Greetings to the Cajun Accordion Discussion Group!! First time poster. I stumbled upon this fascinating site about a year ago. Lots of good info and advice here! To be brief, and to the point, a while back I purchased a hand made Accordion that I would love to learn to play. I have a few of the instructional DVD's that have kind of gotten my feet (ahh fingers!) wet with. But there's nothing like having some "hands on" pointers and such. I have checked with my local music store, etc. and I just get a surprised look followed by a "No, sorry bud, can't help you. Don't know anyone that plays one of those." Don't mean to be so blunt with my first post, but sometimes you gotta grab the bull by the horns and ask what you want to ask. I'll get off now. Kind regards, Karl

Welcome aboard, Karl!

You might hook up via Skype. That's the next best thing to being there. Jim Pettijohn in Baltimore (bmorebusker on YouTube) might be able to help. There are others, I'm sure, but I don't have a list.

I'm stuck in the hinterlands like you, and I've got a stack of DVD's. Big Nick's lessons are my pick for a beginner/novice.

Good luck,
Nedro

Nedro, Thanks for the welcome, info, and advice. It's unfortunate that everyone's so spread out. From what I've gathered and learned through the posts, there's a lot of "exceptional" talent here. Hooking up to Skype might be an idea in the future. Don't want to scare anybody right off the bat. In all seriousness, I have Big Nicks Vol.1 DVD, a few by Marc Savoy (which are more for intermediate players), and I also have a copy of "You Can Play Cajun Accordion" by Larry Miller. Guess I've got the "basics." So, I guess I just need to practice, practice, and practice. I might also add that all the videos on youtube have been invaluable to watch and listen to. One can only wonder how much better it is to here and see it "live!" Regards, Karl

Are you the Bob [Karl] from Wilmington NC ? Or are there two Karls from North Carolina?

Greetings Peer, I'm about 2 hours north of Wilmington. So, there must be two Karls...

I asked this because on the Braves Map (see above in the index page) I saw a Bob Stroud ([Karl] from Wilmington NC. Well, none of my business, but I thought this might be useful for you. Two Karls from Carolina who play Cajun Accordeon!