Chicago polka musicians, if any read this letter, should be able to give you more specific tips about good accordion teachers---but if you don't hear more from them , since you're interested specifically in playing polkas on the accordion, I would think/hope that various knowledgeable polka musicians could give you good leads about accordion players who play , and might also teach, you polka/waltz oberek material : A few names that occur to me offhand ( I think these are all good guys who know the business well and have many connections ) to ask would be Eddie Blazonczyk , jr. , John Jaworski and Wally Maduzia ---While they aren't accordion players , they certainly know quitea few who are---I'm pretty sure their tel. no's are listed---Eddie B has a website (Versatones) ---You might also contact the IPA (International Polka Association ) , which is based in Chicago ( They also have a website) with this question---they also have a youth rep/advisor --- I think his name is Jake Mikrut ---who comes from a very active polka family ---any and all of these should be able to give you some good leads. Good luck in pursuing your dream.
PS: In the meantime; i.e. during the summer while you're not yet taking formal lessons , there are probably some useful accordion lessons and pointers on technique on youtube---most everything is on there , including lots of helpful "how to do it" material and lessons.... and it would probably be interesting and useful for you to observe and copy techniques and styles of proficient polka accordion players you can see and hear on youtube, too: Youtube shows a huge number of players doing their thing, ranging from beginners, like Wild Wilson, whose progress you can observe and copy, to impressive players ( with a range of different styles) like Alex Meixner, Richie Bernier ( with Maestro's Men) , Ted Lang ( Squeezebox and Gohn Gora), John Fomenko (Knewz --- and he also works with many other groups) --- and (how could I forget?) ---the unique, powerful style of Joe Oberaitis---Hank Haller and Mike Surratt are very good and interesting , too, but they're more German style ( although MS does lots of polka material material of various nationalities and interesting modern/fusion, music, too---Oh, yes, and you should check out Kevin Solecki's great work ( with Polka Family and various other bands , plus I think he has his own site ---Of course you can watch Myron Floren , too, and so much more ---Others may well contribute more names---In addition to the above , just seaching under "accordion" on youtube should give you countless interesting leads---and , as I think I said, above , you can probably search/find accordion lessons , technique pointers, etc. there, too...Finally (LOL) if you want to check out some rather mediocre playing ( not too hard but which works, ok, I think , for accompanying simple tunes) , you can even see a few examples of yours truly playing on our group's videos, such as "I'm in Love with Sarah Palin" , "I'm Still in Love w/SP", or "I Wish That I Could Be Weird Al" ( You can see on these that , while melodies/regular notes are often played for intros and solos, chording often accompanies vocals: That's how I do it on most of these songs, anyway, and since our group is small you can see and hear this very clearly: Hope that helps.)---Oh , yes, and of course Weird Al himself plays polkas on the accordion ---and is to my knowledge the only guy who earns millions doing so---so his stylings are well worth checking out, too. That should keep you productively busy for a while. -:)

Yep, i just checked and there are loads of free accordion lessons on youtube , going from the basics through more advanced , important techniques like bellow shaking , triple shake, etc. By typing in polka accordion lessons you can find a lot, too, although most of these seem to be in Tex-Mex and Slovenian /German styles. By typing in the names of individual songs ( including most any acc. specialty number, like Jolly Caballero, Pizzicato Polka, Accordion-A-Gogo, etc. you should be able to work on your performance of virtually any of these numbers as you make progress ) . ...so, all in all, there's enough material there on youtube to enable you to do great things with the accordion while saving hundereds and even thousands of $ in conventional lessons. Nevertheless , individual lessons and guidance by a skilled , patient teacher ( and ideally one who has experience in the polka styles that interest you the most : Chicago has to have at least a couple like that ) will still be very valuable. It's very possible that such a teacher may also have good polka accordion sheet music---Hopefully you can get some of this from Vitak-Elsnic ( or whoever took that company over: Chicago music buffs should know this ) -- Through Chicago musical sources you should also be able to get copies of the Marion Lush polka books ( C books for accordion) : They have lots of good, popular polka material, too.

Thanks Joe. I can't believe I didn't think of contacting the IPA (My parents met at Polonia Banquets where the IPA 'lives' now). Thanks for reminding me of them.

I have watched a few of the videos on You Tube, but you've pointed out a bunch more, so thanks for that too.

