Palmer-Hughes Accordion Course
Doktorski Henry
Regarding the previous thread condemning the course, I will not claim
that the method is up-to-date. Naturally, since the vol I was copyrighted
in 1952 and vol. X in 1962, so there is no rock'n roll, disco, disney,
rap or Garth Brooks tunes. (What a shame. No wonder the instrument fell
out of popularity with teenagers.)
But the selections are timeless, and for the most part, tasteful as well.
They include folk tunes from many cultures -- American, Russian, Italian,
French-Canadian, Mexiacan, English -- (perfect for accordion, since it's
reputation is that of a folk instrument), as well as polkas, patriotic
songs, marches (every high school band plays zillions of these and they
aren't suffering from lack of enthusicastic members), popular songs by
composers such as Stephen Foster and Paul Lincke (Glow Worm) and others,
transcriptions by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt,
Rossini, Suppe, Puccini, Rimsky-Korsakov, Verdi, Johann Strauss, Victor
Herbert, John Philip Sousa, Kabalevsky, G. Enesco, etc.
The difficulty progresses gradually as one advances. One of my students
is an eight grader. He also studies pipe organ, trumpet and piano and he
plays in the school band. He just loves the course. Even selections which
I suggested he skip over, such as "Variations on Three Blind Mice" which
I considered too corny, he insisted on learning. My adult students also
like the course.
I was even thinking of recording the entire 10 volumes on a double disc
CD; I think I'll sell out of a first printing.
Sincerely,
Henry
Ralph Stricker
DOKTO...@duq3b.cc.duq.edu (Doktorski Henry) wrote:
>Note: The above is the correct spelling.
>
>Regarding the previous thread condemning the course, I will not claim
>that the method is up-to-date. Naturally, since the vol I was copyrighted
>in 1952 and vol. X in 1962, so there is no rock'n roll, disco, disney,
>rap or Garth Brooks tunes. (What a shame. No wonder the instrument fell
>out of popularity with teenagers.)
>
>But the selections are timeless, and for the most part, tasteful as well.
>
>They include folk tunes from many cultures -- American, Russian, Italian,
>French-Canadian, Mexiacan, English -- (perfect for accordion, since it's
>reputation is that of a folk instrument), as well as polkas, patriotic
>songs, marches (every high school band plays zillions of these and they
>aren't suffering from lack of enthusicastic members), popular songs by
>composers such as Stephen Foster and Paul Lincke (Glow Worm) and others,
>transcriptions by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt,
>Rossini, Suppe, Puccini, Rimsky-Korsakov, Verdi, Johann Strauss, Victor
>Herbert, John Philip Sousa, Kabalevsky, G. Enesco, etc.
How close to the originals are they? I have never advocated lesser arrangements on classics.
Wait until the student is capable of teaching him/her the original.
>
>The difficulty progresses gradually as one advances. One of my students
>is an eight grader. He also studies pipe organ, trumpet and piano and he
>plays in the school band. He just loves the course. Even selections which
>I suggested he skip over, such as "Variations on Three Blind Mice" which
>I considered too corny, he insisted on learning. My adult students also
>like the course.
Do they have any choice? Possibly if another teacher using better material, they would like that
even more.
Henry,
I don't want to get confrontational with you, but I am surprised/disappointed that of all the
material out there, you would resort to copping out.
Regards,
Ralph Stricker
Wertl
and even the Nine Blind Mice are corny - almost every work has a specific
pedagogical role. There are occasional PH duds but not many. Supplemental
pieces can easily customize PH lessons to a student's interests.
Arrangements of works by Baroque, Classical and Romantic composers give the
student the challenge of interpreting different musical periods. Since the
accordion obviously did not have composers writing for it in the 18th century
and earlier, transcriptions and arrangements are necessary in order to teach
about those musical periods. Any instrument needs a repertoire of teaching
pieces.
Ralph added:
>How close to the originals are they? I have never advocated lesser
arrangements on classics. Wait until the student is capable of teaching him/her
the original.
While every performer has their own taste as to what makes a Greater
arrangement, "lesser" arrangements can still serve the student well. Sousa
wrote marches for the band. Liszt wrote his Hungarian Rhapsodies for the
orchestra. Chopin wrote Preludes for the piano. Any transcription is not the
original. Imagine a Sousa march on the piano sans cymbal crashes. It still may
be enjoyable but it is not the original.
