Welcome to the NAA Training Center
Sharon Seaton, Coordinator

Weekly Challenge Table

Week	Challenge	Type	Start Date*
1	Check the NAA Website for Accuracy: USA/Canada Teachers and National Services	Community Service	Feb 19, 2021
2	Learn One New Musical Piece	Personal Growth	Feb 26, 2021
3	Locate and report to the NAA Associations and Clubs, etc. using ZOOM	Community Service	Mar 05, 2021
4	Pledge to participate in one or more "Club" Zoom meetings within 30 days	Personal Growth	Mar 12, 2021
5		Community Service	Mar 19, 2021

* Due to the size of the accordionist file and deliver service requirements, it takes three calendar days to deliver the challenges.

Welcome to Pandemic Year #2!

It was a great disappointment for both the Board of Directors and conventioneers to have to cancel both the 2020 and 2021 conventions. Conventioneers are probably thinking, “The convention is my motivation to play my accordion, to practice and become a better player, to have some new music to play for others at the convention.” One of our regular attendees recently wrote to us that, without places to play his accordion, it was hard to make himself continue to learn new music. Are you feeling that way, too?

Sharing music is not the only reason to come to the annual NAA Convention. Once upon a time, another conventioneer commented that the convention was not just a place to play the accordion; it was, let’s face it, a reunion of friends. How true! After years of attending, we realize that we have made friends who share our passion for the accordion, and yet we see these friends only once a year.

Along Comes Covid-19.

The whole world is shaken up beyond anything we could have imagined. Our routines are changed; the ways we do so many things have changed, perhaps forever in some areas.

And yes, the NAA Convention is one entity that has been rudely affected. We don’t anticipate the NAA Convention to be a thing of the past, just a temporary casualty. In the meantime, we want to offer something to our members to keep the momentum going. We thought about it and decided on a plan to propose for you to keep practicing the accordion and socializing with like-minded friends.

The Plan: 52 Challenge!

The NAA is offering to our members and guests what we have named the “52 Challenge.” Once a week for the next 52 weeks, we will create a project for you to initiate or complete that involves the accordion or some aspect of music. You will receive an email each Friday that reveals and explains the activity. Some activities will be quite easy to perform while others will consist of a more extended commitment of time and effort.

Our mission is to encourage our members to continue pursuing their love of the accordion! This is not a time for a break in accordion activity. It is true that most public accordion engagements have been on hold for the last year because of the need for players to remain distanced from each other and from audiences. We have missed playing and have missed each other!

The Real Danger!

There is a more far-reaching danger involved: Our absence from the music scene is detrimental to keeping the accordion alive in the minds of the public. There is an urgency to do our part in promoting our instrument wherever we can to the non-accordion public. It’s not happening now. And it may not pick up where it left off. If you are a professional musician who has played at an establishment regularly, that business most likely was shut down last year by government order. Even if the business has opened again after months of being closed and financially strapped, management simply cannot afford to pay a musician. After growing their business again in the coming months or years, the concept of having live music may be the last thing on their minds.

Organization Information

Dr. Sharon Seaton says:

Dr. Sharon Seaton says: Welcome to the NAA Online Training Center. I have accepted the position of NAA Training Center Coordinator. While I am a professional accordionist with an earned doctorate in education (Ed.D.), I need a lot of help from the accordion world. Notice that we have three sections on this website for this reason. Review each of the three Moving Forward web pages and contribute your expertise. Remember, the newly reorganized NAA is now an official membership-driven, 501(3)( c) non-profit organization.

Orientation for the Online Training Options

1. COVID-19 Survival Kit	Member-contributed suggestions for rebuilding our playing opportunities
2. Training Sessions	Training sessions by accordionists
3 Youtube Videos	Single topic training videos from our database of accordion teachers

Talk to Your Leadership and Fellow Musicians!

In order to continue their businesses in such a time as this, music teachers are being more creative than ever. Because of technology, learning continues in spite of Covid-19! Teachers are continuing to teach students private lessons, and now even more via digital formats. Perhaps you are already experienced as a music teacher or student. Is there more information you would like to see concerning teaching or learning the accordion? Please let us know! How about ideas for short clips addressing smaller issues (4-5 minutes in length) that could be addressed in Youtube videos? We are excited to hear YOUR ideas!