Richard Noel is a master of the digital accordion. As an athletic kid in Albany, Oregon, Noel doesn’t recall ever asking to play the accordion. At some point, one was placed in his hands and he was given lessons. He took to it, won some competitions, and thus began a lifelong attachment to an instrument as complex as it is seemingly simple.
The acoustic accordion is a wind instrument. The bellows, like lungs, breathe life into the hundreds of reeds hidden beneath its buttons and keys. The digital accordion builds on this legacy, relying on the bellows to provide its dynamic flair just as an acoustic accordion would. Essentially a bellows-operated computer, the digital allows multiple instruments to be coordinated between the treble and bass sections. In the right hands, the digital accordion can instantly become anything from a symphonic orchestra to a jazz combo. “Because the digital accordion requires bellows movement,” says Noel, “it also allows the player to feel the music.”
Noel saw the potential with digital accordions immediately, although he could not have foreseen at the time that it would lead him to a new career as a musician and digital programmer with an international following. Driven by the desire to make the digital instrument more user-friendly, Noel spent countless hours organizing and tweaking sounds for six of the Roland and Roland-inspired digital accordions. all adjusted to be in perfect harmony with each other. The result for the player is instant access to hundreds of new sounds.
Noel is now a preeminent and sought-after digital accordion programmer, fusing methodical experimentation with a sincere human connection. Noel has built his reputation, in part, from the videos he posts on his popular YouTube channel and his 14,000 subscribers. At the urging of the accordion community, he began to make his programming available to other players. He offers whatever invaluable advice and updates that are needed. “For many who are not computer literate it can take lengthy phone calls or emails,” says Noel. “The reward is nearly always that they couldn’t put their accordion down once they started experimenting with my sounds.”
Whether programming new sounds or working up a new arrangement, Noel’s method is one of exposure and experimentation, trial and error, and a lot of listening. When approached by a Scottish accordionist to create a digital version of the classic Scottish Hohner Shand Morino musette, Noel experimented with different sounds, volumes, and mixes, adjusting the degree of detuning to capture the indigenous musette sound, and referencing each mix back to the original target sound. The Scotts were impressed.
“Because there are many traditional accordionists who are skeptical of digital accordions, it’s always satisfying to demonstrate the digital’s incredible versatility in performing nearly any type of music,” he says. Through his use of digital programming, Noel hopes to inspire acoustic traditionalists as well as those seeking to expand their musical horizons.
Noel developed his own “styles” based approach to programming. He organizes sounds and instruments by genre into banks, where he can dip in and out as needed. “I begin to program as if I am programming for a combo,” he says, “treble, bass, chord, and percussion. The feel of the song changes with each new sound. Once I switch to alternative treble instruments I start thinking differently. Sax players play a lot of single-note melodies and they use their breathing to control the dynamics. As a wind instrument, the accordion bellows allow you to feel the sax through your instrument by means of its bellows. You need to think like the instrument being played.”
For 30 years Noel taught psychology at California State University, Bakersfield, where he lives part-time today. While he has played the accordion, successfully, since adolescence, he did not begin to play solo gigs in earnest until retirement. Noel brings to his current musical ventures not only decades of technique, but the skill set to be an effective programmer and programming teacher, and how to intuitively use the digital tool — the right mix of science, patience, and musical chops.
From the former student-athlete who won accordion contests, to the retired college professor who methodically develops his programming and arrangements, and then selflessly shares his method with the world, Richard Noel’s musical journey has been all about connections. An avid tennis player, he applies some of the lessons from his sports psychology classes to his music. And he has seen firsthand the power of music as medicine, especially for those suffering from mental decline. “I’ve played for memory care units where the patients truly come alive for an hour. The music reaches a deep-seated part of their existence.”
The finest instrument is only as good as its user, and at the heart of Noel’s digital explorations lies an acclaimed and curious player. His guttural connection to the digital accordion underscores his inherent awareness of feel — from the honesty of his programmed sounds, and his endless trial and error experimentation, to the very vibrating breath of the instrument.
“I play in order to make a connection with others,” he says, “When I see someone smiling, tapping their toes, I know I am affecting them with my music.”
To contact Richard Noel go here:
Website: www.noelaccordion.com
YouTube: Richard Noel Accordion