Lesser or Greater is simply a matter of taste and intent of the arranger. If
the arranger intends to teach someone to play the accordion in a variety of
styles, I believe that is legitimate. It is my experience that the PH
arrangements are mostly good as teaching pieces. They may not be high brow
entertainment but they are progressively challenging in technique and
interpretive possibilities.
My 2 cents,
Julia Cortinas
bgant
doubt I could have chosen anything better. Mr. Palmer & Hughes probably had
nothing to do with the cartoons. Do you actually think they did?????? Come
onnnnnn!!!!!!
Sully5154
and if you don't mind learning in depth each piece simply because it is the
next piece. But I think the appeal to students of any age is lacking. For any
product to succeed, at least today, it must appeal to the customer.
The finest CDs don't come in brown paper wrappers nor are they sold in volumn
because of the technique displayed by the tunes. They sell because people are
initially attracted to the cover and musician and because they want to hear
the specific tunes inside.
I say the same must be applied to any music education course.
Tom Sullivan
Douglas J. Cumming
Hello:
I have no idea about the "illustrations" [Alfred Music could tell you]. After
all this talk on Palmer & Hughes, however [I used their books for stradella
accordion supplemented with material from the CATA (Canadian Accordion Teachers
Assoc.), etc.; for free bass I used mainly Royal Conservatory of Music
materials, etc.], I thought it would be interesting to post these web-pages (in
part to show what credentials these men had):
http://www.willardpalmer.org/index.htm
http://www.accordions.com/index/art/willard.shtml [article written by Faithe
Deffner]
There are some good "accordion" links and information. Note that the complete
title-contents of the Palmer & Hughes course-books are listed at both Michael
Kozak's web-page and at Ernest Deffner Editions [this last one is not indicated
in the above web-site]. Deffner is listed at:
http://www.accordions.com/deffnerm/solo/Default.htm [check, especially,
"accordion courses," alphabetical and "supplementary material," etc. If you
check "list" you will have the contents for particular P-H books.]
Willard Palmer wrote a "Tribute in Memory of Bill Hughes" in The Golden Age of
the Accordion [Ronald Flynn, Edwin Davison, Edward Chavez]. This book is
available from several web-sites. Perhaps some biographical information on
Hughes is available on the web as well.
By the way, many years ago [in one of my first public recitals], I played
Palmer & Hughes' "Horse Sense". I had an awkward memory lapse part way through,
so I launched into their arrangement of "Julida Polka". I'm sure that the
audience knew that I had made a mistake but it didn't matter what I played. In
fact I preferred Julida Polka [which I continue to play to this day]. I found
the Palmer-Hughes methodology to be quite valuable. However, I also had
excellent teachers [especially Laurie Rosewarne] who were able to supplement
the lessons with other material.
-- Doug Cumming
gat...@d-and-d.com wrote:
> Really-From: "bgant" <bg...@bellsouth.net>
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Ralph Stricker
we...@aol.com (Wertl) wrote:
>I second Henry's opinion on the Palmer-Hughes method books. While the drawings
>and even the Nine Blind Mice are corny - almost every work has a specific
>pedagogical role. There are occasional PH duds but not many. Supplemental
>pieces can easily customize PH lessons to a student's interests.
>
>Arrangements of works by Baroque, Classical and Romantic composers give the
>student the challenge of interpreting different musical periods. Since the
>accordion obviously did not have composers writing for it in the 18th century
>and earlier, transcriptions and arrangements are necessary in order to teach
>about those musical periods. Any instrument needs a repertoire of teaching
>pieces.
>
>Ralph added:
> >How close to the originals are they? I have never advocated lesser
>arrangements on classics. Wait until the student is capable of teaching him/her
>the original.
>
>While every performer has their own taste as to what makes a Greater
>arrangement, "lesser" arrangements can still serve the student well. Sousa
>wrote marches for the band. Liszt wrote his Hungarian Rhapsodies for the
>orchestra. Chopin wrote Preludes for the piano. Any transcription is not the
>original. Imagine a Sousa march on the piano sans cymbal crashes. It still may
>be enjoyable but it is not the original.
