![]() ![]() ![]() Daigrepont has emerged as one of Cajun music’s finest cultural ambassadors. By 1980 he had his own Cajun band, and was honing his skills at fais do do dances. In 1978, after attending Festival Acadiens in Lafayette, Daigrepont was inspired to devote himself to the French accordion. The family was deeply imbued in folk music, and Daigrepont took up the guitar at five and the five-string banjo at 10. Performances for the Cajun Grand Ole Opry in Eunice and other engagements have led the National Park Service in New Orleans to say, “At each performance, this band did an excellent job of demonstrating and interpreting Cajun music and culture in a very intelligent manner.”īorn in New Orleans in 1958, Daigrepont grew up in a Cajun family from Avoyelles Parish. In 1987 the band was awarded the title Musicien Du Bal as first place winners in a Bal Du Maison contest held at Acadian Village in Lafayette. The band’s 1988 album, “A’ La Veille Facon,” received a 1989 Grammy nomination for Most Traditional Folk Music Recording. ![]() In 2005, he was inducted into the Cajun Music Wall of Fame in Fred’s Lounge. Berzas was honored at the 2000 Mamou Cajun Music Festival for his contributions to Cajun music. The band played at the 1984 Louisiana World’s Fair and at the 1987 Annual Cajun Music Festival at Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch. CAJUN ACCORDION HOW TOHe later learned how to play the guitar and the drums as well and now is the lead vocalist of Jamie Berzas and the Cajun Tradition Band, founded in 1979 in Mamou. Berzas’ musical background began when he was 10 when he learned how to play the accordion from his father. CAJUN ACCORDION FREEThe workshop is free to Festival attendees.īerzas and Daigrepont are both legendary players of the Cajun accordion. Space in the accordion workshop is limited to 20 participants and accordions are to be tuned to ‘C.’ The Festival is unable to provide instruments. Workshop attendees will be introduced to a wide range of knowledge and techniques related to the Cajun accordion, as well as a sense of the cultural importance of the instrument to Cajun music. Festival patrons will pay no additional charge to participate in the workshop. Master musicians Jamie Berzas and Bruce Daigrepont will lead the workshop, which will take place from 3 p.m. Each musician below is considered important in influencing accordion technique and image.NATCHITOCHES – The Cajun accordion will be the focus of a workshop at the upcoming Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival to be held Friday and Saturday in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State University campus. 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. Shop in Iota, Louisiana where Larry Miller builds his Cajun accordions. ![]()
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