I've been doing some editing on Wikipedia, and just realized that there's no good coverage of Cajun accordion!

It gets a very, very brief mention in the following article, but that's about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_button_accordion

I'm going to take a risk and create an all-new page for Cajun accordion. If folks can toss up enough basic info, the page will stand as-is and be a full article (with room for expansion).

If we can't get a goodly amount of info, the article will probably get merged into the above diatonic/melodeon article.

You ---don't need to sign up for Wikipedia to edit---, you can anonymously edit just by hitting the "Edit" tab on the wiki screen.

Don't worry too much about formatting, I can always fix that later. If you have accurate, non-biased, encyclopedic info to add about the history, tuning, employment, etc of the Cajun accordion, your help would be greatly appreciated, and help spread squeezebox info to a wider audience. Here's the starter shell (feel free to edit my poor info):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_accordion

See discussion (link 1) on the beginnings of Cajun and Creole accordion style. I believe the article itself still states that it can be traced to German settlers in Roberts Cove, and I don't know if that is proven.

hey Neal, great article .... guess any traditional music from the descendants of Europeans is, besides style differences in performances, somehow linked. I once heard old recordings of old fashioned Eastern European fiddle music, which had a lot stylishness in common with traditional Old time Country fiddle stuff, and probably straight fiddles only Cajun music too. As soon as novelty instruments appear on the scene besides fiddles, usually the music and styles change quite a bit. Banjo's in country, accordions in Cajun, guitars, and so on had great influences on the surviving "traditional" music itself. But to me the African influences on it all makes a lot of music around today more interesting. Thus also the obviously strong Afro influence in Louisiana music. - Maybe there is a crazy Cajun fan out here or there who can build computer models about musical developments in ethnic musical styles. I really would love to hear Cajun music when you exchange the African's coming into Louisiana for let's say the Chinese; in fact they invented the accordion by using free-reed technique as used in the sheng first; see link #3 ... nout

I think the black and white influence worked in both directions. It was that way in early country blues, 1920s and 30s. Mississippi John Hurt, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Skip James and people of that age sometimes referred to what they were playing (blues) as reels! They most likely got that term from white fiddlers.

I agree, but recording started much later, when the novelty instruments were already in full swing. That's why areas with out too much "civilization" are so important if you want to dig in the past. Like cajun French probably is more like the French language as spoken 2 centuries ago than current French. - Also in Holland the radio appeared pretty early on the scene, the Philips factory was a big influence over here, and we were used to many other cultural influences to from the days of colonialization too. I guess that's the reason there's not much traditional music left around in Holland. Sometimes you'll find a manuscript, and similarities between dance tunes from the northern islands, thanks poorness & isolation there, and music frae Bonnie Scotland. -nout

There seems to be an explosion of interest in what is now called ethnomusicology. The music school at the University of Texas has expanded that area of study tremendously. Witness Joel Guzman and JJ Barrera now on the faculty teaching respectively Tex-mex accordion and Bajo Sexto. Roots music is a big deal now. You might check the music schools in LA.

Capt. E

We done our best exposing American roots & folk music to school kids in Holland and Germany back in the 70-ies and 80-ies, by doing school concerts. We've restarted the band we had back then some months ago, but there seems less or lack of interest in schools around here. Funny exception: the local American School.
see link #1 - nout