In this episode me meet people who play and teach the piano accordion in Belfast.

The accordion is used often in céilí groups, accompanied by a fiddle and/or a banjo - music that is the typical accompaniment for traditional Irish group dancing. The musician, Maeve Boylan discusses the different types of trad music, including reels and jigs. She talks of the céilí band she plays in and the interaction between the musicians and those dancing. She observes that the piano accordian should be played tastefully, and quiet enough so that the other instruments are heard. However, she acknowledges, when required the loudness of the accordion can be used to lead the music.

Ciaran Kelly is another practitioner of the piano accordion and the melodeon, both as a musician in his own right and as a music teacher. He explains that there are various types of accordions, each of which requires a certain level of skill.

A Belfast Film Workshop Production.

Produced in association with UTV, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Community Relations Council.

 

• NI Direct - PRONI