September 17, 2014

by Jerry Ginther

About 1960, the mothers of 25 or 30 of us local kids signed us up for accordion lessons with the Illinois Conservatory of Music. As a group we were filled with enthusiasm before the first lesson. Most of us had never held an accordion prior to that day, and we were ready to see what sort of racket they made. We figured out on our own that it would make some kind of noise if we would hold down just one of the piano keys while we pulled or squeezed the bellows. Beyond that we had no clue as to what else it might do. However, on that first day each of us received a small, 12-bass accordion complete with carrying case for home practice. Those small accordions would be sufficient to get us through the first book of instruction. After completing the first book a decision had to be made on whether to continue or “throw in the towel”. Continuing meant a rather healthy investment in a larger accordion.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.