New Orleans Drumming: Exploring Zydeco Music

Hi and welcome to the next installment of New Orleans drumming!

As I was talking about earlier, there are different parts of the world that have settled within New Orleans. In fact, the name "New Orleans" comes directly from France.

As we can see, and when you actually experience the city (if you've ever been), it does have a very European flavor to it, especially in the French Quarter.

The French Influence on Zydeco Music

The French influence on New Orleans can be heard in zydeco music, which is a part of Louisiana where French is spoken.

Zydeco music features:

• Accordion playing: A strong component of the genre.

• Groove structure: The drum patterns are quite straightforward. It often goes something like this:

  • Boom, bap, bat ba bap,
  • Dump, bap, bat bap,
  • Boom, bap, bap, bap.

So there you have those two different grooves within the zydeco band.

The Role of the Rub Board

In a zydeco band, there's typically someone playing a rub board. This unique instrument:

• Used to be a simple rub board but can also be utilized in traditional jazz.
• Played similarly to strumming a guitar.

There's some great clips of Herlin Riley, an amazing drummer from New Orleans, using the rub board in a traditional band setting.

The Modern Rub Board

Within zydeco, the rub boards have evolved to be worn over the chest. Key features include:

• Size: Quite wide and hangs off the shoulders.
• Material: Made of metal, corrugated down the front.
• Playing Technique: Musicians sometimes use beer openers, can openers, or metal thimbles on their fingers, playing it like a long guero on their chest.

The sound is not completely straight; it has a rhythmic quality that you need to listen for:

• It's characterized by a "doobie, doobie, doobie" feel.
• Despite its movement, it maintains a stricter pulse.

The accordion leads the rhythm, complemented by the drums.

Recommended Listening

Have a listen to zydeco music! Buckwheat Zydeco is probably the most well-known zydeco musician. There are also many "Cheniers" who play zydeco, so be sure to check them out too.

If you do a good search on zydeco, you'll find all sorts of exciting music.

I'll see you in the next lesson!