I'm very confused about something. I listen to a lot old recordings of Cajun music, and much of it was played at over 200 beats per minute (two steps).
The question is, if people currently don't like to dance Cajun to this speed, how did the dancers do it back then? I personally like playing faster, it's more exciting to me. I'll have to try my best to slow down tonight, not the easiest thing to do when you've learned from FAST players.
I can't imagine Iry LeGeune playing any slower live, than on his recordings.
I also wanted to mention, I really don't understand why people have to be Nazis about speed at jam sessions.
For instance someone smirking and saying, "this is dance music, you're playing too fast." Yet there's no one dancing and that same person loves Iry LeGeune, Marc Savoy, etc.
Is it only that the Gods of Cajun accordion can play fast at jams?
Tell me about the tendons. And its worse if you're a dancer too. Holding your partners weight with the same arm that's gyrating all those buttons on the accordion on other nights is a recipe for pain.
I'd only played for 45 minutes at a stretch before our first gig. Then I had to play two sets at 1:15 each.