French Music- Module 2

For this week’s blog post for module 2 in our class Music of the World, I decided to share with you this video of music from France. This video does not have a selected title for performer listed. The instrumentation for this song is an Accordion, and percussion instruments such as a drum set and tambourine. The song is a waltz in ¾ time with a fast tempo. I could imagine that this song would be played at a party for people to dance on the dance floor.

In tying into the readings about music cultures and traditions handed down from generation to generation, French Music is played in the streets of villages and cities of France. The French people love to gather around the different performers and their instruments to sing and dance into the night often while enjoying a cool glass of the local white wine or red wine. I had this experience myself when I visited France on a performance trip two years ago.

The classification of instruments in France is the same as many other European countries as well as in the United States. Examples of these classifications are Woodwind, Brass, Strings and Percussion. Some examples of instruments in French music are the Harp, Accordion, French Horn, Bass, and Piano just to name a few. There are specific similarities between particular instruments that lead to classification in a particular instrument family. For example, an instrument like the accordion may fall into its own classification system. Accordion is a free reed aerophone instrument, along with the harmonica, harmonium (Indian), reed organ (which operates with a vacuum), harmonium (which operates under air pressure) and a few others.