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Just discovered that I never set this blog up to notify me when there were comments made, so I've been thinking that no one ever read this blog. Sorry, all those of you who have been reading and commenting, and thought I didn't care!

June is National Accordion Awareness Month

Who knew?

I have to celebrate, right? I'm going to try to practice a little bit every day. We'll see if that results in another video to share. I have to say that my abilities today (after many months of no playing) were rather appalling.

I practiced:
Polka Mazurka
Come Back to Sorrento
Julida Polka
Cadet Boogie
Gay Vienna (named when gay meant happy)
Wheels

I didn't even try any of the hard stuff. Is anyone out there? Shall I make a poll to let you choose which one I should practice hardest?

Hrustevich Plays "Presto" from Vivaldi's Summer

Here is one amazing piece of accordion playing, and by a young person at that!



He's performing what is called "bellows shake" throughout, and that takes a fantastic amount of arm muscle in addition to actually playing the notes.

Accordion for the Royals at Bucklebury

Did you notice that there was an accordion being played at Bucklebury to celebrate the wedding of William and Kate?



I haven't been a big watcher of all the wedding hoopla, but I admit that I looked up at the word "Buckleberry." Have we suddenly stepped into a Tolkien novel? No, it's really "Bucklebury, but it is truly Kate's hometown, and the non-hobbits turned out to celebrate.

One of them plays a 96-bass piano accordion.

Yet Another Disadvantage of Using Cell Phones

"Excuse Me I Can't Play My Accordion Right Now, I Am On The Phone."

This clear design flaw of the cell phone comes to you courtesy of Patrick Gage. You can see his photos on Flickr

What is Paris without an Accordion?

Last weekend I was able to attend the Philadelphia Flower Show. The theme was Springtime in Paris, with emphasis on the turn of the 20th Century.

And what would the streets of Paris be without sultry accordion music? It just wouldn't be right, of course, and here were the roving minstrels.

Iva Nova- Accordion with Attitude

Iva Nova is an all-girl rock band from St. Petersburg, Russia. The accordionist certainly plays with more enthusiasm than I think I've ever seen. Believe me, you have to be in pretty good shape to dance around with a 20-pound box strapped to you! Their web site describes them: "Besides lyrics on Russian IVA NOVA have songs on Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Georgian and Tatar languages. Along with exploiting endless folklore resources they creatively experiment with other styles. Their live show is a mix of lyrical songs and punky-energetic dances."

Iva Nova