The Cajun accordion or Acadian accordion, also known as a "melodeon", "one-row" accordion, or "diatonic" accordion, is a type of squeeze box built and played in south Louisiana primarily for Cajun and Zydeco music. An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ... The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ... Zydeco is a form of folk music, originated in the beginning of the 20th century among the Creole peoples of south-west Louisiana and influenced by the music of the French-speaking Cajuns. ...

Characteristics

Structurally the instrument is small (6" x 11" when closed) and light weight (8 lbs.). The size, however, is no indication of its sound power. The finest Cajun accordions have 46 reeds (four reeds per melody button and three reeds per bass button) which supply them with much more volume power than a 28 pound piano key accordion. The quality varies and the physical appearance ranges from natural wood tones with wooden and abalone inlays to bright colors with glitter and sparkling tapes. Though the diatonic accordion has many reeds, it has a limited range, having a full tonal range in only one key. A talented accordionist can perform in as many as four keys, but the 3rd and 4th keys are short of many notes. The Cajuns generally prefer C accordions, the second favorite being the D accordion. The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ... An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ...

The Cajun accordion is actually by origin and definition a "melodeon" because a pull out of the bellows gives a different note than a push in on the same button. A piano accordion gives the same note whether one pushes or pulls the bellows while depressing the same button. The bass and chord buttons on the left are automatically coordinated whereby when pulling or pushing the bellows, a treble button on the right side is in key with a bass or chord button on the left, (except for only one note). The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ... An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... a piano accordion An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ...

Diatonic refers to “of or using only the eight tones of a standard major or minor scale without chromatic variations.” On the right hand side of the instrument is a button keyboard consisting of basically ten buttons arranged in a “major" scale. Each button produces two notes, according to whether the bellows are being pushed in or pulled out while pressing a button. A tune is played by pushing or pulling the bellows in or out while pressing the button that corresponds to the needed melody note.

Four stops on the right hand casing bring into action four banks of reeds tuned in octaves relative to each other. Note that the different banks of reeds are tuned in perfect octaves (called "dry" tuning, as opposed to the tuning known as "wet" or "tremolo"). On the left hand (bass) side is a keyboard in the form of a hand-grip, with two buttons giving respectively two bass notes and two chords, as well as an air button for the thumb which enables the rapid opening or closing of the bellows during playing.

History

The Cajun diatonic accordion came to Louisiana from Germany. The sought after Monarch and Sterlings of the 1920's-30's are solid black with "gold" keys and trademarks. An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ...

The Cajuns did not come to America with accordions but rather fiddles and triangles, mostly, during the mid 1700's. Compared with the fiddle, the melodeon offered superior reliability and robustness. Thus, when a fiddler broke a string, he was faced with a serious problem to replace it - there was not a single music store for hundreds of miles around. The accordion had four reeds for each note - even if some of them were broken, enough still remained to make music. It was also the only instrument which could withstand the humidity of the region. It required only the minimum of maintenance and was easily reparable. Finally, it was fully in tune and ready to play, while its bass section effectively supported the melody and gave a fullness and resonant power which could not be equalled by a fiddle.

It seems that German emigrants of the middle of the nineteenth century were responsible for the introduction of the melodeon into Louisiana. In order to respond to the increasing demand, many trading companies such as C. BRUNO & SON of New York began to import the instrument from Germany around 1884. The first instruments available carried the trade-marks BRUNO, LESTER, PINE TREE. They had the inconvenience of being pitched in A or F, keys practically impossible to accompany on the fiddle. Some of these first accordions imported in America were bulky, cheaply made and hard to play.

It was not until the beginning of this century that BUEGELEISEN & JACOBSON of New York brought in from RUDOLPH KALBES of Berlin the MONARCH, then the STERLING, in C and D. The Cajuns nicknamed them "Tits Noirs" ("Little Blacks") on account of their size and colour. (Their predecessors were larger, with uncoloured woodwork.) They acquired a great reputation, justified by the quality and reliability of their reeds.

Later the Sterling family bought the factory in about the 1920's, then the Eagle family operated the factory, but both were virtually the same instrument as the Monarch, except for the name.

By the 1920s, with the development of the recording industry and of radio, both Cajun and Creole musicians were exposed to other music from outside Louisiana, and they also had their first opportunities to make their own recordings. The older styles of music continued on at family gatherings, but the influence of mass media began to take hold. The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ... The term Creole is used with different meanings in different contexts, which can generate confusion. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ...

In 1928, Joe Falcon and Cleoma Breaux went to New Orleans to make the first recording of Cajun music: "Allons à Lafayette" (released with "La valse qui m'a porté en terre" on the other side). Amédé Ardoin's first recordings were made with Dennis McGee in 1929, including "Two Step de Eunice," "Madame Atchen," and "La Valse à Abe." In 1929, Amédée Breaux on accordion with his brother, Orphy, on fiddle, with their sister, Cleoma Breaux Falcon, recorded "Ma blonde est partie," the song that become known as "Jolie Blonde," composed by Cleoma (or, in another version of the song's history, written by Amédée Breaux about his first wife). New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ...

Then, WWII destroyed these factories and thus Cajuns were cut off from the supply. So then Cajuns decided to build their own copies of the little black Sterlings to produce that distinctive sound.

After WWII, Sidney Brown, a Cajun accordion player, began to build Cajun accordions in Louisiana modeled after the Monarch. In the 1960's and 1970's, Sidney Brown and Charlie Ortego of Lake Charles, Marc Savoy of Eunice and Shine Mouton of Crowley, (and later many others) had the personal determination to duplicate these instruments in their own back yard workshops, mostly with hand tools. Today with better reeds, glues, paints, better shop tools available, Cajuns are now producing better accordions than the Sterlings and Monarchs of the pre-WWII era. Today it has become such a vital part of Cajun music that many accordion builders are established in southwest Louisiana. Downtown Lake Charles from a beach on the opposite side of Lake Charles (the lake) . A casino riverboat, Harrahs Pride of Lake Charles, appears to the left. ... Eunice is a city located in St. ... Crowley is a city located in Acadia Parish, Louisiana. ... The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ...