A major new, open-access digital educational resource has just launched in the UK.

Developed by the Diocese of Leeds Keyboard Studies Programme, the Leeds Accordion Method is a completely free, interactive online tutor designed to guide absolute beginners through their first steps on the C-system chromatic button accordion with free bass.

Generously funded by The Vinehill Trust, the platform is 100% free of charge with no paywalls, subscriptions, or credit card requirements. It offers a structured curriculum featuring step-by-step digital modules, high-definition tutorial videos, audio demonstrations, ear-training quizzes, and downloadable sheet music.

The tutor builds on the success of our primary school organ resource, Fingers and Feet: A Journey to the Organ Bench (created in partnership with the Royal College of Organists). Our broader music initiative reaches around 7,000 children every week in West Yorkshire state primary schools—many coming from some of the UK’s most socio-economically deprived communities—and serves as the model for the UK’s National Schools Singing Programme (NSSP).

We now have a growing cohort of young children learning classical free bass accordion in Yorkshire schools, using the instrument to build rapid musical literacy and providing a natural stepping stone between choir participation and keyboard/organ studies.

For further information email Benjamin Saunders, Diocese of Leeds Music: ben@nssp.org.uk