Ok, I hope some of you are still hanging around for this discussion.

It's pretty clear that I'm going to have to make a trip down to the city (Washington DC area) and go shopping for CDs. I want to check out all of the recommendations that you good people have made.

I played my box in a session for the first time recently. I just played the basses underneath the other instruments. It worked out very well. The other musicians said it was like having a bass fiddle playing with them. It was quite enjoyable for me, to say the least. I have been attempting to incorporate the advice that has been given in this thread, and some of it is starting to sink in, although, clearly, I still have a long way to go.

I will be following the advice of some of you re: the Palmer & Huges books.

julie u (if you're still around), would you mind telling me the names of some of the classical pieces that you play? I must admit that I hadn't ever considered playing classical music on an accordion, but I think it's certainly worth a try. I'm thinking that Bach could sound pretty interesting, but I'm not sure what the left hand would be doing. Also, I only have about two and a half octaves on the right. I guess that could be an impediment.

My box is second-hand, but it was given to me, so I had no opportunity to check into it's history. I understand that it spent most of it's approximately 20 years in storage. I think it needs to be re-waxed because I get an annoying, buzzing sound on some of the basses. It has two voices on the right. One is plain, and the other sounds like two notes with some vibrato. No vibrato on the left.

Ranks, do you play a piano accordion? If so, did you find it at all difficult to adapt the way you use your right hand to the styles of music that you've been playing?

Dan Milner, does Billy McComiskey play a piano accordion, or a button accordion? I've been wondering if it is possible to play Irish music well on a piano accordion.

Fadac, you said that your instructor sometimes plays the tune on the basses, and the chords on the keyboard. Is this possible with only 72 basses, or do you have to have one of the big monster accordions for this?

Also, I want to ask anyone who would care to answer, how do you deal with the issue of the heaviness of the instrument? I play sitting down with my accordion resting on my knees. I don't think this is the best way to do it, but I have a ruptured disk in my neck, and when I try to play standing up, it makes my neck hurt a lot.

Best regards,

Carol