At first glance, in fact, the stradella (also called standard) bass accordion can produce only major, minor and seventh chords on its left side. However, if you follow Norbert Seidel, then with these chords one will advance into the colorful soundscapes created and performed impressively by such leading masters of jazz and sophisticated entertainment music as Hubert Deuringer, Richard Galliano, Frank Marocco, Johnny Meijer or Art van Damme, to name just a few.
How does the bass side of the accordion function technically and what can be developed harmoniously from it? These are the key questions that Norbert Seidel has dealt with intensively. They have caused him to write the mentioned instruction book and the music pieces in this publication.
Beginning and advanced piano and button keyboard players alike will get their money’s worth. Although it takes some time at the beginning to abandon deep-rooted behaviors of playing the standard bass, it’s worthwhile. Those who wish to learn these new ways from the ground up should read first the instruction book “Accordion Jazz Chords”. Whoever has the confidence to desist from that tutorial and wants to conquer new sound worlds with their chords, notations and fingering techniques as a career change is exactly right here.
Back cover text:
Tangos, waltzes and jazz pieces with exceptional accompanying harmonies and left-hand (!) chords that go far beyond the traditional sound harmonics of the standard bass accordion with its “fixed” major, minor and seventh chords.
In his compositions, Norbert Seidel shows in an astonishingly simple way how to achieve a completely new, colorful, sometimes wonderfully exotic-sounding accordion playing style, which makes it possible to play jazz and other music masterfully or, later on, to improvise to one’s heart’s content.
Following his groundbreaking instruction book “Accordion Jazz Chords,” in which he describes his playing method in detail, he offers with the music pieces in this book more works for playing practice. The compositions are presented varied in their musical style, different in their technical requirements, impressive and broad in the sound range.
They are playable even on small instruments from 48 basses, causing unexpected “free” sounds in our accordion’s repertoire to be performed by beginners as well as advanced piano and button keyboard players.
