Ever notice how Cajun waltzes are mostly "swung"?

The rhythm is not a straight six-eighth notes to a
measure.

It's more like a three, dotted eighth and a sixteenth
note combinations to a measure (AKA swinging).

If it weren't played that way, it would sound
untypical and more like a beginner's Mozart piano
lesson.

I wonder when "they" started playing like that and
who started it? Any thoughts?

--Big

I think the "swing" you're talking about comes from mazurkas. If you listen to a classical mazurka it sounds more like a cajun waltz. I think somewhere along the line waltzes and mazurkas kind of became one. When I listen to the old fiddlers when they play waltzes and mazurkas they sound very similar, however the mazurkas always have more "bounce".

In a nutshell, the cajuns adapted the music to fit their cultural and personal tastes. A mazurka beat to a waltz melody is much more lively and sultry than just your plain old pretty, albeit boring waltz.

I think trying to pin point a time when this happened is an interesting venture. Recorded music tells us it happened well before that because the trend was already established. If I had to take a guess I would say it happened between 1790-1864. If you know your history you'll know why. If not e-mail me. its too long and complicated.

We did exactly what we do best, adapt, and make it our own.

Great discussion Big.

Oh one more thing, Swing isn't created by the division of time (eighth notes etc), but where you put sound in time. E.g. to swing a melody you start playing on the 2 and 4, accenting those beats. I dont know if that makes sense, but thats what every swing player has told me.

thanks big !

Christian,

Thanks for elaborating. I hope more Braves chime in

Yes, I'm aware that the definition that I had cited for
swing is not pedantically correct, that nomenclature or similar,
is frequently used in sheet music.

http://www.guitarnoise.com/guide/swing-eighths/

And, of course, one can vary the amount of swing that
they apply to a performance.

But .. Writing about music is like dancing about architecture!

Merci beaucoup,

--Big

Most people attribute that swing to African influences. That's why Cajun music will always be the collaboration of a Creole man and an Irishman.

Swing in a musical performance as found in Cajun music etc. is more or less that you delay the 2nd and 3rd beat in a waltz, or the 2nd and 4th beat in a 4 to the floor rhythm, but only slightly. Also with Irish and Old Time country music and more .... - Nout

Back in the 70s, I played bass guitar and chemnitzer concertina for a polka band here in New England. We played waltzes and obereks and a few mazurkas along with polkas. The oberek is basicly a mazurka without the bounce. What I would do to add a little punch to the oberek, was to play on the one and three instead on on the one. In Irish music, the reel has a lilt (bounce) to it as does the hornpipe which is written in mostly dotted eighth notes. Scottish music has the strathspey which has a definitive lilt to it. Again the use of dotted notes . As I learn Cajun music on accordion, I see the definite lilt or bounce in the waltzes. I was told by an Irish accordion teacher many years ago that this bounce or swing technique came from the Vikings. Where ever they went, they left their mark as is evidenced in most European folk music. Their music had a definitive bounce to it. Listen to a Rhinelander or a Swedish polka. That lilting eventually found it's way into the Irish music, Scottish music, and pretty much all throughout Europe where they explored and settled.

Thanks Nick for verifying ! I figured thats what you meant. Dana thats an interesting perspective about the vikings. I would have never thought of that. I guess the bounce goes way way... back.

Wow - my Viking ancestors are responsible for spreading "the funk" amongst the white folk. That's awesome.

And to pick up again on the earlier thread of writing about music, there is a fascinating book that digs into the way our brains deal with music (tempo, meter, syncopation, etc, etc...). "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin is a cool read, especially for those of us who are prone to ponder and obsess about such things.