Playing Chromatic Accordion: Free the Bass

Press the Button

The Roland accordion allows the stradella bass to vanish with a press of a button, the Free Bass button. On converter accordions a mechanical switch provides the free bass option.

The outside four left-hand rows are now chromatic free bass. The two top inside rows remain stradella bass and counter-bass notes.

Chromatic Scale

Get the fingers used to where the notes are. Match them up with notes on the right hand. See what the lowest and highest notes are. Play the chromatic diagonal. Play the whole step diagonal. Play the long rows with the minor thirds and octaves.

Notice that the fourth row duplicates the outside row.

Play the chromatic scale on the outside three rows. Then move in a row and play a three-fingered chromatic scale using the fourth inside row instead of the outside row.

Match the notes with the right hand and notice the movement of both hands.

Do the daily as a warm-up.