A Cajun accordion (in Cajun French: ''accordéon''), also known as a squeezebox, is single-row diatonic button accordion used for playing Cajun music.

History

Many different accordions were developed in Europe throughout the 19th century, and exported worldwide. Accordions were brought to

Acadiana Acadiana ( French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained mu ...

in the 1890s and became popular by the early 1900s (decade), eventually becoming a staple of Cajun music. Many of the German factories producing diatonic accordions for the United States market were destroyed during World War II. As a result, some Cajuns, such as Sidney Brown, began producing their own instruments, based on the popular one-row German accordions but with modifications to suit the nuances of the Cajun playing style. Since the end of World War II, there has been a surge in the number of Cajun accordion makers in Louisiana, as well as several in Texas.

Construction

The Cajun accordion is generally defined as a single-row diatonic accordion, as compared to multiple-row instruments commonly used in Irish, Italian, polka, and other styles of music. The Cajun accordion has multiple reeds for every button, and the number of reeds that sound is controlled by four stops or knobs. The standard number of melody buttons is ten, with two buttons on the left-hand side: one for the bass note and one for the chord. The tonic note and major chord of the key play on when the bellows are pushed, and the dominant note and major chord when pulled (for instance, C major and G major respectively in the key of C). Louisiana-constructed accordions are usually built in small backyard shops like Marc Savoy's Acadian brand and Larry Miller's Bon Cajun brand. Clarence " junior" Martin of Lafayette Louisiana is a Master Craftsman who also builds accordions in his shop.

Characteristics

The most common tuning utilized is the key of C, although the key of D is also relatively common. Some rarer accordions are constructed in the key of B flat. Cajun accordions are traditionally tuned to a

Just Intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to ...

Notable players

Although the instrument is called a Cajun accordion, both zydeco and creole musicians play the Cajun accordion with a zydeco and creole sound respectively. Each musician below is considered important in influencing accordion technique and image. * Nathan Abshire *

Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin (November 16, 1915 – May 16, 2007) was a Creole accordionist who specialized in the Creole music called "la la music" or "la musique Creole" (closely related to Cajun music) and was influential in what became zydec ...

* Amédé Ardoin *

Lee Benoit Lee Benoit (born 1959) is an American Cajun musician from Rayne, Louisiana. Early life At the age of five, Benoit was given an electric organ by his grandmother (Cidalise), who raised him. He started to play Christmas songs on it, by ear. At ...

Jackie Caillier Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters named Jackie or Jacky ** Jackie, current ring name of female professional wrestler Jacqueline Moore ** Jackie Lee (I ...

* Boozoo Chavis *

Geno Delafose Geno Delafose (born February 6, 1971) is an American zydeco accordionist and singer. He is one of the younger generations of the genre who has created the sound known as the nouveau zydeco. His sound is deeply rooted in traditional Creole music ...

John Delafose John Irvin Delafose (April 16, 1939 – September 18, 1994) was an American French-speaking Creole Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana. Early life Delafose was born in the unincorporated village of Duralde, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, near Mamo ...

* Dewey Balfa * Joe Falcon * Iry LeJeune * Steve Riley * Aldus Roger * Marc Savoy * Jo-El Sonnier * Wayne Toups * Lawrence Walker *William LaBouve *https://www.terrancesimien.com/ Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience *

Manufacturers and builders

* Hohner (Germany) *

Andre Michot Lost Bayou Ramblers is a Cajun music band from Broussard, Arnaudville and New Orleans, Louisiana. Career Lost Bayou Ramblers was born deep in South Louisiana performing old style, predominantly acoustic Cajun music at clubs and festivals acro ...

(Louisiana, United States) * Larry Miller (Louisiana, United States) * Marc Savoy ( Louisiana, United States) * Greg Mouton ( Louisiana, United States)

Gallery

Image:AccordionFront.png, Front Image:AccordionKeys.jpg, Keys Image:AccordionSide.png, The front left-hand side (bass side) of a Cajun accordion Image:AccordionKnobs.png, The knobs or stops control the number of reeds sounding Image:AccordionBack.png, The back side Image:AccordionKeysClose.JPG, A close up of the keys

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cajun Accordion Accordion Cajun musical instruments