What is Cajun style music called?
Cajun music is the music of the white Cajuns of south Louisiana, while zydeco is the music of the black Creoles of the same region. Both share common origins and influences, and there is much overlap in the repertoire and style of each.
What are two characteristics of Cajun music?
Besides the voices, only two melodic instruments are heard, the accordion and fiddle, but usually in the background can also be heard the high, clear tones of a metal triangle. The harmonies of Cajun music are simple and the melodic range is just one octave, rising a fifth above the tonic and descending a fourth below.
What are the characteristic of Cajun music?
Many early recordings of Cajun music feature a trio of accordion, fiddle, and acoustic guitar; or simply accordion and fiddle.
What key is zydeco in?
While this does vary, Zydeco music is often played on an accordion tuned in the key of B flat while Cajun music is often on an accordion in the key of C but this can vary and is often selected by the vocal range of the artist.
What is the difference between Cajun and Creole music?
However, one can come across many similarities in music between Creole and Cajun music. Where Cajun music is more jazz-oriented and blues-based, Creole music has a more Caribbean and West African feel to it.
What do Cajuns call an accordion?
A Cajun accordion (in Cajun French: accordéon), also known as a squeezebox, is single-row diatonic button accordion used for playing Cajun music.
What is a Creole style house?
Creole cottages can be defined by the features they shared. Heavy braced timber frames and Norman truss roof systems formed the structure, with bricks or a confection of mud and Spanish moss called bousillage filling the space between the timbers. Houses were raised several feet off the ground on piers or blocks.
What type of instrument is a washboard?
percussion instrument
The washboard and frottoir (from Cajun French “frotter”, to rub) are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument.
What instruments did the Cajuns play?
Although originally there were no instruments, there were songs. Families sung traditional French songs called complaintes which the Cajuns adapted to their new ways of life. The first known record was of a violin in 1780 and a fiddle and clarinet player in 1785. The diatonic accordion was introduced to Cajun music in the mid- to late-1800s.
What is the melodic range of Cajun accordion?
The harmonies of Cajun music are simple and the melodic range is just one octave, rising a fifth above the tonic and descending a fourth below. Because the Cajun accordion is a diatonic instrument (do-re-mi or natural major scale) it can only play tunes in a few keys.
What keys can a Cajun accordion play in?
Because the Cajun accordion is a diatonic instrument (do-re-mi or natural major scale) it can only play tunes in a few keys. For example, a “C” accordion is tuned such that the entire C scale is available on the ten buttons (over two octaves) and it can play a tune in the key of C with all the notes of the C scale available (C-D-E-F-G-A-B).
What is Cajun music?
Cajun music is relatively catchy with an infectious beat and a lot of forward drive, placing the accordion at the center. The accordionist gives the vocal melody greater energy by repeating most notes.