#Excelsior accordion 53 keys 1940s Patch#

вЂњI like the fact that the accordion literally breathes, and you get this warbly, emotionally expressive sound by giving it a hug.вЂќ вЂњTheyвЂ™re perfect for porch hymns because theyвЂ™re so portable,вЂќ he says. The appeal, Brantley says, lies in an elemental sound that evokes our own respiration and other heartfelt instincts. We like Jack because he genuinely cares about the accordion.вЂќ вЂњIt is absolutely vital to the ominous, mysterious tone of some of our songs. вЂњIt has a special presence in our music,вЂќ he says. вЂњThereвЂ™s a Haitian doctor who plays at nursing homes and a Macon rabbi who plays a fusion of klezmer and zydeco that he calls вЂOy vey, etouffee.вЂ™вЂќДЄccordions also have enjoyed a small renaissance within the steampunk movement, says Jason Bush, of local act The Gin Rebellion. вЂњI love my accordion clientele because theyвЂ™re all so quirky,вЂќ he says. вЂњSo if you look at pictures from accordion clubs, the members usually look gray, paunchy, and happy because theyвЂ™re from that generation, from before the time when Elvis and The Beatles came along and the guitar eclipsed everything else.вЂќД«usiness remains steady at Jax, though, where Brantley typically works on half a dozen accordions at a time, charging between $500 and $1,000 for a complete tune-up to clients who come from all over the Southeast. вЂњUp until the 1950s, when you took music lessons, you typically learned on a piano or an accordion,вЂќ he says. Nevertheless, there was a time when accordions outsold guitars, Brantley notes. Photograph by Dave Fischer/ J and D images One sour note or internal flaw, and there goes any hope for a sprightly polka. Each reed controls air flow with a leather flap, making them vulnerable to mold and deterioration. An accordion consists of more than 1,000 parts, including 450 steel reeds that are fastened with beeswax-subject to melt if left in a hot car. As many as four sounds can come from one key, and the melody is played on one side while chords are determined by 100 or more buttons on the other. The instrument, the smallest relative of the organ family and also cousin to the harmonica, is more daunting and temperamental than it seems. вЂњIf you open one up, the inside of it looks like one of those giant computers from the 1940s that took up an entire room.вЂќ вЂњWeвЂ™re lucky that Jack is calm enough in temperament to fool with an accordion,вЂќ says client Bo Emerson, an AJC writer and part-time musician who has played at the White House Correspondents Jam. He began focusing on accordions in his Decatur workshop during the 1990s because he saw a need in the music market. (Motto: вЂњSubvert the dominant paradigm-play accordion.вЂќ) вЂњPeople associate them with Lawrence Welk.вЂќД«rantley, 62, has been tinkering with a variety of vintage instruments since his college days at UNCвЂ“Chapel Hill and his post-grad years in Marin County, where he counted Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop, and Sammy Hagar as customers. вЂњAccordions are so uncool that theyвЂ™re cool,вЂќ says Brantley, owner of Jax Music Shop near downtown Decatur.

Brantley is among AtlantaвЂ™s longest-practicing accordion repairmen, a highly specialized vocation with little competition, owing to the complicated inner workings of perhaps the only instrument more maligned than banjos and bagpipes.

#Excelsior accordion 53 keys 1940s Patch#

вЂњApplause,вЂќ quips Jack Brantley, one of the few artisans in the Southeast qualified to patch the long-suffering instrument back together and restore it to tunefulness. What do you hear when you drop an accordion from a 10-story building?