"Magic Fluke" and accordion[/caption]“Play beer barrel polka”has often been the first request heard by accordionists. That’s because in the world of music, accordions and ukuleles have been considered the “bastard” children, outside the mainstream of guitars, pianos and horns of different types; but some innovators, and innovations, have moved these instruments to a spotlight of respect which has been long overdue.
Many Americans consider accordions relevant for polka music. They visualize the old man sitting on a stoop somewhere or someone wearing a folk-style costume playing for change at an ethnic festival. Surely those activities remain a part of accordion culture, but that is only one segment of its music that accommodates a variety of styles in many parts of the world.
In Ireland, the button accordion is very much a part of Celtic music. The button accordion is a member of an instrumental family that developed in the early part of the nineteenth century. Its music comes from the air blown across the pairing of metal reeds. When the air is blown across from bellows, these metal reeds then vibrate, creating a variety of music notes.
In the United States both Cajun and Zydeco music encompass the accordion as an intimate part of the typical band. The Cajuns originally migrated to America from France, but gradually, in seeking assimilation, adopted the stringed instruments that pervaded music during the 1920’s and 30’s. Prior to this the Cajuns had so many years of deprivation, indeed losing much of their music and folk instruments, as they fled to new and sometimes hostile environments, they were unable to produce their music in the old ways. A Cajun revival began in the late 1940’s with Iry LeJeune, Lawrence Walker and Nathan Abshire, at the helm. War veterans were also attracted to the style of music represented by accordionists of the time, as they sought traditional music as a way of finding solace and structure provided by the old-style music.
Zydeco music has its origins with the Creoles of color of Louisiana, most of whom had African American lineage, who adopted some of the Cajun style to their own flavor of blues and a hand-clapping, heavy beat that continues to attract folks of many cultures. Both the Cajuns and the Creoles emulated patterns from each other, thus forming bonds that continue to exist between these “brother” groups, at least in history.
The accordion has now been adopted into rock bands, folk music groups and a host of other venues, proving its adaptability and flexibility for music of many types.
The Portuguese are very much a part of Hawaii’s history, as many of the early settlers from this ethnic group provided their own flavor of music to the stew that exists in the islands. A man by the name of Joao Fernande delighted local folk in the late 1800’s with a small, guitar-like instrument with five strings. With several friends, Fernande created an even smaller instrument that is now called the ukulele, that over the years has been refined, updated and strengthened by various musical groups and artisans. It’s history, however, is Hawaiian, as the Portuguese were a major immigrant group that produced the foundational core of the islands.
In the United States mainland, the ukulele was considered quaint by many, as they listened to Arthur Godrey play the solid up-down rhythm of what was contemporary music of the 1940’s and 50’s, with a different tuning than that used in Hawaii. That “D” tuning remains a favorite way of emulating guitar chords so that the players of either instrument could readily adapt to the other. On the other hand, the “purists” remain in Hawaii where the “C” tuning is considered standard and the chords enough from the guitar that the transfer from one to the other is not as easy to do.
Now the uke struts its stuff with a variety of musicians, both traditional and non traditional, finding their audience everywhere. In Hawaii Israel Kamakawiwioole is virtually the king of the ukulele accompanists, as he took his own version over “Over the Rainbow” and made it not just a standard in Hawaii but on the mainland and in other parts of the world.
The ukulele is realizing new popularity, as people learn of its potential. Joan Baez and Peter Frampton both learned to play stringed instruments from learning first the ukulele. It is often referred to as the “happy instrument” and in fact has been used to bring Israeli and Palestinian children together by an organization called “Ukeleles for Peace.”
Welcome to the world where musicians are combining instruments in new patterns for music, as is demonstrated here by playing the ukulele and accordion together in a rendition of a familiar, modern piece usually played by orchestra, guitar or piano, called “You Lift Me Up," with the words in one verse an adaptation for the audience. It features the Magic Fluke" and a custom-designed, one-of-a-kind accordion.