>
There are many songs that are not written to be played on particular instruments. Therefore to
use this example is not a good one. I am/was referring to pianistically pieces. Bach II part
inventions, Chopin's Nocturne Eb, Waltz in C#minor, Waltz in Db etc.
These can all be adapted for accordion and remain close to the original.
I see many arrangements of Moonlight Sonata in the key of C. I don't see any sense to this. If a
teacher is using this just in the beginning of a student's lessons and wants to instill interest
in the classics, then I agree it has a purpose. The problem is mos of those teachers never teach
the student the original arrangement.
>Lesser or Greater is simply a matter of taste and intent of the arranger. If
>the arranger intends to teach someone to play the accordion in a variety of
>styles, I believe that is legitimate. It is my experience that the PH
>arrangements are mostly good as teaching pieces. They may not be high brow
>entertainment but they are progressively challenging in technique and
>interpretive possibilities.
How long do you want to keep a student on PH? To use all of the series is to me just laziness
and or lack of knowledge on the teacher.
Regards,
Ralph Stricker
Ralph Stricker
sull...@aol.com (Sully5154) wrote:
Possibly if no teacher is available they serve a purpose. The problem is that the student
eventually does not learn very much. I specifically refer to teacher's using them. I don't feel
they then serve a purpose except that you have a lazy teacher and in most cases uninformed.
Regards,
Ralph Stricker
SNAV88
<< I see many arrangements of Moonlight Sonata in the key of C. I don't see any
sense to this. If a teacher is using this just in the beginning of a student's
lessons and wants to instill interest in the classics, then I agree it has a
purpose. The problem is most of those teachers never teach the student the
original arrangement.
>>
Right on, Ralph. Magnante did Claire de Lune in "C", and Bach's Prelude in C#
in "C". Why? It sells better in that key. And while we're on that subject,
"C" seems to be the "lingering" key in all the method books. Thumb on "C''
becomes a "way of life" for the student then.
<<
How long do you want to keep a student on PH? To use all of the series is to me
just laziness and or lack of knowledge on the teacher.
Regards,
Ralph Stricker
> >>
While I have P/H in my store, I never use it at all, unless the student has
something in mind to do in a volume. I start with a book 1A and 1B (not P/H)
and am through the minor-sevenths and all treble sharps and flats within 10
weeks or more depending on the person and if they never read before. Those two
books start with fingering, and stop fingering when note reading begins.
Special finger exercises (mine) are introduced immediately to develop the hand.
Special music is entered by third lesson without title (which we name) and
although 16 measures long in AB form, we introduce playing an octave higher,
repeat signs, and how to harmonize in thirds, by sight. This concept continues
and we eventually end with an arrangement done by the student according to his
ideas.
A method book cannot do this.
Steve Navoyosky
Gary Dahl
beginning music appreciation...nothing wrong with that...heck, if it
bothers a person just get the crayons out and color them! Sure I have
used PH over the years and a competent teacher will add arranging to the
course for students who can handle it plus much of the fingering needs
to be fine tuned.
Since 1960 our studio has had 2 world champions, 4 US champions, many
graduates playing professionally and most importantly, the average
student and former students who enjoy their accordion with no
frustrations. All of them started on and used the Palmer-Hughes course.
Can you argue with success? OF COURSE we supplement with harmony and
other extra studies as in specialized solos and current music styles to
suit the students needs and capable talent. There are some folks that
can't get out of grade 3 because of talent restrictions. These same
students can still enjoy the adventure of music and sound very
entertaining within their talent boundries. I also have my students
bring a tape recorder to the lesson...this has been very
effective...when in doubt they can listen to the entire lesson again and
hear the teacher play the lesson. Ms. Cortinas said it very well and I
agree 100%. She also happens to be a very fine accordionist together
with university music teaching credentials. I would say that carries a
lot of believability! So...don't worry so much about trying to rewrite
various books and the little trite critiques...there is value in all of
them...just learn to the best of your ability...talk less and practice
more and you too will enjoy good music making.
www.accordions.com/garydahl
http://users.aol.com/accrdnmn/
Gary Dahl
Puyallup, Washington USA
Ralph Stricker
sna...@aol.com (SNAV88) wrote:
>Ralph Stricker wrote:
>
><< I see many arrangements of Moonlight Sonata in the key of C. I don't see any
>sense to this. If a teacher is using this just in the beginning of a student's
>lessons and wants to instill interest in the classics, then I agree it has a
>purpose. The problem is most of those teachers never teach the student the
>original arrangement.
