I am a violinist and a new fan of Cajun music. Because of this, I am interested in finding a decent diatonic Cajun accordion. What is a good model for a beginner, and what key should it be in? Is a C Cajun accordion the best way to go? Will it be able to handle pretty much any of the literature coming one's way? Many thanks!

Key of C is best for Cajun music.

DON'T buy a Chinese accordion, i.e. Ariette, Bonetti, Bonelli, etc. -- the $300 boxes on eBay. They are a TOTAL waste of money. Look for a Hohner HA-114 or maybe a Gabanelli Cajun King. If you're lucky, you might find a used LA hand-made at a good price.

If money is not an issue, then go with a good hand-made accordion. There are a dozen or so builders in the US.

If the recommended accordions are out of your budget, then it may be best to wait until you can afford a good one. A crappy instrument is like a ball and chain -- it will impede your ability to progress normally.

I know because I ****** away the money on a bargain box.

Used LA - what would LA stand for? Thanks.

LA is the state abbreviation for Louisiana. When he says LA box, he means hand made Cajun accordions, most of which are made right here in Louisiana. However, there are a few builders in Texas, two of which make really nice accordions, and post regularly here on this forum.

check out this link it seems to be pretty comprehensive

http://squeezeboxbuilders.blogspot.com/

Welcome Charles, you've really got a pre there playing the fiddle: there you'll find the heart & expression possibilities of this soulful music. Not that loud noise maker we idiots try to master. Some advice? Forget it, but if you really must: C is the most used key, with a lot of music played in G. D makes more sense for fiddle tunes, Cajun, Irish, Canadian & old time country. For me i play my low G a lot with a fiddle based band i'm with right now. But when you play bluesy stuff with a guitar player an A comes to mind for the (myxolidean) key of E. If you like to sing with a lower range male type voice and also dig Zydeco a Bb. For fiddle you can do with just one fiddle, and maybe a second one tuned one note lower to FCGD, this is basically to please all them C accordionists. Far cheaper too .... Nout

Welcome new Brave. If you can afford it, a Gabbanelli Cajun king or Weltmeister Cajun is a good way to start. They go for about $1000 USD. The Gabbanelli is usually in stock and can be ordered with hand made Tip A Mono reeds at no extra charge. I have a black Cajun King with the Tip A Mono reeds and I am very happy with it. You order directly from Gabbanelli in Houston TX. For Weltmeister you can contact the following dealers. Smythe's Accordion Center in Oakland, CA, Castiglione Accordions in MI, Castle Accordions in MN and The Button Box in MA. The Button Box occasionally has a used handmade Louisiana box for sale but they fly out the door almost as soon as they hit the shelf. Keep an eye on Ebay as well. Start with the key of C and get Big NIck's instructional DVDs to learn how to play. You also need to listen to Cajun music as much as possible as you will play by ear so you need to memorize the tunes. Try www.cajunmusicradio.com or KBON online. Good luck and happy hunting.

Many thanks for your continued advice here! You mention the Big Nick instructional DVD series, which has 3 levels. Do you find that to be the best self-teacher, in your experience? I've come across several already. Also, what recordings are recommended as great pillars of Cajun music to start out with? Thanks again.

I have used Big Nick's DVDs and find them to be of the highest professional quality. I am on Vol 3 now after starting with Vol 1. Nick is an excellent teacher and his method is easy to understand. He doesn't spend a lot of time with lengthy explanations or fancy charts. He starts you off right away with both melody and bass side. You will find throughout this forum that I have several times, highly recommended Big Nick's "Learn to Play Cajun Accordion" DVD series. Go to Big Nick Box Lessons web site for some beginner tips. You will find links to the main page with links to the DVD series. As for music, anything with the Balfa Brothers and Nathan Abshire is excellent. Iry Legeune, Armede Ardoin, Octa Clark, DL Menard, Carriere Brothers, Allie J Young, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Jo-El Sonnier, Kevin Naquin, Jesse Lege, Wade Fruge, Adam Hebert, and Balfa Tojours are just a few great artists to listen to. I also listen to www.cajunmusicradio.com and hear a good variety of Cajun/Creole tunes. As the songs are playing, links appear enabling you to purchase the song or CD from either iTunes or Amazon. You can also go to YouTube and type in cajun accordion. Watch the videos. There are plenty of them to watch. Also stay in touch with this forum. There are many people far more knowledgeable than me who will be happy to offer advice. You came to the right place to start. I hope it works out for you. I enjoy playing Cajun accordion and hope you will also. Good luck and keep squeezin"

Ditto on Dana's list of artists.

add: Lawrence Walker, Aldous Roger, Belton Richard, Walter Mouton, Shirley Bergeron, Austin Pitre, Ambrose Thibodeaux, Angelas LeJeune, Bois Sec Ardoin, Geno Delafose, Moise Robin, Marc Savoy/Wilson Savoy, J.B. Fusilier, Bee Fontenot, Wayne Toups, Jason Frey, Paul Daigle, Corey McCauley, Jimmy Breaux, Bruce Daigrepont, Pee Wee Broussard, and more.

these are all great accordion players.

also if you're a fiddler you should check out
Dennis McGee, Wade Frugé, Sady Courville, Lionel Leleux, Varise Conner, Canray Fontenot, Balfa Brothers, Cheese Read, Joel Savoy, Linzay Young, Harry Choates, Harry LaFleur, Ken Smith, Robert Bertrand, Wayne Perry, David Greely, Courtney Granger, Brandon Moreau, John Dowden, Jonno Fishberg, Mitch Reed, Cedric Watson, Milton Vanicor, Kevin Wimmer, Steve Riley, Bill Grass, Waylan Thibodeaux, Doc Guidry, Rodney Fontenot, Dennis Boudreaux, Travis Matte, etc

Wonderful names to choose from! On the accordion and violin/fiddle side, if you could name 2 CD's as ideal "get started with this" music to enjoy and study, what would they be? Also, I just received the book Ye Yaille, Chere from Amazon yesterday. A CODOFIL person recommended it, and it looks amazing - and perfect for fiddling right off the bat. Do a lot of you guys have this? I can't wait to learn the lyrics for a lot of these songs, too. I hope Acadian singing is somewhat baritone friendly! Thanks.

