Playing Cajun rhythm guitar

[michael s]

Who knows the chord structure/pattern for a typical Cajun tune in the key of G and key of C? I know it's an A B structure but I don't know how many measures of each chord. thanks, michael s.

[Lab rat]

Are you cajun? or just want to play the music, just curious cause i'm cajun but not advanced enough to answer your question, surely there's someone here who can answer your question,good luck

[lalowdwn1]

Originally Posted by Lab rat

Are you cajun? or just want to play the music, just curious cause i'm cajun but not advanced enough to answer your question, surely there's someone here who can answer your question,good luck

Ditto - but I know enough of my native cajun/creole music to advise that it depends on what particular style - Cajun/French, Creole, Zydeco, Chank-a-Chank, etc...

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by michael s

Who knows the chord structure/pattern for a typical Cajun tune in the key of G and key of C? I know it's an A B structure but I don't know how many measures of each chord. thanks, michael s.

Michael, just as with any other style of music, it's going to depend on the melody of each individual tune: it'll vary from one tune to another.

Having said that, from the Cajun music I've been around, a lot of it seems to be mostly I and V chords, 16 measures to a part, with that being 8 measures of melody that's then repeated before going to the next part.

So if you're in G, that would be G and D chords, and in C it's C and G chords. In the key of D it'd be D and A chords.

But you need to be ready with the IV, VI and II chords, as needed, just depending on where the tune happens to go.

But don't take my word as gospel: I learned how to play guitar backing up mountain music fiddlers back home in Missouri, and have only brushed up against Cajun music at festivals and whatnot. I'm not even remotely an expert on the subject.

With all of these styles of music you have to train your ear to recognize when the chord changes come. I got pretty facile at hearing the changes of the fiddle tunes we played, and soon enough you'll get the hang of it.

What I recommend you do is what I did, which is to watch more accomplished accompaniment guitarists as they backed up the fiddlers.

Don't go mistaking someone who plays a lot of notes and goes way up the neck as being an expert accompaniment guitarist. I've been at plenty of square dances and traditional music circles where there'll be guitarists there who want to wow everyone with their guitar chops.

Those guys might be perfectly accomplished musicians, but they've missed an essential component of the role that guitar plays in these types of music, which is: it's not about guitar.

It's about providing a steady platform for the melody instruments, whether fiddle, accordian, or what have you.

So a simple, steady beat on the guitar, playing the alternating bass part on the low strings (the "boom") followed by brush chords on the treble strings (the "chucka" of "boom-chucka") means far more than all the pyrotechnics up the neck that some showboats indulge in.

An alternating bass, brush chords, and occasional walking melody lines in the bass are all you need. Keep it simple and keep it steady, and you'll do fine.

As you watch the accompaniment guitarists that are most valued, you'll realize that they seem to be doing very little, and they almost never call attention to their own playing. They're there as part of the foundation for the rest of the group.

It's actually a lot harder to get good at that style of playing than you might imagine, but the really crucial element is one that you can acquire early on: learn to listen to what the melody instruments are doing, and learn to be able to react in real time to what they do.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[GRW3]

A friend who knows the music well told me one of the singular characteristics of cajun music that it often ends a section on a 5 chord compared to old time / celtic / bluegrass that normally resolves to the root. Don't get much in the local jams but for the occasional tune it seems to work.

More practically, try listening to the music with headphones or earbuds. Things like rhythym guitar are much easier to follow in that fashion. I suspect it's a combination of increased concentration (by reducing external distractions) and increased clarity (by taking away the effect of sound reflections in the room).

[JayMack]

Google and YouTube are your friends.

Look up the Savoy Family Band, Clifton Chenier, zydeco, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlv8P...eature=related


Listen to the bass. It'll tell you 99% of what you need to know.


jay

[michael s]

Thanks everyone. I played Saturday night and had a lot of fun playing. I liked the role of providing a steady rhythm along with the bass and the drummer. I'm playing again this Sunday and feel confident that I'll get better as I go. I did find that the music moves right along at a pretty quick tempo and there isn't enough time to read chords and keep track of the number of chords to play in each measure. Thus, I wound up listening for the changes that the fiddler played and changed chords accordingly. Wade, I like your ideas a lot. I tend not to be a showboater and I like to pay attention to how the instruments sound together. Some call it playing "in the pocket".
I'm not Cajun by the way but love the music.