Ok, I see what you're saying, living here in Missouri, there aren't many cajun jams that I'm able to attend so the Internet and CD's/DVD's are the only way of learning

By the way, thanks for posting those great videos!

Ehren

What most people play stems from a 1959 45 rpm record on the Swallow label, Flume Dans Faire (misspelled) by Austin Pitre, which can be heard on Floyd's Early Singles at link 1:

http://www.floydsrecordshop.com/Floyd_s_Early_Cajun_Singles_-__P767.cfm

Pitre took it from Bellard's (Bellar's?) recording in 1929, Mon Camon La Case Que Je Suis Cordane. It's misspelled too but it means My Cannon (Gun) the Cause I am Condemned.

In case you want some others, here are 4 other versions I have recordings of:

"Le Trio Cadien" LeJeune,Menard,Smith on Rounder Records cd 6049

"Jambablaya Cajun Band" on Putumayo Cajun compilation PUT-184-2

"Dewey Balfa and Friends" Swallow Records CD-6063

"Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band" Arhoolie CD-316

First version is solo and acoustic; second one is full band and amplified.

First version has a fireplace with photos on the mantle; second one has the Liberty stage and a backdrop.

First one is played on what looks to be a hotrodded Hohner; the second one looks to be a real handmade box.

First one has no vocals; second has vocals.

First one has no introduction; the second one gets and intro with props by Hadley J. Castille.

First one is simple and basic with lots of whole notes; second one shows what Johnny Sonnier (a veteran of the genre) can do with ornamentation and inference to the melody.

First one has no vamping; second one shows Johnny taking a lil' ride.

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How to "stitch" these together, eh? Follow these six steps (assuming you already have an accordion) :

a) Learn to perform the first version as close as possible.
b) Learn the vocals per the second version.
c) Learn the rocking of the octaves, triplets, and note slurs of the second (inferring the melody).
d) Click the "Apply" button.
e) Hire a band to back you.
f) Play for 40 years and hope the Liberty will offer you a date to perform.

R!CK

There are probably more Cajun bands in Holland than there are in Missouri,
so he can't just hire a band; he'll have to either train 'em or raise 'em.

In 40 years I'll only be 104, so anything is possible. Hopefully, the Liberty doesn't burn down before then.

OK, I give up; what is "vamping"? I thought that was something actresses did in silent movies.

And I guess that is not Sean Vidrine on the souped-up Hohner.

JB

Nice!
You forgot to mention that...

The first shows one accordion... and the second shows another.

THe first shows one guy... and the second shows many others.


...just to mention.

WF

Thanks for the help all. While I never meant to imply that the performance piece and the teaching piece should be compared note for note (or frame for frame ) I think I see what you mean about implying the melody. I've only been playing about 7 or 8 months on the cajun accordion so I hope that 40 years from now I can be half as good as Johnny Sonnier.

In rebuttal, both of these clips are very useful and I wish I had had the learning tool of youtube when I was 8 months into accordion immersion. What a great tool! So we all expect you, Ehren, to learn to play 10 times faster than anyone else outside the Pelican State.

For clarity's sake, "vamping" is not something Bella Lugosi does when his stomach is growling; rather, it means to "solo" -or- "take a ride." In clip two, frame 7,210, Johnny fires up the chanking that has nothing to do with the A or B or turnaround. For the lack of a better term, it's a segment during a song by which the accordion player bangs the gong and lets the air outta their shoes. Since most Cajun tunes feature instrumentation, it's hard to determine what is written and what is interpreted. Toups is good at vamping.

40 years, I have to admit, was a number I arbitrarily pulled out of my cheeks. There's a high probability that Johnny has been playing much longer. I don't have a great deal of Johnny's history cached in my memory banks, but he's a laudable veteran of Cajun music, so he probably started playing while propped on a relative's knee, like so many of the great pioneers of the genre.

Clip one is not Sean Vidrine. I know Sean personally and not only is he thin (now) and can pull some serious boxage. Regardless, the unknown artist in clip one doesn't suck. He plays a good, basic version of Flammes D'Enfer.

Keep the faith, and enjoy the weekend. I'm going to warm up the grill with my own Flammes D'Enfer and sop a few pops with foam on top in celebration of the independence of this country I love.

R!CK

I've been playing only about two years now. It is so tempting to attempt to play like the greats. It helps to push your technique etc, but you can get lost in all the "vamping" and florishes of grace notes and triplets and forget to really feel the song, especially when you are trying to teach yourself. I never played "Jai Passe Devant Ta Port" as well as when I kept it slow and simple and had a good guitarist setting a solid tempo. You can also get a metronome or use an electronic keyboard. It helps as tempo is very important. There is also a difference between stage perfomance that have lots of flash and fancy licks and sitting on the back porch playing with your friends. Try and find a guitarist to play with. If you have his dvd's, notice how Dirk Powell's playing is subtly improved when his wife Christine is playing.

Let's add to Rick's list of Do's:

1. If you don't already have it, order the Steve Riley Cajun Accordion beginner's DVD produced by Wilson Savoy and Almena Pictures. Just Google the Almena site. It is there. It is worth the $$$.
Les Flammes d'Enfer is the 2nd piece on the video.
Steve teaches you how to play the song with buttons 5, 6, & 7, then shows you augmentation.

2. Again, if you don't have it, order Ms. Ann Allen Savoy's book, Cajun Music, A Reflection of a People.
You can get it through Floyds Record Shop Online.
The Balfa version French words and phonetics for LFd'E are on page 265, as well as the Mon Canon original version that Neal P referred to.

3. Go to Craig's List for your area and under 'Musicians' list an add for anybody interested in getting together to play Cajun Music, be it fiddlers, guitar pickers, singers, or other accordion players. You may be surprized at the people who respond, even though some may be a little spaced-out.

4. Find a place in the house where you can isolate your rehearsal's. Keeps the peace that way, if you have a significant other that may regard your playing as less than a gratifying experience.
My 2 sou, Blah,Blah.
JB

Here they are:

Les Flammes d’Enfer

‘O ‘tite tante, priez pour moi
Sauvez mon âme, des flammes d’enfer
Sauvez mon âme, Priez pour moi
Priez pour moi ‘tite tante, sauvez mon âme

‘O ‘tite tante, priez pour moi
J’suis con****é pour les flammes d’enfer
Priez pour moi, sauvez mon âme
Sauvez mon âme des flammes d’enfer

IN addition to ANN SAVOY'S BOOK, if you dont have it, get YE' YAILLE, CHERE! also know as THE BIG YELLOW BOOK. has hundred of cajun songs and lyrics by RAYMOND E. FRANCOIS

Here's a good chunk of how Austin Pitre did the song. If you haven't heard this, in my opinion you haven't heard the song at all at all. It's the basis of what everybody plays for this song.