Correct! Sam's primary role is to emulate the steel guitar with his slide, but he also plays some stuff in standard tuning. At one time, he had a Telecaster that was fitted with a special device that would re-tune the guitar with the flip of a couple of levers. I don't know if he still uses that guitar.
if you're trying to emulate Steve Riley's playing, that's OK, but it's going to be an uphill battle for you, especially since you're on your own, so far away from the Louisiana music scene and any other musicians with similar feelings about the music.
You may already play guitar for all I know, or you may already be a master musician, but if you don't, and if your not, then you have to really dedicate yourself to learning the basics of music theory: Keys, Notes, Rhythms, Tempos, Chords, Changes, on and on. And then throw about 50% of it out the window because of the oddities of Cajun Music
It's really difficult to learn the basics of music on a bizarre, difficult instrument like the 10 button diatonic accordion. That's why I suggested the guitar. You can listen to a video or a CD, pick up your guitar, find the proper Key, find the changes, get a feel for the tempo and pulse. Then pick up the accordion after you can hum, whistle, or mutter the melody.
I gave up on trying to copy the pro's who have been playing since they were 4 years old, and just try to make sure I play in time with the right rhythm, the right pulse, and occasionally the right notes.
I firmly believe there are two types of Cajun accordion styles:
Front Porch Style where you mainly want to satisfy yourself by adding as many embellishments as you possibly can. This is what I play at home.
And;
Dance Hall Style where you keep the embellishments to a minimum but provide the dancers with a driving rhythm and a pulse they can relate to with their feet.
This is what Bill Rosenthal, the accordion player in my band, does.
There are very few who can do both, and most of them are in demand and on tour, like Steve.
(Fais pas tout ça)
Oh, fais pas tout ça,
Fais pas tout ça,
Viens me chercher.
Viens me chercher,
Fais ton idée,
Fais pas tout ça.
(no lyrics for Midland two-step)
(Quo faire ?)
Quo faire, quo faire bébé ?
Quo faire, quo faire, chère catin ?
Ta maman m'a dit que t'es trop jeune,
Mais toi t'es tout le temps là à la maison.
Quo faire, quo faire, bébé ?
Quo faire, quo faire, chère catin ?
In french, it's easier for me :
Voici mon secret Ron. J'ai plus de 1 000 CDS, cassettes et vinyls dans ma collection de musique cajun et zydeco (14 000 chansons, mais souvent les mêmes). Ca fait que j'écoute souvent cette musique que je connais très bien depuis bientôt 30 ans. Le français est ma langue maternelle, c'est facile pour moi de transcrire les lyrics.
Mais je ne suis pas tout seul pour les "french lyrics", mes amis Christian et Bryan, et d'autres, sont aussi très bons. Et surtout, c'est mon plaisir si je peux aider à préserver le "cajun french" et sa musique.
Here's my secret.
I have more than 1000 cd's, cassettes and LP's in my Cajun and Zydeco collection (14000 songs and much are the same) I listen very often to this music which I know since I'm 30 years old. French is my native language, so it's easy to write down the song lyrics. But I 'm not the only one for the French lyrics because my friends Bryan and Christian and others also do a good job with that. And for all, it's a pleasure for me to help keeping Cajun language and music alive.