Cajun accordions are traditionally tuned to a Just Intonation.Īlthough the instrument is called a Cajun accordion, both zydeco and creole musicians play the Cajun accordion with a zydeco and creole sound respectively. Some rarer accordions are constructed in the key of B flat. The most common tuning utilized is the key of C, although the key of D is also relatively common. Clarence " junior" Martin of Lafayette Louisiana is a Master Craftsman who also builds accordions in his shop. Louisiana-constructed accordions are usually built in small backyard shops like Marc Savoy's Acadian brand and Larry Miller's Bon Cajun brand. 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). 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 Cajun accordion has multiple reeds for every button, and the number of reeds that sound is controlled by four stops or knobs. 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. You can add 14 more accordions to his 1,250 total.Shop in Iota, Louisiana where Larry Miller builds his Cajun accordions. He wants to make sure that all of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have one of his Bon Cajun Accordions. Miller still making cajun accordionsĪt age 85, Miller still works in his shop about four hours a day. The dance floor, which contains names of the original pavilion sponsors, is now on the walls of the workshop. The workshop has preserved something else – the old plywood dance floor from the Iota town pavilion. Eighteen people have already taken a lengthy apprenticeship with Miller. Miller wants to preserve his accordion making craft and pass it on to another generation. He did that because two of his grandsons are interested in continuing to build accordions. But instead of calling it quits, he built an even bigger workshop behind his rural home. Iota dance floor is now on the walls of Miller’s workshop gutted by fire and a new shopĪ fire destroyed Miller’s Cajun accordion shop a few years ago. Miller estimates that he has built 1,250 accordions over the last 40 years. He now calls his instruments “ Bon Cajun Accordions“. Then he gave up his other jobs and started working full time building his “Bon Tee Cajun Accordions” (Cajun for “good little accordion”). He had been working as a teacher and school principal, and was also part-owner of an oilfield business. He added, “In no time, I was into it and I’d visit other different builders and picked up what I could.” The wood for this accordion was salvaged from a 1915 general store in Iota, LAįor the next ten years, Miller built accordions as a hobby. “He said just bring ’em back,” Miller said. While shopping for his first accordion, he asked an accordion maker if he could borrow a few parts and try building one on his own. He felt he needed to keep the music in his family. Miller was in his 40’s when he decided to start playing the accordion. “I went to some real fais do dos where I went to sleep to the music.” Windmill behind Miller’s Iota home that helps irrigate a crawfish farm from educator to cajun accordions “I was just an infant when he was playing his house dances,” Miller explains. His father played the accordion and performed at neighborhood house dances. Rice fields and crawfish farms surround his home and workshop. Miller lives only a few miles from where he grew up, deep in south Louisiana’s Cajun prairie in the small town of Iota. Larry Miller and one of his Bon Cajun Accordions When Larry Miller decided to get his first accordion more than four decades ago, he also learned how to make his own. A handcrafted Cajun accordion is a must for anyone serious about playing the popular south Louisiana music.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |