The first known instrument to use the free vibrating reed principle, which is the basis of the accordion's sound production,the accordion evolved from the 5,000-year-old Chinese mouth organ called the sheng. There are many different accounts on how the sheng made its way to Europe and there are many conflicting versions of the history and evolution of accordion. it's well-known that the popularity of accordion music reached its peak in France before it spread to the rest of the world.
The accordion music that was almost synonymous with popular French music for at least 50 years, from the early 1900s throughout the 1950s.
A goatskin bagpipe known as Musette was a very popular musical instrument in the Auvergne region of France around the 19th century. Immigrants arriving in Paris between 1800 and 1900 had their musettes in tow. Eventually, modest dance halls in the back rooms of these modest cafes,and some Auvergnat immigrants opened small shops selling coal and wine. These came to be known as bal musettes. On Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, their patrons danced the traditional Auvergnat dance to the music of the musette.
In the late 1800s, Italian immigrant workers began pouring into the French capital, and they brought their accordions with them. Paris 19th district where the Italians settled came alive with the sound of diatonic accordion music. At first, accordions were accepted into most musette music bands. Bal musettes, which had been places where the musette instrument was played, had become establishments where the Auvergnat and Italian communities of Paris gathered to dance to accordion and musette music. 1905 saw the first combined musical performance of a musette and accordion.
However, with the appearance of the half-diatonic, half-chromatic accordion, the Italian accordionists tried to introduce new dances into the bal musettes, playing music that was outside of the realm of the musette,a few years later. This led to a serious difference which was further aggravated with the appearance of the chromatic accordion.
The Italians left to play their accordions in different locations which they continued to call bal musettes. At these new bal musettes, the accordion was the principal instrument, accompanied by drums and the main dance was the waltz. Accordion music as well as the new bal musettes became popular quickly. And across the country,accordionists were playing in the streets and their music soon became the most popular in Paris. Accordions had become the preferred accompanying instrument of French singers as well " and the musette accordion style, or music genre, was born.
The bal musettes re-opened with fervor after World War I, and musette accordion music continued to flourish in the period between the 2 World Wars. Many new bal musettes opened to cater to the masses in need of entertainment, and members of the upper classes would go to these places looking for adventure. Before the Second World War, certain enterprising dance establishments even organized fake police raids and gunshots for the benefit of these classy visitors.
The musette accordion genre had definitively gained the upper hand over music played by the musette instrument. In the 1930s, jazz penetrated into the musette accordion style and by the 1940s, it was common to hear the 2 styles intermixed. After the Manouche banjoists and guitarists had joined the musette accordion bands, accordion musette music had become the most popular French music of its day,by the early 1950s.
To a decline of the musette accordion style led the advent of rock, disco and newer dance music in the 1960s. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, popular music groups began to show interest in the musette accordion music and this inspiring music genre is experiencing a revival both in France and across the world. - 15275
The accordion music that was almost synonymous with popular French music for at least 50 years, from the early 1900s throughout the 1950s.
A goatskin bagpipe known as Musette was a very popular musical instrument in the Auvergne region of France around the 19th century. Immigrants arriving in Paris between 1800 and 1900 had their musettes in tow. Eventually, modest dance halls in the back rooms of these modest cafes,and some Auvergnat immigrants opened small shops selling coal and wine. These came to be known as bal musettes. On Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, their patrons danced the traditional Auvergnat dance to the music of the musette.
In the late 1800s, Italian immigrant workers began pouring into the French capital, and they brought their accordions with them. Paris 19th district where the Italians settled came alive with the sound of diatonic accordion music. At first, accordions were accepted into most musette music bands. Bal musettes, which had been places where the musette instrument was played, had become establishments where the Auvergnat and Italian communities of Paris gathered to dance to accordion and musette music. 1905 saw the first combined musical performance of a musette and accordion.
However, with the appearance of the half-diatonic, half-chromatic accordion, the Italian accordionists tried to introduce new dances into the bal musettes, playing music that was outside of the realm of the musette,a few years later. This led to a serious difference which was further aggravated with the appearance of the chromatic accordion.
The Italians left to play their accordions in different locations which they continued to call bal musettes. At these new bal musettes, the accordion was the principal instrument, accompanied by drums and the main dance was the waltz. Accordion music as well as the new bal musettes became popular quickly. And across the country,accordionists were playing in the streets and their music soon became the most popular in Paris. Accordions had become the preferred accompanying instrument of French singers as well " and the musette accordion style, or music genre, was born.
The bal musettes re-opened with fervor after World War I, and musette accordion music continued to flourish in the period between the 2 World Wars. Many new bal musettes opened to cater to the masses in need of entertainment, and members of the upper classes would go to these places looking for adventure. Before the Second World War, certain enterprising dance establishments even organized fake police raids and gunshots for the benefit of these classy visitors.
The musette accordion genre had definitively gained the upper hand over music played by the musette instrument. In the 1930s, jazz penetrated into the musette accordion style and by the 1940s, it was common to hear the 2 styles intermixed. After the Manouche banjoists and guitarists had joined the musette accordion bands, accordion musette music had become the most popular French music of its day,by the early 1950s.
To a decline of the musette accordion style led the advent of rock, disco and newer dance music in the 1960s. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, popular music groups began to show interest in the musette accordion music and this inspiring music genre is experiencing a revival both in France and across the world. - 15275
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