”Exploring the Bellows” is brand new 9-week Zoom group class taking place on Jan.6, 2021. Each class in “Exploring the Bellows” will be offered twice on Wednesdays. 1:PM and 8:PM EST. Students may attend either time. Each class is 60 minutes long. Each class will have homework and class materials.

“Exploring the Bellows” is a bellows-centric survey of accordion techniques, mechanics, science and creativity. This class is a survey style class, in that it will cover a wide range of bellows-related topics over the 9 week class. 

“Exploring the Bellows” is a fun and thought provoking survey class designed to expand your ideas about what the accordion bellows do, and how you can learn to use them to make your music express you more deeply. Each class will have homework and class materials: PDFs, videos, assignments, explorations.

All of the classes are recorded and uploaded to the course page for viewing again.

Each of these topics will be developed with interactive group class lectures, materials, assignments and class collaboration and discussion.
* how the use of the bellows makes the keyboard feel
* using bellows pressure and touch to get beautiful tone
* every accordion player must know about overtones 
* survey of accordion articulations as combinations of bellows and fingers
* how the bellows are crucial for staccato and gentle releases
* using the dynamic volume range of the accordion
* learning to change the bellows, manage your air
* bellows techniques: bellows stop, bellows shakes
* playing on the surface/half button technique
* understanding the left side of your body 

“Exploring the Bellows” will be taught by professional accordionist Dallas Vietty: recent (pre-covid era) performances include Tours of Switzerland, accordionist in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish on Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, teaching workshops around the country, past member of multiple accordion non-profit boards.

For further information: dallas@rebelreed.com