Hello all,

I've been lurking for the last several weeks after I got bit by the bug. I play banjo in a local bluegrass band and after we played a gig a couple months back, a cajun band played. It was some good stuff.

I know it isn't the best instrument in the world, but I bought an Ariette to start on. I moved the thumb strap to a more playable position and now I'm looking at the buttons. There are a couple that have to be pressed much hard than the others to speak and don't have that spring back either. I'd like to take the right hand side off and see what I could do about that. If I take it off, does it need to be resealed or something to prevent leaks? Other than that, it really sounds pretty good to my beginner ears. I know the difference between student and quality instruments...at least on the banjo.

Also, I need some recommendations for instruction materials. I work best for book/cd combinations. What is good?

Last thing...what is required listening for somebody new to the genre? I have some Buckwheat, Beausoleil, and a local band, The Cajun Strangers. What else should I find?

Thanks!

Scott

usually it;s pretty safe to take the right hand side off

it is held on with a couple of screws and there is a gasket to seal it

the gasket usually stays in place so when you put it back together, it still doesn;t leak

just be careful

none of it is rocket science

don;t touch the reeds, they will be exposed

some of them anyway

wle.

Bein' a Jawja boy, new to cajun genre, new to squeeze boxin', here's my limited advice:
1. Don't let these cajuns beat you up for buyin' the box that you did (i just bought one myself), after wrestlin' that bear you'll beat yourself up(esp when you play a real LA box, Lord I hope I didn't imply the word fake).
2. For listening/learning-(again these cajuns know much more that me, I yeild to them) but I keep returning to the Balfa Brothers and Nathan Abshire, the clarity of the specifics aren't as good on these recordings to me as some later stuff(Pine Leaf Boys lastest is awsome) but the spirit of the cajun heart is just so grounded in the Balfa's.
3. Dirk Powell did the clawhammer for the Cold Mtn soundtrack, don't forget the power of the banjo.
4. Check out Floyd's Record Shop, good catalog.
in the end, "Squeeze On".

Are you, by chance, in the Midwest? I'm guessing from your knowledge
of that fine Madison WI band The Cajun Strangers. If you're from our
part of the country Big Nick and I can clue you in on events in Chicago
and WIsconsin.

GeneL.

Scott,
Welcome to the board. I'm sure you will find it a wealth of information. The box you have will be fine to start with. It won't take long before you'll want an upgrade.

As for listening advice, the artists you mentioned represent a pretty broad range of music. Buckwheat is Zydeco, not Cajun and plays a piano accordion. For that you can listen to Clifton Chenier for some foundational music. Beausoleil is a hodge-podge of Cajun, Zydeco, Caribbean and other types of music. If that is your interest, you need only listen to Beausoleil. The Cajun Strangers, John Romano's band, plays mostly traditional Cajun music. If that is your interest, I would start with Amedee Ardoin, Iry LeJeune, Aldus Roger and so on.

Good Luck on your journey into Cajun music.

Did someone say "instructional materials"?

Check:

http://www.bignick.net

Merci,

--bn

Interesting question. I recently purchased a CD on ebay titled "The Beginner's Guide to Cajun Music." While listening to it, I decided that it really is a good introduction to Cajun music. The only thing I can figure out is who released it...it seems to have come from the Czech Republic; but the CD has selections from Joe Falcon, Leo Saulieu, Dennis McGee, Amadie Ardoin, Nathan Abshire, Iry LeJeune, and many others. It is a two-CD set with 40 tunes. I'm sure that you can find it on ebay - and it is very reasonably-priced.

Another place that has two excellent CDs by the Balfa Brothers is at www.fieldrecorder.com. Dewey Balfa was profoundly affected by his experience playing at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and became an incredible ambassador for Cajun music after playing at Newport. Look for the two Cajun recordings under 2007 and 2008 releases by the Field Recorders' Collective. On these two CDs, Dewey Balfa not only plays some great music, but he talks a lot about Cajun music and its history ; and the audience is primarily people who know little about it, but they love it!

Third, I would get all of the CDs by the Savoy-Doucet Band. They play traditional Cajun music at its best. You can get most of them at the Arhoolie website.

Fourth, I would suggest trying to get to Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette. It is held every year in October and will give you an intensive "live" introduction to Cajun music by current Cajun musicians.

There are hundreds of other recordings by great Cajun musicians, most of which are very good; but if you do those four things, I would almost guarantee that you will never be the same. Along with learning to play the music, you might also become an inveterate "collector" of the music.