Hi Scott,

I would recommend the Palmer-Hughes accordion course, starting with Book 1. It will start out with the basics and move slowly, however, you can go at your own pace. It also has examples of the proper techniques and fingerings that should be used. These books are still popular and have been around for years. You can definitely get a good start learning on your own if you can't hook up with a teacher. Just be sure to practice each piece until you can play it clean, smooth and in tempo without mistakes or hesitations. Then move on to the next piece. Each song in these books are set up to teach you something different, so go back and play the ones you have already mastered to keep up your skill and build your up your arsenal. If you put your mind to it and practice, you'll be surprised how quickly you will learn. Even though you just want to play polkas, these books will build up your technique so that you will play polkas or any type of music much better. Once you get past the first couple of books, you can add a speed drill book to your routine along with the Palmer Hughes course. These drill books will really loosen your fingers up and build up the speed and techniques that the top box players possess. From personal experience, I know that these drills and course books can get boring, especially when you want to jump right in and start playing polkas, but you will definitely become a better player if you can stick with the exercises. You can always add a polka book to your lesson routine or put on a polka CD and put your ear to work trying to play along with it. When I was learning to play, I kept focusing on playing polkas, but my teacher kept turning my focus back to the drills and exercises, and I am so glad that he did.

I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. You can reach me at alalalp@usa.net. Good luck and thanks for shopping "accordion" : )

Yours is the second recomendation of the Palmer-hughes course that I've read. I will definitely check them out. I'm pretty sure my music shop has them

Scott,
You have received some great advice from one of the best accordionists that I know (alalal). Obviously, I agree with Al so I guess that makes three recommendations for the same books. It is very important to learn the proper fingering through the exercises even though you would want to focus on playing polkas. Stay with the fundamentals (scales, chord structures, fingering, etc.) and you will be well rewarded later. If you skip over the basics and develop bad habits, they will be very hard to break later on. Good luck.

By coincidence I happened upon a book of the Mel Bay accordion series , which refers to various titles , like "You Can Teach Yourself Accordion" (book with CD) : It can be really useful to have a well=played CD of the written music you're practicing from the book . This same series has a "Master Accordion Scale Book" ( the online description of which quotes a famous accordionist who , supporting what writers above have said,when asked what he practiced daily, declared "The fundamentals!" ) ; and looking on Amazon , which apparently offers lower prices for these than the publisher , I see that there is also a Hal Leonard "Great Polkas" book out for accordion, which features many polka standards ( Liechtensteiner , Too Fat, Paloma Blanca, Tic Toc,Roll out the Barrel,etc.)-- It is good , and important motivationally, to include material that really interests you ( in your case, polkas) in your practice as soon as it is fesible--- . All of these, and more, which are listed on various sites , can be bought quite reasonably online, so I think you may find one or more of them helpful, too.

All good advice here -- you should get a teacher to start -- fundamentals, good practice routines should be established and you must be patient. I was taught using the Palmer-Hughes books - they really simplify the process.

Find a teacher that will teach you the "right stuff" along with the songs you want to learn to keep your interest. Many teachers I have met never stray away from the teaching "books." The "book" is not a bible...just a tool to get you where you want to go.

BOTTOM LINE -- just have fun, ok?

Mike
www.mikesurratt.com

Scott,

A couple of other resources. The Chicago Accordion Club, www.chicago-accordion-club.com can offer you direction. Also, not local, but available by phone or internet, The National Accordion Association in Peoria, www.accordions.com. They have lesson and music books available, they are a great National pro accordion organization that would also be most willing to provide you with info.

Looking forward to hearing you perform on a polka recording in the future.

"johnz":

Looking forward to hearing you perform on a polka recording in the future.

That's why I like Polka people, you're very optimistic.

Thanks again!

Hi this is Silvia Eberly, I am a activ accordion teacher. Just a few hints - the most important part
of the Accordion (Piano accordion or Buttonbox ) is the bellows! I would suggest to start practicing
your Bass side first. Since you can't see it only feel where that C Bass is. That's a beginning
2 measures out , 2 measures in. and try the C with the 4 and 3rd Finger. the loudness does'nt come
from how hard you play the treble side (Keys) but what you do with your bellows. how hard you push in
and out.
Hope that helps
All the best
Silvia Eberly

i am piggybacking on this old thread to say "Hello" from East TN. not a hot bed of polka activity, yet :) i'm a beginner on piano accordion, very slowly going through P&H books. my initial motivation was to learn French musette style songs, but my interests are broadening to include polka. So i ordered a couple song books from eBay. the comments in this thread are a great resource, thanks all! cheers! -David