3 Levels of Accordion Melody - From Easy to Hard

I’ve been thinking about progress as a musician lately. What will your playing be like in three months? Nine months? Three years? What can you expect? What’s realistic? I thought I’d explain my concept of progress as it relates to melody on the accordion. Watch Now - Different levels of melody on the accordion I break down melody into three levels: Level 1 - Single finger melody. Playing a melody ‘straight’. One note at a time. Required skills: Reading sheet music or learning a melody through playback exercises. Ear training. Right hand basics. Level 2 - Multi-finger melody. Required skills: Understand the chords beneath the melody. Basics of chord voicings while keeping the melody on top. Level 3 - Single note melody supported by arpeggios. Required skills: Play arpeggios in different sequences (1358, 8531, 1538, 8351). Make those arpeggios musical and dynamic. Finger dexterity to play melody with pinky and ring finger, and arpeggios with first, second, and middle fingers. How long it takes you to move between levels is up to you. Some musicians in level 1 make single fingered melodies sound just wonderful! Better than I could ever play with five fingers. I consider myself a strong level 2 player (I actually shy away from level 3 playing, which is why I rarely play Libertango or the theme song from Amelie. Instead I play those songs as levels 1 and 2). Keep in mind that these levels I’ve defined are just a small part of becoming a “whole” player. There is also playing with others, playing dynamics, and incorporating the left hand with the right to consider. The point of this video is to give you an idea of where your melody playing can progress, and the exercises you can start doing today to get you there. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! Learn the accordion for FREE with a 3-day trial to Accordion Love. Plus instant access to sheet music, lessons, and great accordion songs. https://accordionlove.com/