Livestream | How I would approach Palmer Hughes today (and other method books)

Hi, I’m Dallas Vietty—accordion performer and educator based in Pennsylvania, USA. I’ve been playing accordion for 20 years and teaching it online for over 13, working with students of all ages and backgrounds. In this livestream, I’m taking a fresh and honest look at the most iconic method book series in accordion history: Palmer-Hughes.

This episode is called “How I Would Approach Palmer Hughes Today (and Other Method Books)”. While these books have been the backbone of accordion education for generations, they often get treated as static, one-size-fits-all guides. But after two decades of experience as both a player and teacher, I’ve come to believe that method books only truly come alive when they’re treated as starting points—not rulebooks.

I’ll share how I now approach Palmer-Hughes in my teaching: how I would use it, adapt it, and enrich it to help modern students grow into expressive, creative musicians. We’ll talk about where the books fall short, and how to bring in essential concepts from the very beginning—like smart bellowing, understanding harmony, improvisation, and playing with real musical feeling. Method books can work—but they need to be infused with artistry and flexibility.

If you’re a teacher looking for a deeper way to use traditional materials, or a student who’s ever felt uninspired or stuck in the pages of a method book, this livestream will offer tools, insights, and encouragement to help you or your students thrive. Let’s rethink how we build foundational accordion skills, and how we can do it with more joy, curiosity, and expressive power.