Homespun

Dirk Powell takes his exploration of traditional Cajun accordion to the next level. He covers some of the more advanced topics that you will want to know in order to get beyond the basics and "create dance music that really gets people going - that's what this music is for!"

You'll learn how to add ornaments, syncopate the phrasing to drive the beat, make strong phrases to "pump up" the tune, and "turn" a melody to "put that extra spark in there." Players with electric or more modern bands will want to know how to anticipate the bellows changes, resolve phrases with triplets, switch to the upper and lower octaves, use the bellows to get rhythmic effects and employ many more techniques to get the hot Cajun sound.

The songs covered on this lesson include: "The Wafus Two-Step," "Lafayette Playboy Waltz," "Hick's Wagon Wheel Special" and "Dimanche après-midi" ("Sunday Afternoon"). You also get close-up footage of "The Acadian Two-Step" and "The Mamou Two-Step."