Auvergne is a region in France. Its most well-known form of folk music is that played on the cabrette (little goat in Auvergnat), a bagpipe made of goatskin. This is used to play swift, 3/8 dance music, slow airs (regrets) and other styles. The traditional master Joseph Rouls taught many modern players, including Dominique Paris, Jean Bona and Michel Esbelin. Other styles of music include the shepherd's calls known as ballero. France has long been considered a center for European art and music. ... The Basque are an ethnic group living in parts of France and Spain, with the majority in the latter country. ... Brittany is on the northwest coast of France and is a region unique in that country in its Celtic cultural derivation. ... Outside of France, the island of Corsica is perhaps best known musically for its polyphonic choral tradition. ... The most well-known musician from the French region of Limousin is probably the piper Eric Montbel, a former member of such legendary bands as Lo Jai, Le Grand Rouge, and Ulysse; he plays the chabreta, or Limousin bagpipe. ... A music festival is a festival that presents a number of musical performances usually tied together through a theme or genre. ... Quick history The Printemps de Bourges is a music festival, started in 1977 by Jean Christophe Dechico (director of the Maison de la Culture at the time), Alain Meilland (actor and singer) and Daniel Colling (music booking agent). ... The National Anthem is the name of a song by the band Radiohead. ... This article is about the anthem La Marseillaise. A sculpture popularly called La Marseillaise is part of the sculptural programme of the Arc de Triomphe. ... French Polynesia came to the forefront of the world music scene in 1992, with the release of The Tahitian Choirs recordings of unaccompanied vocal Christian music called himene tarava, recorded by French musicologist Pascal Nabet-Meyer. ... The former French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe are small islands in the Caribbean. ... Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the music of Tahiti was dominated by festivals called heiva. ... Music in the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna is overwhelmingly Polynesian in form. ... Auvergne coat of arms Auvergne (Occitan: Auvèrnha) was the name of an historically independent county in the center of France, as well as later a province of France. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Auvergnat is a language spoken in Auvergne, which is a historical province in the northern part of Occitania. ... A bagpipe performer in Amsterdam. ... Dance music is music composed, played, or both, specifically for social dancing. ...

Joseph Canteloube was a well-known composer from Auvergne in the early 20th century, and produced a famous collection of folk music called Songs of the Auvergne.

The hurdy gurdy became the basis for bal-musette music, which arrived in Paris by 1880 as a result of Auvergnat migration. The influence of Antoine Bouscatel led to bal-musette incorporating the Italian accordion, which soon came to dominate the music. This is the period that produced internationally known masters like Léon Chanal, Emile Vacher and Martin Cayla. Vacher's light style, rhythmic nature and distinctive tremolo defined the genre for many audiences in France and beyond. During World War 1, elements of American jazz became a part of bal-musette. The style also became the basis for a genre called valse musette. Drawing of a hurdy gurdy A hurdy gurdy (alternately, hurdy-gurdy) is a stringed musical instrument. ... Bal-musette is a style of French popular music which arose in 1880s Parisespecially the 5th, 11th and 12th districts. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Tremolo is a musical term with two meanings: A rapid repetition of the same note, or an alternation between two or more notes. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. ...

Other Auvergnat musicians include Patrick Desaunay and Jean-Louis Murat.