In this practical article for accordionists who wish to improve their technique, Aubrey Parminter stresses THE IMPORTANCE OF FINGERING

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For the accordionist who desires a faultless technique, the importance of good fingering cannot be over-emphasized.  Many an otherwise artistic performance has been marred by clumsy fingering in one or two passages; a fault which could so easily have been rectified by a little thought and practice.

As far as the beginner is concerned, the printed fingering (or that which has been marked in the music by the teacher) should be carefully observed.  Remember -- this has been given to help, not hinder you, and always bear in mind that a piece is easier to play when the correct fingering is used.

The fact that you have to use a given fingering instead of just letting your fingers run wild may seem more difficult at first, but a little perseverance is all that is necessary, and although your progress may appear a bit slow to start with, you will actually learn to play your pieces far sooner than you would have done without the correct fingering.  In fact, the slower you start the quicker you will finish.  I say this with a very deep feeling which will probably be shared by many other teachers, for how often does a teacher carefully finger a piece in a way that will suit a pupil's hand -- only to find at the next lesson that his work has been completely ignored !!  Of course, experienced players need not always adhere to the printed fingering if they can improve on it or find all alternatives that will suit their hand better.

Scale and Arpeggio practice is a sure foundation for the accordionist who wishes to develop a sense of good fingering.  I strongly advise all serious students to practice their scales in all keys (up to seven sharps and seven flats).  Memorize them all -- Major, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor; and if possible learn the major and minor scales in thirds also.  This is excellent practice for the fingers and you will be well repaid for the time and trouble taken in learning them; and those "sticky" passages in thirds, so often the downfall of many players, will no longer present difficulty to you.  Practice your major, minor, seventh and diminished arpeggios in all keys also; you will often come across them in your music.

It is, of course, true that in music we encounter parts of scales more often than complete scales of one octave or more, but it will be seen from the following examples that scale passages of one, two and even three octaves are to be found in many well known pieces.

Example 1 [not included in this internet reprint] is from Weber's Invitation to the Waltz, arranged by Tollefsen.  Bars 1 and 2 consist of C sharp major scale, while bars 5 and 6 consist of A major.  In each case the scale starts on the Tonic and ascends for an octave and a fifth.  No trouble with fingering here, if you have spent enough time in scale practice.

The foregoing examples should convince you that scale practice is essential, if you aspire to become a good player.  Scales are not just isolated exercise -- they form a vital part of the music that you play.  You may not always be able to finger a scale passage quite like you would finger the scale, owing to the notes which precede and/or follow it, but as far as the context will allow, you should endeavor to use the orthodox fingering; you will find that in most cases it is the quickest, easiest and most efficient way.

I have not yet mentioned the chromatic scale, but be sure to practice it, because you will come across it all over the place -- from Temptation Rag to El Relicario!