Hug an Accordion Day 

October 1st 2024
Laura Niland, President of the San Antonio Accordion Association

Innovative Accordion Music Productions (IAMP) launched its debut of the Mobile Accordion ClassRoom (MACr) in the Austin, Texas area at the Armstrong Community Music School on September 14, 2024. The school is under the direction of Liz Cass who was instrumental in assisting IAMP host the event. The Hug an Accordion Day event was the first presentation for IAMP of the MACr Project with more to come.  Shirley Johnson and Laura Niland are directors of IAMP a non-profit organization. Participants (ages 8 to adult) attended a 1.5-hour first lesson on the piano accordion. The event was free for all participants.  

Hug an accordion day
Hug An Accordion Day

Shirley Johnson and Laura Niland instructed students on either 48-bass or 12-bass piano accordions for first-time learners. The First Lesson was a feature of Hug An Accordion Day which included selecting an accordion and adjusting the fit, orientation on the “parts of the accordion”, the Do’s and Don’ts, the magic of the bellows, and finally a lesson on basic note-reading followed by right-hand instruction for three simple tunes. In addition, a simple exploration of the bass was introduced for an extension of the lesson. There was ample time for questions and answers as well as interesting discussion among participants about the accordion.

A Certificate of Completion of the First Lesson was given at the end of the instruction. Students received a package of materials with additional information for home review. Materials for the program were developed by Shirley Johnson, Brian Berlin, and Laura Niland. Currently, additional materials are being developed to include diverse musical selections for groups with varied interests.

Laura Niland and Shirley Johnson
Laure Niland and Shirley Johnson

Attending the First Lesson were nine adults and four children. Many, but not all, of the attendees could read music and were taking music lessons on other instruments such as piano and violin. Three of the groups came with their parent(s) and all took lessons. Two of the adults were instructors at the school, one who had never played an accordion. Eleven of the attendees were first-time learners on the accordion. All of the attendees mentioned that they had always wanted to learn the accordion but never had the opportunity to experience a lesson. This is precisely why MACr was created: to give individuals the experience of trying the instrument and encouraging new learners to play the accordion.

Hug An Accordion Day was highly successful, ending with smiles and enthusiasm for the accordion! For more information about the Mobile Accordion ClassRoom (MACr) or Hug An Accordion Day, visit the IAMP website at www.InnovativeAccordion.org or contact us at IAMPaccordion@gmail.com Donations to IAMP non-profit support these and other accordion projects.