An A to Z of the Accordion and related instruments Vol 2

The Author Rob Howard, is renowned for his series of books titled An A to Z of the Accordion and Related Instruments, Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4 and later publications Vintage Accordions, Accordion: A Pictorial History, Accordion Anthology, Accordion Anthology 2.

The perfect present for any accordion enthusiast!!

By popular request - another celebration of the accordion & its close relatives in Great Britain and Ireland…with a look at the wider international picture. 200+ new and archive articles plus 250 photographs and pictures. This is reference book includes such articles as:-

An A to Z of the Accordion, Volume 2 presents a varied selection of articles, such as: Accordions Worldwide; The Story of the Accordion Bands; Accordion Heritage; Accordion - Button or Piano?; Accordions in the Cinema; Accordion Tales & Trivia; The Art of Accompaniment; Bellows Control; Bellows Shake; British Chromatic Accordion; Diatonics & Dancing; English Country Dance Playing; French Musette Stars, Past & Present; Gerald Crossman meets Frosini; Harmonicas & Popular Music in the 1960s; A History of the Accordion Magazines; Humour; Inside Your Accordion; Instrument Reviews; Ireland's Accordion Heritage; A History of the Concertina; Landmark Recordings; Looking After Your Accordion; Memorising; Memory Lane; Musette & Java; The Mystique of Maigret; Playing for Scottish Country Dancing; Roland V Accordion; Scottish Scene; Some Hints On Sight Reading; Tango; Technique; Tollefsen's Last UK Appearance, A Tribute to Graham Romani, UK Accordionists; World Champions; World War Two and Yesteryear…plus much more.

The Story of the Accordion Bands - This article traces the development of the accordion bands, both amateur and professional, in Great Britain from the late 1920s to the present time.

Accordion Heritage - Filling in some of the details about the accordion's story since 1829.

Accordion - Button or Piano? - Lists of the standard arguments about the merits of Continental button and piano accordions.

Accordions in the Cinema - A bit of trivia! Films where accordionists are featured.

Accordion Tales & Trivia - Stories of various accordionists, including contributions from Johnny Coleclough, Dermot O'Brien, Gary Blair, Mike O'Regan, and the 'memoirs' of Jack Emblow.

The Art of Accompaniment - An archive article written by Gerald Crossman.

Bellows Control - Advice from Rosemary Wright, leading teacher and concert accordionist.

British Chromatic Accordion - A unique article, written by folk music legend John Kirkpatrick, about learning the BCC# button accordion - the system played by the great Sir Jimmy Shand.

Diatonics & Dancing - Written by John Kirkpatrick, this article explores the use of melodeons and the Anglo concertina in playing for country dancing.

English Country Dance Playing - An article about playing for country dancing.

Famous People who have also played the accordion or related instruments, including Fred Astaire, Kenny Baker, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Jerry Gray, Evelyn Glennie, etc. Some more trivia!

French Musette Stars, Past & Present - A chronological list of many of the leading names in the world of French musette, from Emile Vacher to the present time.

Gerald Crossman meets Frosini - An archive article, written by the still active Gerald Crossman, about his meeting in New York with the legendary Pietro Frosini in 1950.

Harmonicas & Popular Music in the 1960s - A look at the prolific use of harmonicas in pop and folk music during the 1960s.

A History of the Accordion Magazines - This article traces the story of the accordion magazines, from the publication of the Accordion Times in 1935 up to the present time.

Humour - A few jokes, plus a poem (written by Adrienne Sharpe) about the terrors of playing in public, and a tongue-in-cheek piece of advice about learning to play the accordion.

Inside Your Accordion - An illustrated archive article, written by the late Francis Wright, that explains the inner workings of an accordion.

Instrument Reviews - Independent appraisals of five modern accordions, written by their owners - Rob Howard, John Baraneck, Mike O'Regan, Gordon Glenn and Derek Pritchard.

International Stars of the Accordion - pictures of some well known overseas accordionmists

Ireland's Accordion Heritage - Brief details of many leading Irish accordionists, past and present.

A History of the Concertina - From 1829 onwards…

Landmark Recordings - This article features a selection of recordings, representing different genres, that were significant in the artiste's career for various reasons.

Looking After Your Accordion - Tips for keeping your accordion in excellent condition.

Memorising - Some advice for learning how to memorise music.

Memory Lane - This is a random set of photographs from different times and places.

Musette & Java - An updated archive article, written by Gerald Crossman, tracing the origins and later development of the French musette style.

The Mystique of Maigret - Another article with a distinctly French flavour that looks at the fictional detective on TV screens, and the music associated with the programmes.

Playing for Scottish Country Dancing - A unique article, written by John Trigg - a practising accompanist, about how to play for Scottish Country Dancing.

Scottish Scene - Brief details of many leading Scottish accordion personalities, past and present.

A Tribute to Sir Jimmy Shand - A pictorial tribute to the most famous Scotsman of the 20th C.

Tango - An article that provides an in-depth look at how the tango has developed, from its origins in Argentina in the late 19th Century to the current Nuevo Tango of Astor Piazzolla.

Technique - An archive article, written by Charles Camilleri, offering advice about improving playing technique.

Tollefsen's Last UK Appearance - A review of the last UK concert given by the late, great Toralf Tollefsen on Saturday May 7th 1988.

A Tribute to Graham Romani - Accordionist, archivist and artist Graham Romani had an exceptional knowledge, which he shared with readers of the Accordion Times through his prolific writing for several decades. A self-illustrated history of the accordion is reproduced here, originally issued in serialised form over a couple of years.

UK Accordionists - Photographs of a few well-known British accordion players.

World Champions - This is an article about the world accordion championships, followed by lists of the CIA and CMA solo champions through the years.

World War Two - Written by Francis Wright, this article tells of his experiences during the Allied occupation of Castelfidardo, Italy, in 1944/45.

Yesteryear - This article is a random series of photographs, illustrations and archive magazine articles that take the reader back in time, no matter how young you might be.

Biographies include: -