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A washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ...

The traditional washboard is usually constructed with a rectangular wooden frame in which are mounted a series of ridges or corrugations for the clothing to be rubbed upon. For 19th century washboards, the ridges were often of wood; by the 20th century, ridges of metal were more common. A "fluted" metal washboard was patented in the US in 1833. Zinc washboards were manufactured in the US from the middle of the 19th century. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, ridges of galvanized steel are most common, but some modern boards are made of glass. Washboards with brass ridges are still made, and some who use washboards as musical instruments prefer the sound of the somewhat more expensive brass boards. For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... This article is about metallic materials. ... Hot-dip galvanizing is the process of coating iron or steel with a thin zinc layer by passing the steel through a molten bath of zinc at a temperature of around 460°C. Zinc rusts to form zinc oxide, a fairly strong material that stops further rusting, protecting the steel... This article is about the material. ... “Brazen” redirects here. ...

The washboard used for laundry

A 20th century glass washboard

Though the washboard is generally used as a musical instrument or sound-making device, many parts of the world still use them for washing clothes. Clothes are soaked in hot soapy water in a washtub or sink, then squeezed and rubbed against the ridged surface of the washboard to force the cleansing fluid through the cloth to carry away dirt. Washboards may also be used for washing in a river, with or without soap. Then the clothes are rinsed. The rubbing has a similar effect to beating the clothes and household linen on rocks, an ancient method. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2288x1712, 525 KB) Glass washboard, early twentieth century, photo by Yannick Trottier 2005 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2288x1712, 525 KB) Glass washboard, early twentieth century, photo by Yannick Trottier 2005 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version...

The washboard as a musical instrument

A washboard (left) and a piano player

The washboard and frottoir are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument. Lisa Ragtime Annie Driscoll playing washboard and Scott Kirby playing piano on Royal Street, the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, about 1990. ... Lisa Ragtime Annie Driscoll playing washboard and Scott Kirby playing piano on Royal Street, the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, about 1990. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Percussion redirects here. ...

As traditionally used in jazz, cajun, skiffle, jug band, and old time music, the washboard remained in its wooden frame and is played primarily by tapping and, but also scraping, the washboard with thimbles. Often the washboard has additional traps, such as a wood block, a cowbell, and even small cymbals. For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other ethnicities with whom the Acadians eventually intermarried on the semitropical frontier. ... Doghouse Skiffle Group Skiffle is a type of folk music with a jazz and blues influence, usually using homemade or improvised instruments such as the washboard, tea chest bass, kazoo, cigar-box fiddle, musical saw, comb and paper, and so forth, as well as more conventional instruments such as acoustic... A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. ... Old-time music, a traditional style of American music, has roots in Irish, Scottish and African folk music. ... Wood block Tubular wood block A wood block is essentially a small slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. ... The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ... For the Japanese rock band, see Cymbals (band). ...

Conversely, the frottoir dispenses with the frame and consists simply of the metal ribbing hung around the neck. It is played, also with thimbles, but with much more strumming than tapping. The frottoir, also called a Cajun rub-board or Zydeco rub-board, is a mid 20th century invention designed specifically for Zydeco music. It was designed in 1946 by Clifton "King of Zydeco" Chenier, and fashioned by Willie Landry, a friend and metalworker at the Texaco refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Clifton's brother Cleveland Chenier famously played this newly designed rubboard using bottle openers. Likewise, Willie's son, Don Landry, continues the traditional hand manufacturing of rubboards in his small shop outside of Lafayette, LA.[1] Early Creole musicians playing an accordion and a washboard in front of a store, near New Iberia, Louisiana (1938). ... Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 - December 12, 1987) was the pre-eminent performer of zydeco music, a blend of Cajun and Creole music with R&B, jazz and blues influences. ... Don Landry is a morning show host on The Fan 590 radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

The frottoir or vest frottoir (from Cajun French "vest to be rubbed") is played as a stroked percussion instrument, often in a band with a drummer, while the washboard generally is a replacement for drums. In Zydeco bands, the frottoir is usually played with bottle openers, to make a louder sound. It tends to play counter-rhythms to the drummer. A vest frottoir is an instrument used in Zydeco music. ... Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French [2]) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. ... For other uses, see Drum (disambiguation). ...

In a jug band, the washboard can also be stroked with a single whisk broom and functions as the drums for the band, playing only on the back-beat for most songs, a substitute for a snare drum. In a four-beat measure, the washboard will stroke on the 2-beat and the 4-beat. Its best sound is achieved using a single steel-wire snare-brush or whisk broom. Look up Whisk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings, and with a set of snares (cords) stretched across the bottom head. ...

However, in a jazz setting, the washboard can also be played with thimbles on all fingers, tapping out much more complex rhythms, as in the Washboard Rhythm Kings, a full-sized band. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (598x900, 400 KB) Photographer: Masayuki Title: Washboard musician Taken on: 2004-11-13 13:21:56 Original source: Flickr. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (598x900, 400 KB) Photographer: Masayuki Title: Washboard musician Taken on: 2004-11-13 13:21:56 Original source: Flickr. ... A thimble A thimble is a protective shield worn on the finger or thumb. ... The Washboard Rhythm Kings were a loose aggregation of jazz performers, many of high calibre, who recorded as a group for various labels between about 1930 and 1935. ...

Some washboard players may add other small percussion devices to the washboard, such as a cymbal, woodblock, or cowbell, which can periodically be struck to vary the effect. For the Japanese rock band, see Cymbals (band). ... A woodcut is a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with chisels. ... The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ...

A frottoir is played with a stroking instrument (usually thimble-gloves or a pair of bottle-openers) in each hand. In a 4-beat measure, the Frottoir will be stroked 8 to 16 times. It plays more like a Latin percussion instrument, rather than as a drum. The rhythms used are often similar to those played on Guiro. Latin American music, or the music of Latin America, is sometimes called Latin music. ... Categories: Music stubs | Latin percussion | Idiophones ...

Quotation

From the 1920s song "Coney Island Washboard":

On her Coney Island washboard she would play

You could hear her on the boardwalk ev'ry day

Soap suds all around, bubbles on the ground

Rub-a dub-a dub in her little tub, all the tunes she found, hey!

Thimbles on her fingers make the noise,

She plays the Charleston on the laundry for the boys.

She can rag a tune right through the knees

Of a brand-new pair of BVD's.

Coney Island washboard roundelay.

Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston at the Folies Bergère, Paris, in 1926 A USPS stamp from the Celebrate the Century series: Flappers Doing the Charleston by John Held Jr. ... This is an article about Ragtime music. ... This article is about the mens underwear. ... For other uses, see Coney Island (disambiguation). ... A roundelay is a poetic and songwriting form characterized by the last line of the couplet or verse carring a refrain. ...

Related uses of 'washboard'

• washboard is also a slang term (like six pack) to describe well-defined abdominal muscles.
• Washboard road refers to a dirt or gravel road which become corrugated as a result of passing traffic.

For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation). ... Six-pack has more than one meaning: Six-pack refers to a set of six canned or bottled drinks sold together: aluminum cans are held together by a yoke, and bottles are stored in cardboard carriers with three on either side of a handle in the middle. ... The rectus abdominis muscle (commonly known as abs) is a paired muscle running vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the human abdomen (and in some other animals). ... Washboarding is a process which results in roads (particularly gravel roads or dirt roads) developing a series of regular bumps with short spacing in the road surface. ...

External link

• History of washboards (laundry)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Washboards

• Threshing-board
• Blues washboard