Tom Collins Teaches the Bellows Shake

Tom Collins, the world famous accordion teacher passed away more than a year ago. He left a legacy of kindness, enthusiasm and music.

Tom could have been a rich and famous performer. Instead, he preferred simply to teach others. We are far richer for that.

In this video, edited by Bonnie Trotter, you will see advanced thoughts on the bellows shake. He uses the song, "Glow Worm" to demonstrate.

Tom was said to be the world's foremost expert on the bellows shake.

The sound is not good and you have my apologies for that. Neither Bonnie nor I thought we were recording anything special. Hey! He was a world traveler. Certainly others had recorded him in high quality, right?

Well, it turns out that there are few to none other recordings of the fabled Tom Collins. In time I will mount everything I have of Tom here. We are fortunate to have saved even this much into the digital age.

Tom started the Tom Collins School of the Accordion on the 300 block of Brooks Street in Missoula, Montana. That was back around 1948. His friend, Lois Shipley took over the business (she and Jack Nichols were my accordion teachers) and Tom became a Montana State Legislator. He did a great job, too. His only interest in legislation was the fine points of government and he never aimed to disappoint anyone. He helped us all.

Tom Collins is gone. He will be forever with us.

Thanks, Tom, for all that you did.