Maybe I am misunderstanding the question, but if you have a Bb accordion, that does not mean that you can only plays songs that were recorded with a Bb accordion.

I play all kinds of songs in keys that are different from the recording. For that matter, I might pick up a Bb accordion one time I do a song, and pick up the A or C accordion the next time.

Yes, if a song was recorded with an accordion that is different from yours, it is hard to play along. But there are any number of devices and programs which can change the key of a recording during playback. On the software side, the one I use is called the Amazing Slowdowner. It can also change the speed, which is handy when you are trying to learn. On the hardware side, there is a little Tascam gadget that does the same thing.

-David

that;s right
get something to change the key
vocals might come out weird in a new key, or
they might be better
wle.

I think for a beginner, it's a great idea to listen to other artist's recordings that are the same key as their accordion. Once they get the feel for where the positioning is on certain patterns, they'll be able to pick up any key'ed box and transpose them, ad hock. It takes a while -- at least it did for me. I've gotten to the point now where if I hear a riff on a recording, I can visualize where it is on the button board and pick up any of my boxes and pick it out without having to play along. But again, that takes getting to that point of intimacy with your instrument. That could be months or even years... it really depends on how inspired a beginner is.

S'all good...

R!CK

Most wave-applications like Adobe Audition (Cool Edit) or Sound Forge can change key,pitch or speed.
If you want from D to C, you only have to change the key with two half notes(-2). You then change key and speed. It's also possible to change the speed without changing the key. You can slowdown to 60% for instance. It's amazing how good the sound quality of the slower song is. On your computerdisplay you get a wave pattern and you can select any piece of the song and repeat it over and over.
Amazing Slowdowner is also a very good tool.
With the other one you have a recorder on your computer.
It's also handy to hear the lyrics better.

I had the slowdowner for a while but lost it in a computer crash.
Problem there was that I would be working on a tune that I wasnt sure of the key anyway and then messing with the pitch/key into something else I wasnt sure of. Im better now at figuring C vs Bb but I also always wonder if Im trying to work against someone honking on a 3 row.
I do realize 4 fingers can play the same song on 10 buttons but it sure is easier when Im sure of the key.
All good info here as always, I'll check out some of those mentioned above that I dont have yet.
So the urban box slingers, are they mostly using an A box or 3 rows with F Bb Eb ?
Who mics and tunes those for em? They sure dont sound like uncle Stoshes playin...

Don't know much about Slowdowner although it seems to be a fave of some Braves. It's been mentioned several times before on this forum, but Audacity (a free program to download) has been very useful to me -- not only slowing tempos and changing keys of tunes, but converting .aiff files to .mp3s.

I hear a lot of A and G boxes used in zydeco now, whereas back in the beginning of the nouveau movement, most tunes were on a Bb or C. Bb boxes still tend to dominate zydeco, but not quite like they did in the early 90's.

It was Boozoo who pioneered nouveau stylings and ushered in the single row adaptation, away from the traditional piano accordion by many artists. In many opinions, Zydeco Force was the first nouveau zydeco band. Others say it was Preston Frank or the Creole Zydeco Farmers. Regardless, it was Boozoo, "That's Who!" that provided the catalyst of change from the Clifton/Dopsie/Sydney/Sam Bros. old school style to the double-kickin' sound that is prominent in zydeco today.

The triple-row style of zydeco shares about half of what I hear in the overall sum modern zydeco. Most single-row players eventually introduce the triple-row into their arsenal because many of them want more of a challenge. The cool thing about the triple-row sound is, in many uses, it has an old-school flavor, embracing the roots of zydeco.

In my observation, it is the bands featuring the single-row as their primary sound, are the most popular. That leaves a lot of stellar triple-row advocates like Roy Carrier, Chubby Carrier, and Terrance Simien doing well at big festivals and touring states outside of Louisiana, but not attracting the crowds at the local Louisiana clubs.

Perhaps it's the limited scale of the single-row diatonic -- the trance-like drone of the groove that gathers folks around, but there's just something about the percussive jamnation of the single row sound. It's a ball-busting boogie that sounds like it came straight out of the woods. There's no other sound like it.

R!CK