Dance Music

As the name implies; dance music is the music that is used for dancing. This music was usually instrumental, but wasn't always. Different cultures had their own dance music styles.


 * Cajun Dance Songs: Cajun dance music is an amalgamation of Anglo-American, Celtic, French, African, and Blues dance music played largely by the Cajun peoples of Louisiana and French Canada. One of its main features is that most of the songs are in waltz time. It is one of the few folk traditions in America that remains practically unchanged to this day. Creoles (black Cajuns) created another style during the '40s that combined Cajun music with Blues, Jazz, and (later) Rock 'n' Roll. This style has come to be known as Zydeco.


 * Anglo-American Dance Songs: This is the dance music of Americans who descended from the diaspora from the British isles that came to the Americas starting with the creation England's colonies in that area. Its main influences are Celtic music, as well as British music. Starting in the '20s and the years following Country-Swing and Bluegrass emerged from a combination of this music with Blues or Jazz.


 * Blues Dance Songs: There aren't many instrumental blues songs. Many of the ones that had vocals were still intended for dancing. Most of the blues genres were relatively slow and kind of hard to dance to, however Hokum Blues and Piedmont Blues which are largely influenced by Jazz and Ragtime are usually quite danceable. Another example of this is Jug Blues.

Related Articles

 * The Anthology Of American Folk Music
 * List Of Cajun Dance Songs
 * List Of Anglo-American Dance Songs
 * List Of Blues Dance Songs