I like the mellow sound of it

or this one

The first YouTube is a D playing in A. Only two chords in the whole song; A to E, or the 1 and the 5, as near as I can hear.
The mellow sound probably comes from an internal microphone, plus the tuning may be a bit wet.
D tuned boxes can play in D, A, and in E for a select group of players.

The second YouTube is a C playing in G.
C boxes can play in C, G, or F, again for a few select individuals.

doug,
I distinctly remember you saying you were a musician, or from a long line of musicians.
Well then, pick up your guitar and play along with the music. You can figure out the keys that way. That's all I did.

And please be a little more polite when you ask for something on this forum, would you?
Seems to me like you are demanding an answer from people who really don't give a shxt whether you get an answer or not.
You are working on wearing out your welcome pretty quick.
Have given you the benefit of a doubt, but
I think Tom Quinn has you pegged pretty close.

JB

D & C huh? Looks like I'm going to need a box in every key before I can even get started, They sounded a lot deeper to me compared to the demonstrations of C & D boxes I've listened to on youtube.

I could find the notes on any instrument I have more or less but that wouldn't help me figure out which box is playing on tv.

@ the moment i'm studying notes on a new viola, which is like a big deep sounding violin or fiddle, & even though i can find the notes i can't put a name to them.

Viola
4=CDEF
3=BCGC
2=DEF#G
1=ABCD
I own one.

doug,
You're hopelessly rude and completely clueless.
And it's probably not because of where you live.
Will henceforth ignore your senseless questions.
No more help attempts.
Last Communication.

JB

the crowds love my music so I don't care what your opinion of me is. I'm a natural musician & play from the soul not a book. I'm retarded at reading music but I can play amazing **** that makes everyone want to know me. Just the other day a young woman who owns a music store & teaches music was all over me even though her boyfriend was standing right behind her. However i'm a loner that keeps to myself & focuses on the music & then leaves.

I am going to buy cajun accordions & the subtle differences between them leaves me confused. Maybe it's the position of the stops in different songs that is creating my confusion.

I have masses of instruments & i'm always amazed @ how different they sound live compared to what i've heard coming through the speakers all my life. It's made me more careful too & I try to find out as much as I can about the intruments before I start buying them.

You are in the wrong place. You ought to be in an orchestra competing with the masters. They'll put you in your place straight away.

& don't speak for the other people here. They are nothing like you.

Still I love you all & don't want to upset anyone with my ignorance of the cajun accordion specifics.

I love the sound of the cajun accordion. It sounds very earthy & natural, & no two sound exactly alike; so it's difficult for me to tell which key they are in. & if I'm going to pay 3 & a half grand for each one then I really need to study them closely first. So if you don't want to offer help then don't. No one asked you specifically to.

Boozoo Chavis does not like to offend his audiences sense of propriety, but he is never ashamed of his own blunt opinions. -Zydeco "I know music. I can't read music, but I know it by ear... Boozoo Chavis"

***

I believe I am the same as lots of people who can play music but can't write it down or read it. I don't even like performing other people's songs or tunes & it would feel weird to hear someone imitating me.

If I hear an accordion that sounds good I may ask people what key they think it's in. Often I've seen people complain that some people get their keys mixed up & sell someone the wrong key.

Doug,

Not knowing your background with these instruments, let me offer the following:

These guys are using 1 row and 3 row accordions commonly.

There are two keys that are very popular for the 3 rows. The 3-row players
would need to chime in here to tell you more. (I would think you'd want a
3-row who's first row is in "F" to match BooZoo's rendition of "Paper in my Shoe")

For single row, the most popular key is "C".

But, you generally want to play in second position if you want to play
any blue notes. Playing second position on a "C" accordion give you the key
of "G" with a flatted seventh "blues note".

For example, the BooZoo clip that you had posted is obviously being played
on a 3 row.

You could play this facsimile of this song on a 1-row. If you wanted to match his
key, I'd suggest an "F" box single row accordion and play in second position which
is "C".

YOU COULD also play this on a "C" accordion, first position, but I personally
wouldn't do that because it's "unnatural" in terms of the difficult fingering
that it would require.

Point being .. there is a bit of music theory going on here and you are correct..
you do not want to purchase the "wrong" key for what you're playing :)

Also, from my experience, I don't think I've ever met a Cajun Player who uses
sheet music. It's all done by ear, so you're on the right track with that idea.

--BN

Gosh some people are sensitive. I would get a single row c box later if you're into Zydeco then a triple row .

Tom, he said he can't read it or write it. It's not his idea. And sheet music can be a very useful tool for some musicians. Whatever works has to be a good thang. Right?

Well I went & read up on how to read & write music & I remembered studying all that stuff years ago. It still doesn't help me to know what cajun accordion is being played in any given song however.

I had thought about getting a 3 row accordion but they generally do sound a bit muffled compared to the cajun accordion. If I do get one I'll take the cover plate off the treble valves so that the sound is much clearer. It's like my piano. Normally it just sounds like a piano but when I take all the panels off so the cast iron harp is exposed then the sound is ten times clearer with more overtones.

I find no problem with "Doug's" posts..

however... folks,IMNSHO you are being "put on".

Doug is a HUMP just like old J L M