As some of you know, before I joined the windbands I now play in they had no oboe and the oboe part was played by an accordionist. While I can understand that the accordionist had been playing in them for many years before I turned up and that it would be unfair to push him out, I do find it rather trying at times (particularly when he makes remarks about me needing to breathe "all the time" and that therefore the accordion is rather better suited to the oboe part than the oboe ).

I assumed, however, that this was a peculiarity of these two windbands, which have a lot of the same players. (One is a local windband and the other is a departmental one made up of musicians from all over the departement).

However, my daughters' school orchestra this year has ten oboes and one accordionist and the accordionist has been given the oboe part. The school has three wind bands (run by different conductors to the orchestra) and the one my daughter is in has six oboes and one accordion and the accordion has the oboe part.

Same daughter is desparate to play in a windband outside school and I was talking to someone today who plays in a fairly low-level windband that I thought might suit her. He said they currently have no oboes (the last one left two years ago when she went away to university) but they do have an accordionist who plays the oboe part.

We also have another accordion playing the bassoon line (which is probably even worse than the accordion who's being the oboe because he plays everything up an octave). Does anyone else have accordions pretending to be something else?

We don't have accordians but the nature of our orchestra means people playing parts not originally intended for their instrument.
Our violins are frequently oboes and today in the training band the oboe was a violin...... Cello could be bassoon or baritone. Saxes have played horn parts.

As for the comment about breathing, I think that the accordian played could learn how music needs to breathe from the oboe.
Though I was told when I started clarinet that I played like a pianist I'm now finding that my clarinet playing informs my piano phrasing and I try to play the piano like a clarinettist.

I can understand people playing parts for instruments other than their own when you have an unbalanced orchestra (or some instruments missing altogether) but what I can't understand is why the accordion should always be an oboe. In my daughter's windband with the six oboes, for example, there are only three clarinets. Since early-grade oboes are much louder than early-grade clarinets, you'd have thought the clarinets could do with some reinforcement.

Accordion is a very French instrument, and not played a lot in the UK. I've never seen one playing in a wind band, though you do sometimes see people playing it as a solo instrument.

What's the lowest note on an accordian?

Very occasionally, we'll use a piano accordion (with a piano accordion part) in certain pieces, usually Celtic-influenced.

In Scotland usually in bands they are regarded as much of a fill instrument, mainly playing chords rather than a melody or harmony line...

Especially in a "kick" band - flutes, big bass drums, and accordions marching through towns...

EDIT my OH who fixes most of Scotlands accordions has never had one in thats been used as a sub for an oboe...

I learned something today!

A 'kick' band, muzikalbadger : I'm guessing this is not unlike the Ulster flute bands, with added accordion...

To double clarinet on accordion the player would have to transpose on sight or re-write the score.

I would say ideally an accordion doesn't belong in a wind band. It's just a case of accommodating the available players. Tonally (arguably) a free reed instrument such as accordion is closer to a double reed than single reed.

At the IDRS 2009 conference in Birmingham I did hear a Dutch ensemble comprising 1 oboe and 4 accordions.




Depends on the circles you move in. As a morris dancer and melodeon player I see lots of accordions, button accordions, melodeons, concertinas, etc.

But yes, probably more popular in France. Oh and Germany, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Rumania.......


Varies hugely dependant on the size of the accordion. There are even bass and baritone versions.

I take your point about transposing instruments but for the school orchestra, the music teacher arranges all the music himself on Sibelius so it would be easy for him to transpose a clarinet (or French horn or whatever) part.


Theoretically, I too would have thought that an accordion ought to be closer to an oboe than a clarinet but ... as I have gained in confidence, I find it increasingly frustrating to be playing with one as we phrase things differently due to the different nature of the instruments (I have to breathe, he pulls and pushes). Recently a very good oboist joined the wind band and we have shared all the solo passages (I suggested she do them all but she said we should share) so I have been able to listen to oboe + accordion when she is the one playing the solo and they really don't sound nice together playing in unison - they don't blend into a single sound.


No idea, but they do go low and the one who plays the bassoon part could play it lower but he doesn't like reading the bass clef so he rewrites it all in the treble clef. I did ask him why he couldn't read from the treble clef if that was what he preferred but play it down an octave but he said if he did that he wouldn't be playing what was written because it would be the wrong octave (At this point I decided I couldn't follow his logic and gave up).

[quote name='kerioboe' date='Oct 22 2011, 01:15 PM' post='1098996']
I take your point about transposing instruments but for the school orchestra, the music teacher arranges all the music himself on Sibelius so it would be easy for him to transpose a clarinet (or French horn or whatever) part.
[quote]
Well in that case he should arrange a separate part for accordion to use the full capabilities of the instrument. It must be a bit tedious to be playing one note at a time and no left hand.