I know that chords are something that is lacking in my playing, Patrick, so I'm glad you asked this question.

Larry's answer is very informative, but, like you, I'd still like to know just where I should try to get them in. The end of a bar usually gives room for slow fingers ( and brain ) to work out which to pull, but is there more to it?

BJ

Hi Patrick! When I was taking a class from Steve Riley a few years ago he talked about a student who asked him if it was only one accordion playing on his CDs. His sound is so rich because he uses so many chords. The only way I've found out when to use them is to listen to Steve and the other cajuns;whatever sounds right,do it.
I will play part of a tune with a single button until I finally realize what chord is playing, then throw it in.
Some are obvious, some less so. Keep listening!

When I was at Balfa camp year before last, I noticed that Jeffrey Broussaerd ,like Steve Riley also inserts many chords into his playing, including some particularly "fat chords" or combinationsd of chords and octaves that call for a really long spread of the fingers. I agree with the previous responder that one should listen constantly to learn to distinguish the sound of the different chord because these players don't always insert tne chord into the same place in the progression of the melody but regularly vary the feeling and emphasis by playing an octave or chord higher or lower. The videos that one can buy by Steve Riley /Wilson Savoy, Dirk Powell, really show this, and make it alot easier tosee what you're hearing.
Harlan

BY The way what do people think of filling in the missing bass chord fron the melody side when bassing for the melody or pl;aying behind other solos?

Oh Yea, I definitely like to play a big fat three finger D chord on the right side to make up for no D on the bass side when playing background.

Thanks to everyone for their responses. Let me try to clarify my original question (it's not that I don't like the original answers, but I'm still searching for something...)

I know that the C chord is about the only chord you can fully play on a diatonic C box (thanks to Larry for the list of chords & notes), and that when you "play" a G, D, F, or whatever, chord you're only getting some of the notes that make up the "full" chord. I'm assuming that if you're playing a D note in a tune (say pulling the 3 and 7 buttons for an octave) that you could also pull the 5 at the same time and give yourself a D chord. That makes sense to me, and when I mess with it on tunes it generally sounds okay. The question I think I was really driving at is a little more complicated - at least to me. If you're playing an A note(pulling 5 and 9 for an octave) does it make sense to add in the 7 and get a D chord. The note you'd be playing in octaves is an A, but it's possible to turn that into a D chord by pulling the 7. Or is it dopey to insert a D chord when the note you're looking for is an A? Same thing with deciding between pulling a single note on the 6 or 7 button (an A or an F?) or pulling both and getting a G chord. Is it all a matter of "that sounds cool" or "that sounds lousy"?

I am listening. Really I am. Lots. Many thanks, as always.

i think if you are aiming to play something
like an A chord, you had better not hit the D note

if you do [music theory] it instantly either
sounds like A-sus4, which is a very weird chord,

or it sounds like you are playing [part of the]
D chord, which does NOT sound right if everyone
else is playing A

adding the G note to a partial F chord
[AFG] is going to sound weird too
it suggests an F9, which has its place in
some music, but not really in anything like
cajun or zydeco

what you need is a book called 'chord chemistry'
which tells how to make different chords and
what they are usually used for

you can try anything you want, though, it might work

what will stick out though, if you just
do one weird chord, is the fact that it;s the only one

usually guitar and keyboard players throw in
9ths, 2nds, suspendeds, but they have the ability
to do it all the time, you will only have
limited opportunities on the one row

and they are not usually playing simple folk music
when they are doing that

wle

Could someone post up the chord list?

this probably won;t make any sense but..

i can send you the excel sheet it came from if
you want.

wle.

..--Notes--,, …---Chords---..
PUSH

G
E
E G Em G6
C
C G C Gsus
C E C Am
C E G C

PULL

F
D
D F Dm F6
B
B F
B D G Em7
B D F Dm6
A
A F F
A D D Asus Dm
A D F Dm
A B B7 Bm7
A B F F9
A B D Bm7 A9sus
A B D F Dm9