher? (options are primary, secondary, higher music education and private lessons)
(general questions)
3. How would you instruct accordion students to move the bellows?
4. How important is sound quality in your pedagogy?
(3D bellows)
5. Have you ever tried this 3D bellows technique?
6. Could you imagine teaching your students this technique?
7. Why so/why not?
The link to the online questionnaire was spread via social media, e-mail and through the national Dutch accordion association (NOVAM). Between the 14th and the 27th of March, 33 answers were submitted.
Results
A pdf of the questionnaire and full survey responses can be found in the appendix.
For most of the respondents (20 out of 33), the 3D bellows technique is quite unknown or undiscovered (figure 4). However, most of the respondents considered teaching the 3D bellows technique. 12 out of 33 people answered “yes”, whereas the “maybe” group is the biggest with 17 out of 33. 4 respondents answered negatively. (figure 5)
The motivations for whether or not to teach the 3D technique varied a lot. In general, it is clear that a lot of teachers want to know and understand the benefits of 3D bellows better. In positive responses teachers mentioned nuance in music, the character of a certain piece, the possibilities toward sound projection, dynamics, their curiosity about what can be achieved in terms of balance and the assets of having a variety of bellows techniques: "In the development of bellows technique make all variations of discovery sense" and "more and varying techniques are always good to have. You never know what may work best for any one player [sic] or what may work best for a certain piece."
Negative reasons, i.e. not to teach the technique, were: not seeing any impact, finding 3D bellows an unnatural move, not feeling/knowing any advantages, or simply following another approach: "In my course, we have another approach which is inspired by the Serbian technique."
Around 7 respondents mentioned the dependence of repertoire: in some pieces it might be better to apply 3D bellows than in others. A number of teachers would address 3D technique "if required for a piece" or depending on the student.
Discussion
Overall – contrary to my hypothesis – teaching experience and the type of educational system didn’t seem to have a consistent connection with the respondents’ experience of 3D bellows in this survey. I expected that conservatoire teachers who are teaching for a long time would have more experience with the 3D approach, but this conclusion couldn't be retrieved. The answers from question 4 (about the importance of sound quality) didn't give a lot of information either, except that overall it was rated high. However, results showed for some teachers it is true that in the given educational system they find no time or need to address sound quality and 3D bellows, suggestively because of teaching other skills they prioritise or depending on the student. In this case, we are particularly thinking of "DKO", which stands for "deeltijds kunstonderwijs" or part-time art education, a Belgian educational system that provides democratic music schooling financed by governmental support. In this system, the teaching form for instrumental lessons is mostly co-learning with 3 or 4 students in one class hour. A respondent explains their situation:
With teaching in a musicschool [sic], you can already be happy that they more or less can play the correct notes and rhythm. There is no time to go deep into bellow [sic] techniques with students in only max. 20 minutes per week.
One respondent stated that the 3D technique is not really useful in pieces for students of the DKO (you cannot apply it in these pieces), which led me wondering whether that is true and which repertoire those students in case play. An interesting point of discussion is to which extent a teacher should instruct 3D bellows possibilities explicitly.
The level of my students is not this high that we are this specific. I work from sound perspective and when they reach the level to create different sounds, they will find out. Explicit learning is not my primar strategie [sic] because it is less meaningfull.
Answers to question 3 varied the most. The question was intentionally kept open, to gain a better understanding of what teachers think of spontaneously. But in hindsight the question could have been too vague and confusing and so no groundbreaking conclusion could be made. However, the final answers were categorised into 3 categories: posture or physical idea, musical idea and notation (see appendix for full survey responses and categorised results). Some results were not mentioned within these 3 categories. That is when no information could be retrieved because the responses were unclear or beside the point.
Figure 1. Picture taken from the pedagogic method book "Trekkentocht" by the Belgian Ivan Smeulders (2005, p.6). In this illustration, the correct and incorrect way of bellows technique is shown.
Figure 3. Picture taken from the pedagogic method book by Iwan Michailov and Hans van Schuppen (2001, p.6). The correct and incorrect demonstration of bellows technique is shown, along a possible bellows notation.
Figure 2. Picture taken from a page of the pedagogic method book for accordion beginners by Irish accordionist Karen Tweed (2010, p.26). "A very important part of accordion playing is good bellows technique. You should not be able to hear any breaks in the flow of the music during bellows changes." Further she suggests not to extend the bellows out too far.
