Hey Russ,
Yes, I play the bass side, pretty much all the time.
That's the way I learned to play. I guess it's kinda' like tapping my foot while playing.
Ed Poullard stepped on my foot ( on purpose, just to see what would happen ) one day when we were jamming at his home, and I quit playing. I told him " I can't play if I I can't tap my feet .
So it's the same with the bass side of the accordion, for me.
No, I don't always "mic" that side when performing, but I will play the bass side into a vocal mic when the mood strikes me and it adds to the tune being played. I was insistant on having it mixed in, on our C/D recording. I notice that several other resent recordings also have the bass side mixed in. I think it adds to the over all sound of the music.
Jude

Many older players say that if you don't play the left hand, you don't really play cajun accordion.

Music is more complete that way, in my opinion.

Just practice and let it sink in. After a while, the left hand gets going by itself.

For Cajun, I try to play the left hand as much as I can, but truthfully, it is not my strongest skill. If a tune is particularly demanding on the right side, I might leave off the left hand at times.

For zydeco, I often leave out the bass side, except for certain accents.

As we all know, the capabilities of the instrument for correct harmonization on the bass side are very limited. I have heard several times that the idea is to think of the bass side as a rhythmic thing rather than a harmony/melody thing, and not to worry about the dissonance created by the "incorrect" harmonization of the bass side.

The way I learned to play the bass side was to move my fingers without holding the accordion during odd moments like driving, or walking to work.

-David

The left hand was hard for me to learn. But once you get it, it happens without even thinking about it. Always make an attempt to play it (even on a flat 7th!) Ooftah!

The left hand is crucial to the "feeling" of C&Z music. Like Jude sez, it's very similar to tapping your toes to keep time.

CRUCIAL I tell ya!

Patience... more patience... keep on... you'll find it!

R!CK

I assume that you guys are talking about playing single rows, are you?.

And if that's the case, what about playing a 3 rows Zydeco Style and the bass side of it?.

I like to know, and one of the reasons is that I'm learning how to play a 3 rows.

I was watching Roy Carrier playing on a U Tube short video the other day and I don't think he was using the left hand at all.

1 row players playing Irish or Quebecquois Music do not use the bass side of their boxas not to interfere with the integrity of the tune I guess , I mean less of an extra sound as to put the emphasis on the tune itself.

But I think for the 1 row,and Cajun Music, the bass side ,can be used, for waltzes especially, in moderation, tactfully, and subletly and almost imperceptly .

I know it can be hard to do especially when some boxes have a very loud bass side.

Thanks.

Claude.

Some Irish play the left hand as well, (sometimes like a 'drone' or to make the accents'. Polka's f.e are quite often played with a 2/4 bass. And it just makes the music nicer. Listen to Charlie Piggot, for example. He is a great traditional player.
But many experienced two or three row diatonic accordion players all over the world (tex mex, Brittany, France, Basks) use the bass side very well to accompany themselves. Some say "never play a tune without using the left= bass hand, even not when practicing".
I know it is difficult when you are not used to it, so better start with it right away. In fact, the left hand notes determine the push or pull, right?

Gus

Hey Gus,

Actually, I have one of Charlie's CD, and not having lessen to it for a while I just can't remember him using his left hand even on occasions, and if I remember correctly ,the thing that baffles me is that his left hand was render useless trough an accident so that from playing a fretted instrument, ( I can't recall exactly witch one) he did switch and learn to play the 2 rows boxes, hmmmmmm!.

But neverthless your'e quite right in saying Irish box playing sometimes involves playing the basses , but only on occasions, and as you said for ornementations mostly,like little grunts and squeals as to make it "almost negligeable" , well almost!.

But again I was refering to one row and not 2 rows playing .

Claude.

roy uses left hand a lot

it;s the same thing, same 2 buttons
you can just use them same as cajun
or use some of the other ones

playing on the pull makes the
basses wrong most of the time

but on a 3 row, you may even have the
right basses available, that is,
for the g chord/note on push,
[g/c/f accordion]
you have that, as well as the d

if playing on the middle row, c, you would
use the basses from the outer row, g
which would give you the g/push
and the d/pull

3 row basses can sound pretty good, deep
and loud, so there are reasons to use them.

not that many people do, but still..

you have options..

wle.

I feel better that Roy uses the bass buttons, as I was wondering , while lessenning to some of his music, where that "extra" sound was coming from, especially when he accompagny the rest of the band.

Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your feedback on playing the bass and chords on the single-row accordion. It's definitely a rhythm thing. I like the observation that it can be played with a subtle touch. I'd love to hear more thoughts. Interesting that some Quebec and Irish players omit it.

On the triple row, you might have 12 bass on up to 120 bass on the left side, like a piano accordion. I think both Corey Ledet and Keith Frank have a large array of buttons on the left side and play them well.

Clifton Chenier and John Delafose certainly made great use of the bass buttons in zydeco.

Two-row Irish system (B/C and C#/D) players often use their basses; often more for occasional accents like Uilleann pipe drone hoots, rather than for the continuous oom-pa effect. Much perspiration over what bass layout to order with your box: Paolo, McComisky, or your own special way.

In Cajun and Creole music, I always appreciate hearing the bass mixed in with an acoustic trio setup. I've never played against a bass guitar or bull fiddle, but I expect you wouldn't want to mic the accordion bass even if you kept playing it for reason of rhythmical counterpoint.
S'b'B

Most of the Tex-Mex styles don't use the left side for sound. Many Tex Mex boxes have the reeds removed on the left for faster bellows response and more free air.

Nice to know, Craig.
But how about the one I once saw: Santiago Jimenez?
He used his left hand (at least when he left stage and came to play in the audience.

Gus

Some do, many don't. Those who can usually play other styles as well. If you get a chance to listen to Ruben Coe, please do. He has no recordings but shows up on YouTube from time to time. One of his boxes is jazz tuned which sounds great! An excellent musician he is.
Craig

One big question left open: Why do Cajun bands rarely record the bass and chords? CDs by Horace Trahan, Ray Abshire, Steve Riley, Jimmy Breaux (and others) typically don't include this sound. Any thoughts on why it appears to be an exception to record the left hand parts? The new Les Amis Creole kickin' new CD is an exception, where you can pick out Ed Poullard's left hand pretty much throughout.