My suggestion would be to start with the Balfa Brothers for fiddle music. Also the Carriere Brothers. For accordion you could start with Iry Legeune or Balfa Brothrs with Nathan Abshire. Octa Clark is another one to get. You will get a lot of suggestions on this subject so start with one and take it from there. All the artists listed by me and others are excellent. You can get all these artists on iTunes or Amazon. Good luck and happy hunting.

don't forget this invaluable site maintained by a member here.... link #1

hmm for fiddle the self titled album Linzay Young & Joel Savoy. They cover all the well known cajun fiddle styles, for Accordion I'm with Dana get that Iry Legeune* (SIC)LeJeune. There is one version of his recordings with an overdubbed bass and it sounds like ****. The link I put is for the legit one. You will enjoy these albums for sure.

One word of caution about the yellow book. Some of the melodies aren't really right, but they are in the neighborhood of being right, so with a good ear you will be able to decipher through that. He also transposes keys for alot of songs, so they can be played easier on fiddle, which is cool, but when you go to a jam you might have a hard time because they won't be playing the songs you know in the same keys. The lyrics transcriptions are rock solid for the recordings he references. He also has alot of cool interviews from cajun musicians mixed in, and one point even gives a recipe for couscous.

Here are the links for both cds

Fiddle:
http://valcourrecords.com/releases/linzay-young-and-joel-savoyeponymous

Accordion:
www.amazon.com/Cajuns-Greatest-The-Definitive-Collection/dp/B0000009HI

Many thanks for the suggestions! I certainly don't mind improvising on the violin, so if said group plays in a different key and I know the song well anyway, I'll probably get out alive - hopefully with not too many scratches. Glsd to know that the lyrics are spot on.

For learning accordion, I agree with all suggestions, but I highly recommend getting anything with Nonc Allie Young. He had a very simple but nice style that makes picking out a song by ear easier for beginners. Picking out a song by Octa Clark or Iry Lejeune, my two personal favorites, is not beginner friendly.

Along the lines of a first accordion: should one get a good beginner model, or is a really good first instrument - perhaps an accordion made by a good craftsman in Louisiana - the way to go, if affordable? I imagine there are lots of considerations, such as tone, playability, good sturdy components, etc. Thanks.

It's really a matter of money. If you want to give it a shot, and can swing it, a used handmade is a good investment. If it doesn't work out, you can probably get your money back selling it. But it will be easier to learn on. If that's out of the question, find a used Hohner 114. They sound good with proper tuning, and are good starter instruments. Harder to play, but not too bad.

Are the used hand-made instruments very hard to come by? Where can they be found? Do various music stores in Acadiana sell used as well as new instruments? How difficult is it to have one's accordion tuned properly?
Thanks!

Charles,

I haven't reviewed this whole thread, so please
forgive any repetition here ..

The Louisiana instruments can be found in .. Louisiana!
Google Jr. Martin, Marc Savoy, Larry Miller etc.

They are not "hard to find" but it may take time for
someone to build your instrument. Each one is hand
made and usually to order. Unfortunately, they are
not inexpensive.

Here's a link to my WEB page, discussing purchasing of
an accordion:

http://www.bignick.net/BoxLessons/boxlesson_2.htm

Best of luck in your endeavors!

--Big Nick

I went to an accordion association meeting last night, and I had a blast. All the people who played had piano accordions, but the coordinator brought a Hohner Cajun diatonic with 2 stops. I was able to play a little bit with it, and it was fun. One of the guys, knowing I was interested in the diatonic, suggested that I go for the 3-row button type so that I would have more keys to work with. Makes sense, but all I see on You Tube are all the guys playing one row button models, probably most keyed in C. Is virtually all Cajun music C-accordion centric? Is it common for Cajun accordionists to bring multiple one-row boxes to gigs to accommodate multiple keys? Do some or many use 3-row models to solve that dilemma? And how would this relate to the popular DVD instruction courses out there? Thanks.

Hi Charles. If you want to play traditional Cajun music a one row LMMH reed bank fitted handmade LA accordion probably is the best choice. If you're looking for a multipurpose instrument, Zydeco and f.i. Tex Mex, you might want to look around on other forums, like melodeon.net or the reyes forum for advice too. - Nout

The triple-row is a wonderful, versatile instrument but you need a single-row to play traditional Cajun music. Each instrument has its own capabilities, limitations, and distinctive sound. You cannot substitute one for the other.
More often than not, professional Cajun musicians gig with two or three single-row boxes. In addition to the single-rows, those who play Zydeco and/or Creole music typically have one or more triple-rows. But that’s not about covering more keys.
Who do you want to emulate? If it’s Octa Clark you need the single-row. But if it’s Boozoo Chavez you’ll need both. For a crash course in what the instruments are capable of, go see how Horace Trahan (or Jeffrey Broussard) choose among their single- and triple-rows for different parts of their shows.
Enjoy!

Check E-Bay Item number: 221021270008

It is a fine looking instrument. What do you know about the Acadiana line and the builder, Mr. Colligan?

Good accordion. Some like the way he tunes the instrument. Jimmy Breaux plays Acadianna.

Great builder I have one of his so do a lot of really good well known players.

He lives next door to me and is my wife's cousin. So I can vouch for him. Although that is Ebay and not being sold by him personally...