Just sent a letter off to Danny Dyson about ordering a new box. I've decided on a "tit noir". I want metal buttons, brass if he can get them, gold/red flappers, black/red bellows.I want it tuned in D, but after some recent postings here, I am thinking about A. I could easily play in D and E with an A box. D box gives you G and A. Hmmm. An A box would be much better for blues. At this point I know I don't want a Bb box.
All thoughts on the matter are appreciated.

All of this is sooo personal, no?

Capt. E.

Howdy Capt!

Do you already have a "C"? If not, I'd suggest you
start there.

Your second key will be determined by what your
needs are.

I had a female vocal in my band, so a "D" worked well
for her range.

For my range, a "Bfl" was handy, but fewer fiddles
will be able to play along if they're tuned-down.

I like the high "F" because of how ethereal it sounds
and how quick it's action is.

I have an "A", but almost never use it ..

Clear as mud?

I hope that helps ..

--Big Nick

Mississippi mud, right?
I do have a LeCapitaine in C, I love the heck out of it.
I'm probably going with a D box as it does seem to be by concensus the most popular second box after C, Bb seems to be next.
I have an old A/D two row Hohner and enjoy both rows. I tend to play general British folk, some C&W, hymns and a bit of Irish on it. I also play a D pennywhistle. I do seem to respond to the key of D. A suppose D box would also enable me to get into some Quebequois. Harmonica is what I have played the longest (40 years??). I've got about 7 of those in A, Bb, C, D, E, F, and G. Harmonica and accordion go pretty well together.

By the way Nick, thanks for all you do to expand the world of Cajun Acoordion,

Capt. E.

Hey Capt! I use a D and an A box. I suppose the big answer to the keys of D and A would be, what void are you looking to fill?

Do you sing? That could answer your question. You already have a C box. Key of D is not a drastic change musically or vocally. It's important to note, however, most Cajun player's first two key acquistions are Key of C, then Key of D. It's been the dynamic duo of the single-rows forever. But most of these duos are owned and operated by artists that have a fiddle in the band. And if you're gonna play in Texas, don'tcha gotta have a fiddle in the... ah nevermind.

With the key of D, you're going to find it just as easy to play with fiddle players as it is with your Danny Dyson LeCapitaine box in C. But are you doing or plan to play Cajun music?

Key of A makes guitarists really happy and has a generally has better zydeco and/or rock feel. Key of A would be a greater jump from your current C box, and is great for an electric "band" situation. But if you're looking to jam Cajun-style, you're already there with the C.


My homegrown opinions... I water 'em every morn'...

~R!CK

OK, so that's not practical. Fun to think about though!

I agree with Nick and Rick.

It all comes down to what you are going to do with the box. If you are doing a lot of Cajun, then D is the common choice after C. But if you are planning to do a lot of zydeco, then A would probably be better.

-David

Johnny,

With the D box, you can learn Quebec style

music whose repertoire is exclusively played in D.

Dont close all doors .

C

The key of silent 'Q'?

I like Q flat better.

I prefer "G" as in gnat!

R!CK

True, D is not a big departure and Cajun is not the dominate music form here in Austin. I am more likely to find a C&W, bluegrass or Tejano band (three-row?) Anybody heard Joe Ely's latest cd "Live at the Cactus" with Joel Guzman on his three row? Killer album. The singer songwriter is king here in Austin and blues is huge. I do enjoy blues quite a lot, that is one reason I am thinking of an A box. You get E in second position and it will growl more, and fits my baritone as well.

I'll play my A/D two row some more, probably help me decide. Doesn't have that rich four reed sound and Cajun tuning though.

Just for grins, if an accordion played in a bluegrass band, what keys would work best?

I was in a bluegrass/Americana band here in Dallas for a couple of years. We were called, The ComeAlongs. It was all original material as we had 4 songwriters in the band. The only problem was, between the mandolin and the banjo/guitar playing, there's NOT a lot of "holes" in the music where an instrument like a Cajun box fits in. I ended up playing a lot of whole notes (boring as hell) -- more or less providing a "keyboard" bed for these 2 guys to pick on top. That said, when it came to playing my tunes, well, hehe, they had to "chuck-chuck" to give me my back-up riddim. But my tunes weren't bluegrass!

Bluegrass on the Cajun box is kinda tough, bro. You'll find most of the song keys set-up to where you're doing more pushing than pulling.... UNLESS you decide to write your own stuff, mon ami. We used a lot of C, D, G, and A accordion in that band.

R!CK

Yeah, I think bluegrass is a stretch, but C, D, G, A; that sounds about right.
Ok, thinking out loud here:
I pretty much got G (F instead of F#) and F (B instead of Bb) available with my C box, What can't I do so well... A, B, Bb, D, E. D box would give a different variation on G (C# instead of C, played on the pull) and an octave higher A (G instead of G#)
A box tuned in A would give D scale (with a G# instead G) and E (with a D instead D#). No real overlap with my C box.

A is obviously a greater move, lower than C, growlier, more adaptable to blues, perhaps. probably fits my voice better.

My favorite guitar chords are D and E...does that mean something?

Then Jim goes and throws that new F box at us!!! So sweet sounding. You need a really high voice to go with that one. High sorrowful plaintive sounds like D. L. Menard maybe?

Capt. E