Handmade Harmony
Today was a glorious sunny day, and Karim and I drove to his accordion lesson together. The accordion he is learning to play is quite a substantial instrument. When we arrive at the music school, I always insist on helping him carry it. Karim, however, refuses — and so we sometimes end up debating who will take it, much to the amusement of passers-by. Sometimes I win and carry it; sometimes Karim does. The point is that his music teacher wants him to carry the instrument on his own back. He says Karim is old enough now. Old enough, perhaps — but Karim is still very slim, and the accordion probably weighs at least 30% of his body weight!
Today we met the teacher in excellent spirits. He is a true enthusiast for accordions and is often invited to serve on juries at accordion competitions. In a cheerful mood, he told us about the wonderful holiday he had recently spent in Italy, at a place famous for accordion making. Accordions are still, to this day, mostly handmade. A single instrument can contain over three thousand individual parts! Each one is a masterpiece. Automation is difficult because no two accordions are exactly alike — the internal mechanisms must be finely adjusted according to the type and voicing of the instrument. That is why they are so expensive: a good one can easily cost several thousand dollars.
The accordions the teacher spoke about are made in small workshops, often with no more than forty people. If even one worker is temporarily absent, it can slow down production and cause delays. Some customers wait up to two years for their instrument. The teacher himself waited four months for his. It was fascinating to hear, and I was glad Karim was there, listening attentively. Now he understands a little more how special — and how handcrafted — the instrument he holds really is. I think it’s good for children to hear these stories: the history behind their music, the people who make their hobbies possible. It helps them appreciate the heritage and the collective hard work that go into creating something beautiful — in this case, the glorious sounds that come from an accordion.