And one final thing that I almost forgot to recommend...Pete Bergeron has a great radio program every morning at KRVS.org. He is on every morning M-Friday from 5-7 a.m. Central Time (I live in the eastern time zone; so it's a little easier for me to listen to his program); but he plays an extraordinary variety of old and new traditional Cajun music. FRom time to time, he even plays some music that I have sent him...

Jack Bond

Jack is right -- you should nail down the kind of direction you want to study and listen. But with such an open mind, you won't get stuck into one type-class of style -- that's good in my opinion, because not being a true Cajun (like myself), you'll never gain the acceptance as a full-on legit player anyway.

If zydeco is your bag, you're a rare bird on this board. However, if you care to explore the genre, I've got a hours of tunes and a couple of playlists posted on my imeem page. You can find it here:

http://www.imeem.com/people/Z5yDauT

Or tap link #3. You may have to create a free profile to access some of my tunes. But it's relatively easy and there's a ton of music to listen to on imeem.com.

Cheers -- and welcome!

~R!CK

For a trip around Cajun music in general, I would recommend you to visit Website #1.
Here you will find all the music and the styles, from the first recordings in the twenties on until now.
For instruction, try Dirk Powell's and Big Nick's DVD's. Tab is great for 5strbanjo, but not for Cajun accordion, in my opinion.
If you are a bluegrass banjo player who knows his stuff, you have an advantage, because you'll find a lot of rhythmic patterns in Cajun music, and timing is very important as well.

Tabs can be very useful if you have some problems with your memory.
Especially when I'm learning a song I notate the buttons I have to push with or without underlining for pulling or pushing the bellows.
It's indeed very important to know the melody very good before you start play one.
I also had the same experience with banjo-playing.
Old man with a bad memory

Hey Ron be careful what you say about Tabs. Jim Pettijohn thinks we are turds since we use tabs to learn the songs. He must be a product of Mr Acadian that says you should not pull out the accordion from the closet unless you can hum hum hum the tune. Hell the accordion would never come out of the closet. I can play numerous songs because of Tabs so screw them both on there thinking about tabs.

Many, many thanks to all the responses. I'll try and highlight all your questions.

-Will attempt to take off the right hand side this weekend. The 7 button is driving me crazy.
Thanks Larry!

-Gene...I am in the Madison, WI area. Good call...

-Everyone....thanks for all the ideas for things to listen to. A bit overwhelming to say the least. Especially since I don't know a lick of French.

-I have to admit, I have no idea what the difference between cajun and zydeco is. Some guidance would be much appreciated. I did know that Buckwheat played a PA and that is a very different sound than a Cajun box and that Beausoleil was a genre all to themselves. I just like the upbeat, driving sound of the accordion.

-Big Nick, I found the forum on Google and didn't find the home site until a couple weeks later. Thanks for everything out there. It's a great start.

Thanks again for all the encouragement!

Found these as an explanation as to the difference between Cajun and Zydeco:

http://rochesterzydeco.com/cajunzydeco.html

http://www.zydecoevents.com/History2.html

I think I like both styles...

Scott

Go hear the Cajun Strangers in person. Meet John Romano, the accordion
player, and tell him I sent you. He'll keep you posted on jams, etc. in the
Madison area. Also google the CFMA Chicago chapter and 'Monica's list'
will tell you everything that happens in Chicagoland, including a monthly
dance (starting in Fall) and a monthly jam. Many cheeseheads attend
these events.

Good luck.
Gene

Welcome to the club. What is it about banjo players that gets them hooked on accordion? Longtime bluegrass addict here and still playing with the BG band. Rose Sinclair of Planet Zydeco and Girl Howdy also plays banjo as well as Steel and killer accordions. One benefit you will get from learning the single row is your banjo playing will improve. I don't know exactly why that is but I can go weeks without playing banjo and then go out and play a 3 hour BG gig with no problem. But the best part is playing that accordion is just so satisfying on all levels. The only downside is that now you get to be the target of not only bad banjo jokes but even worse accordion jokes.

****, that was good, Mr Johnny Ace. Did you hear about the banjo pla..........

There is an active group of Cajun musicians in Madison and Milwaukee. Go hear the Cajun Strangers and introduce youself. They're good people and may be able to steer you to some jams. The Chicago guys have a monthly jam on the northside. All levels welcome.We all started sometime and have stories about triumph and failure. About tabs, I tab new pieces as I work them out. It helps when I go back to them after a few days. Once learned however (and played about 10000 times) the tabs inhabit my tune book and don't come out. Leslie