>>>
>
>Right on, Ralph. Magnante did Claire de Lune in "C", and Bach's Prelude in C#
>in "C". Why? It sells better in that key. And while we're on that subject,
>"C" seems to be the "lingering" key in all the method books. Thumb on "C''
>becomes a "way of life" for the student then.
>
><<
>How long do you want to keep a student on PH? To use all of the series is to me
>just laziness and or lack of knowledge on the teacher.
>Regards,
>Ralph Stricker
>> >>
>
>While I have P/H in my store, I never use it at all, unless the student has
>something in mind to do in a volume. I start with a book 1A and 1B (not P/H)
>and am through the minor-sevenths and all treble sharps and flats within 10
>weeks or more depending on the person and if they never read before. Those two
>books start with fingering, and stop fingering when note reading begins.
Excellent. I always have had students play by reading of notes by the 4th lesson.
>Special finger exercises (mine) are introduced immediately to develop the hand.
I started thumb exercises by the 8th lesson and then Major scale/s immediately thereafter.
> Special music is entered by third lesson without title (which we name) and
>although 16 measures long in AB form, we introduce playing an octave higher,
>repeat signs, and how to harmonize in thirds, by sight. This concept continues
>and we eventually end with an arrangement done by the student according to his
>ideas.
>
>A method book cannot do this.
I agree. Steve, I compliment you on your teaching regiment.
Regards,
Ralph Stricker
>
>Steve Navoyosky
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Ralph Stricker
gary...@webtv.net (Gary Dahl) wrote:
Possibly everyone is confusing my criticizing of PH and other method books. I don't say that a
method book is bad, I just don't believe that you can/should use one from page to page, volume
to volume without supplementing additional studies. My gosh there is plethora of material that
can be used instead of method books. I also believe that if you use any method book
exclusively, you have no creativity, knowledge, incentive or teaching ability. I applaud your
record of 2 world champions, but are you saying you use the PH from volume 1 through 4 as the
basis for your teaching?
Regards,
Ralph Stricker
Gary Dahl
large grey area...it definitely is not black and white.
If the student is responding to the course I stay with it but again I
add so much extra material it becomes just one item out of many. Another
factor of importance is the psychological aspect. Many students just
love to progress through the books similar to the grades in school. Some
do not. The avaerage adult student probably gets through book 3 or 4 and
then it is out and into music they prefer and on to chord memorization
with my course. This course by the way has been fine tuned for about 25
years. I finally decided to submit it to Mel Bay and they are going to
publish it with a CD so the student can hear each page. This was
completed and submitted last Feb. There is a way for the student to
learn much more from each PH page but it takes an experienced teacher to
accomplish this. Even my book 1 students receive added notes on the
little tunes and start memorizing chords and scales for that tune. Many
of the simple songs can easily be converted into cajun for the students
who relate to that genre. So basically each page of PH can be ideal for
teaching the theory pertaining to that lesson. It is aliitle funny to
receive transfer students who are quite proud to be in... lets say, book
8, and in reality they can hardly play book 1...no kidding...this is
true over and over. This isn't the fault of the student and or the
course...just unqualified teaching...and sorry to say the accordion
world is loaded with them. Piano and violin have them too but there are
many more qualified because of university and conservatory training. Of
course that isn't always true in every case because I have received a
few "basket cases" from "factory trained" teachers. Well, this is long
enough...maybe more later.
ciao, Gary
Ralph Stricker
gary...@webtv.net (Gary Dahl) wrote:
My next question then is:
If you supplement so much work and tailor it for the individual student. Why did you not before,
write your own tutorial/s so as to have only material that you consider pertinent to teaching?
I don't believe that I ever used any method books after 4 or 5 months teaching. I immediately
used piano music. I also wrote the exercises and scales for the students. From those exercises I
immediately used piano books. Bach, Pischna, Brahms etc.
Regards,
Ralph Stricker