Remember this one? Listen to that bounce and hop! They're all feeling it!


Talking about the way Walter Mouton was using his base buttons for the Catherine Waltz. After a while an accordion player will use his base side buttons and will use them well. Some never take to using them and they are judged negatively for it by the Cajun Judgementals. Some only use the top base button for two steps. Some go on to use them base side buttons in a way that breaks all the rules. I have something for you to try Bryan and anyone else interested. If you want to become somewhat of a "Boss" on the base side of your accordion. Review Chris and Sean Ardoin's home video of "Barres de la Prison". Also review Chris Miller's "Zydeco Son Pas Sale's" use of the top treble side buttons as injected base guitar rhythm licks. You'll need a "D" accordion for Chris and Sean's video and a "C" for Chris Miller's. Chris Miller and Chris Ardoin, I sure hope you guys don't mind me spillin the beans like this. I got tired of waitin on you guys to tell them.

Oh I almost forgot! Chris Ardoin calls this technique "DOUBLE CLUTCHIN"! It does exist and it has a name. And it comes from the Black Accordion Brothahood. I hope your not prejudice. LOL

It is possible to incorporate the use of the top most treble side buttons 1,2 and 3 and the base button side of your accordion to back yourself up while singing and playing for the fiddle song "Barres de la Prison" by Canray Fontenot. Just pay close attention to what both Chris' are doing on those accordions and then all you have to do is break all of your playing fingers and let them reheal and retrain them to do your bidding. LOL.

Also knowledge of the song "Freight Train Blues" by Corey McCully would help you to realize all that I have said above. Bryan, you yourself posted the video of Corey McCully doing the FTB's. I'm not kidding this time, which I seldom do. Try it. If you can unlock the sequence, your confidence level will go through the roof! Not to mention you'll be one of the few accordion players on the face of the Earth able to do it. I'll be one of the other ones. LOL.

Chris may have learned it the same place Cory did, from Hadley Fontenot, neighbors to both of them.

Was Hadley Fontenot a black man? Go back and read my post, I just did an edit about it being a "black thing".

Nope, it's Hadley that played on the Balfa yellow album on the songs that wasn't Marc Savoy. Hadley may possible have learned it from a black player. But he wouldn't be the first white player to capture some of that black magic, I always thought Octa did. Doesn't work for some of us. To quote David Greely, referring to Cedric Watson and Ed Poullard, "I can't make my fiddle sound like that".

Interesting. Then I stand half corrected then. I'm afraid to say it, but we keep wondering who first played the Cajun accordion in Louisiana and who did the players like Amedee or Angelas learn accordion from? Dare I say there were two factions of poor white players and poor black players entertaining those rich plantation owners at first on the fiddle then later on accordion? Hmmmmm? We may never know for sure.

Didn't want to start a whole new thread for this tid bit of information. But some of you may have noticed that when your accordion thumb strap gets compacted or stretched after a while, it tends to let your thumb slip out during play. Some leather is just that way sometimes. You may "NOT" need to readjust that strap!!

If you're suffering this and your playing next to a fiddler. Have him rosin up his bow real well and slide it through your thumbstrap. The fiddle bow going in and out and up and down will ensure full coverage of sticky pine rosin on the inside of that strap. That thumb wont slip for a while after that, guaranteed. Also, it will look cool to everyone watching this take place.