Beginner's D/G Melodeon Lesson 1 - How to hold, Shepherd's Hey

[@paulyoungfolk]

More lessons available at boxlessons.gumroad.com/

[@sunflr-music7697]

By far the best beginner's Button accordion/Melodeon lesson out there. Thank you!

[@jobonana]

A friend said Shepherd's Hey is a must for anyone wanting to play with Morris dancers, so thanks for posting this one.

[@lukebrady2688]

Paul thanks for the help on playing the melodion you are fantastic player very helpful I haven’t got one yet but looking forward to getting one

[@davidoverton5993]

Purchased a melodeon just up the road from you and trying to get to grips with it. Your playing/teaching is inspiring. Thanks for starting me off on the journey!

[@OBrienMagic]

I’m learning BC melodeon but I am watching your lessons anyway because you have so many valuable universal ideas for anyone interested in picking up an Irish accordion.

[@christinesmith8458]

Brilliant lesson, so helpful. I have been tinkering, maybe 3 months with my melodeon. This lesson has re grounded me in how I should be practising. What to practise. Thank you Paul. Hopefully more lessons to come?

[@jolebi]

Great beginners' lesson, thank you.

[@peterpumkineater6872]

Good clear voice and accent.

[@hikmatshaya2586]

Very Beautiful & Excellent Teaching,,,Manyyyyy Thanks as...

[@helenadamson6709]

Thank you. Learned that almost. Never played the melodeon until approx 3wks ago. What next?

[@helenadamson6709]

11:17 first run through of tune 31:39 whole first half with left hand 32:34 whole tune slow with LH 38:55 final run through with staccato and longer chords than base on LH

[@hikmatshaya2586]

Super way of Teaching,,Many Thankssss

[@felixfathead1640]

I have a few questions regarding a melodeon I recently got possession of. To give some background, I’ve wanted to try playing accordion or a similar instrument for a while now, maybe around two months. Just recently, I got wind that my grandmother had an antique Hohner 1 row 4 bass melodeon in the key of D collection dust in her attic. It originally belonged to my great grandfather, (my grandmother’s grandfather) who brought it over from Germany when he moved here to the United States. After I dusted it, I noticed the exterior seemed to be in pretty good shape. All the wood, metal, and buttons looked pretty much new. That being said, the leather hand and thumb strap were almost completely destroyed. I was able to use an old leather belt to replace them, although I’ve found the thumb strap is pretty difficult to use, so I’m going to try to get a strap situated for that. The main problem with it is that the bellows have tons of holes in them. To me, most of the notes sound fine. But there are a few bass keys that make a warble-ey sort of sound. I’ve been playing trumpet for four years, so I have some idea of how it should sound, but I have no experience with any instrument quite like this one. So here are my questions: 1. is that warble-ey sound an issue of tuning it, or something I need to replace? 2. Would it be easier to just look on Craigslist for a used melodeon instead of trying to fix this one and having the limitations of the key of D? 3. How should I attach shoulder strap(s)? 4. I’ve looked online but found practically nothing, but do you think this could be worth anything? 5. How should I go about repairing holes in the bellows? Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this. Have a great day!

[@paulyoungfolk]

I'm not really able to give you much information about any of this, but you'll be able to find the answers you're looking for using this forum, which has a section on restoration and repair: forum.melodeon.net/index.php?action=forum

[@hauptmannmissen1360]

Hey mate. I have an C/F Melodeon :) I really like your vidoes.

[@cjwaywell]

I have a 10 button melodeon in G with 4 bass keys. What I am struggling with is knowing when to pull and when to push it's like the opposite of what my brain thinks it will be and that's without adding the bass notes lol. I suppose it takes months to remember the sequence of this for each song. As a guitar player it is not coming natural to me at all it is almost like no scale exists on the melodeon. Probably be even worse if I had two sets of buttons to worry about or are they just there to allow you to play in a different key without moving from one row to the other. Next to the violin I would say that this has to be the hardest musical instrument for your brain to grasp.

[@daddylongles]

That's a lovely lesson Paul. As a melodeon teacher myself I appreciated how you went through the basics without showing off your own skills too much. Some really good advice in there for the beginner and a great introduction to this wonderful instrument. I watched it all the way through and found your method of teaching very interesting. Nice to hear you saying that there are lots of ways of doing things and not being dogmatic about the hold or the left hand fingers. Good choice of tune as well. Thank you for sharing this. Les

[@packhorse1932]

Great first lesson Paul. Where do I find the written music you refer to please?

[@paulyoungfolk]

Dots can be seen here: www.paulyoungfolk.co.uk/resource/shdots.jpg

[@seanoregan998]

Wow... my accordion is just the opposite of what you're doing. When u are on the push im on the pull to get the same sound. How is that? Is my accordion out of tune?

[@paulyoungfolk]

You've commented on my other videos for BC accordion, so I'm guessing you have a BC? This is for DG melodeon. Looks the same but the notes are laid out completely differently.

[@seanoregan998]

@@paulyoungfolk ok ty Paul

[@pablotrinidad8749]

How much it's the price accodeon. Where you buy .

[@pablotrinidad8749]

I like your accordion.

[@paulyoungfolk]

It's a "Stephanelli". I really wouldn't recommend one like this though - it's a very bad instrument that I inherited from a pupil. Used it for this video as it was the only standard 2 row I had handy at the time. A good affordable beginner instrument would be a Hohner Pokerwork or Erica. There are usually plenty available second hand on e-Bay and elsewhere.

[@paulcaswell2813]

Two shoulder straps keep the instrument more rigidly held for a beginner, but a single much more flexibility for the experienced players. From memory, only Spiers among the top ones uses two... My late father (a professional fiddle player) used to say that the amateur practices 'til he gets it right; the professional practices so he can't get it wrong!!!

[@iddqd7162]

Always wanted to learn the melodeon! Thanks allot for your lovely lesson Paul :) As an total beginner which melodeon would you suggest to buy? Have a nice day, looking forward to see more from u.

[@paulyoungfolk]

If you don't want to spend too much then a Hohner (usually Pokerwork or Erica) is a really good bet. Usually plenty available secondhand on e-Bay and elsewhere.

[@williambartachek8377]

Where do i get the music?

[@paulyoungfolk]

Link in the description.

[@jean-paul7251]

Try not to smack the keys its poor playing

[@monstarve]

Trying to teach music with monotone voice. Interesting choice.

[@helenadamson6709]

Well, I picked up a melodeon, found this tutorial and learned this, my first tune, a few months back. Then had a couple of lessons with Paul. He is a first class teacher. Incredibly patient. Very good at explaining. He seems to know exactly what I need to work on. And he happily hasn't ever said anything unhelpfully negative about my playing. I think not saying unhelpful, negative comments is commendable