Re: [Harp-L] Cajun Harp? (and accordion)

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Cajun harp is a very specific harmonica style that does not try to sound like an accordion (but see below fro some hints on doing that anyway).

True Cajun harmonica is also unrelated to blues harmonica. Yes, you will hear blues harp-style playing on tunes by Zydeco musicians, but that's blues harp being played in a hybrid (Zydeco) blues-influenced music. True French Acadian traditional music is something separate, though it played a strong part in influencing Zydeco.

The three best representatives of the pure Acadian style are Jerry Devillier, Isom Fontenot, and Arteleus Mistric. Fontenot's work is well represented on the Arhoolie compilations "Folk Songs of the Louisiana Acadians."

The good news is that that 10-key diatonic accordion (or one-row melodeon) that is called a "Cajun accordion" is tuned almost identically to a 10-hole diatonic harmonica and is often played in what corresponds to second position. While the harmonica obviously doesn't have the left-hand bass and chord buttons of an accordion, it can still play the same right-hand chords, melodic patterns, and ornaments.

However, the accordion has up to four reeds per note that can be combined in over a dozen different combinations. In addition to the main reed, you can activate a tremolo reed, and both upper and lower octave-doubling reeds. You can get double-reed harmonicas that have single-octave tuning or tremolo tuning, but not both. You can play tongue-blocked octaves, but these are not available for all notes. So you'll never match all the reed combinations of an accordion, or play anywhere near as loud. But you can at least convey some of the flavor.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Thu, 9/10/09, Grant Walters <grant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Grant Walters <grant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Cajun Harp?
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 2:12 PM

No idea but I would also be interested...my band's name is Big Crawdaddy and we lost our squeezebox player to the big C.

Any harp that can sound like a accordion is of interest to me...loved the song by John Mayall..".sugarcane" (a sense of place)...
I guess I will look up Zachary Richard and see what I can find.. I think  he did  play harp like that?
please Let us know..you harmonicajuns.

Grant

On Sep 10, 2009, at 10:12 AM, RON SMITH wrote:

> A few years ago, the Birmingham, AL harmonica club had a brief cut of a
> Cajun harp tune on their website.
> Anyone know who might have played that or a similar Cajun harp player?
> 
> Thanks,
> Ron Smith
> 
> 
> 
> 
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