Washboard

Washboard

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.

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. One of the few musical instruments invented in America is the Zydeco Frottoir (Zydeco Rubboard), a distillation of the washboard into essential elements (percussive surface with shoulder straps) designed by Clifton Chenier and built by Willie Landry in 1946.

The washboard used for laundry

Though the washboard is generally used today 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, but is less abrasive.

The washboard as a musical instrument

The washboard and frottoir are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument.

As traditionally used in jazz, zydeco, skiffle, jug band, and old time music, the washboard remained in its wooden frame and is played primarily by tapping, but also scraping the washboard with thimbles. Often the washboard has additional traps, such as a wood block, a cowbell, and even small cymbals.

Conversely, the frottoir (zydeco rubboard) dispenses with the frame and consists simply of the metal ribbing hung around the neck. It is played primarily with spoon handles or bottle openers in a combination of strumming, scratching, tapping and rolling. The frottoir, also called a 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, Tee Don Landry, continues the traditional hand manufacturing of rubboards in his small shop in Sunset, LA. [http://www.zydecorubboards.com/]

The frottoir or "vest frottoir" (from Cajun-Creole 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.

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.

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.

A frottoir is played with a stroking instrument (usually with spoon handles 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.

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.

External links

* [http://www.oldandinteresting.com/washboards-history.aspx History of washboards (laundry)]

ee also

* Threshing-board
* Blues washboard


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  • Washboard —   [englisch, wɔʃbɔ:d; wörtlich »Waschbrett«], zum Perkussionsinstrument umfunktioniertes Waschbrett; wurde mit Deckeln und Töpfen behängt als Schlagzeugersatz in den Washboard Bands und Spasm Bands genutzt; später auch in Skiffle und… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Washboard — Wash board , n. 1. A fluted, or ribbed, board on which clothes are rubbed in washing them. [1913 Webster] 2. A board running round, and serving as a facing for, the walls of a room, next to the floor; a mopboard. [1913 Webster] 3. (Naut.) A broad …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • washboard — clothes cleaning device, 1882, from WASH (Cf. wash) (v.) + BOARD (Cf. board) (n.1). As a percussion instrument, attested from 1925; in reference to abdominal muscles, recorded from 1950 in boxing jargon …   Etymology dictionary

  • washboard — ► NOUN 1) a board made of ridged wood or a sheet of corrugated zinc, against which clothes are scrubbed during washing. 2) a similar board played as a percussion instrument by scraping. 3) (before another noun ) (of a man s stomach) lean and with …   English terms dictionary

  • washboard — [wôsh′bôrd΄] n. ☆ 1. a) a board or frame with a ridged surface of metal, glass, etc., used for scrubbing dirt out of clothes or as a percussion instrument in a jug band b) the worn surface of a paved road resembling this 2. BASEBOARD 3. Naut. a… …   English World dictionary

  • Washboard — Planche à laver La planche à laver ou washboard (en anglais) est un instrument de musique de percussion apparu à La Nouvelle Orléans. C est un ustensile sanitaire détourné de sa fonction originelle et adapté à un jeu musical par le détournement d …   Wikipédia en Français

  • washboard — noun Date: 1742 1. a broad thin plank along a gunwale or on the sill of a lower deck port to keep out the sea 2. baseboard 3. a. a corrugated rectangular surface that is used for scrubbing clothes or as a percussion instrument b. a road or… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • washboard — washboardy, adj. /wosh bawrd , bohrd , wawsh /, n. 1. a rectangular board or frame, typically with a corrugated metallic surface, on which clothes are rubbed in the process of washing. 2. a baseboard around the walls of a room. 3. Also called… …   Universalium

  • washboard — UK [ˈwɒʃˌbɔː(r)d] / US [ˈwɑʃˌbɔrd] noun [countable] Word forms washboard : singular washboard plural washboards a board with a rough metal surface used in the past for rubbing clothes on to help to make them clean …   English dictionary

  • washboard — wash•board [[t]ˈwɒʃˌbɔrd, ˌboʊrd, ˈwɔʃ [/t]] n. 1) a rectangular board or frame, typically with a corrugated metallic surface, on which clothes are rubbed in the process of washing 2) a baseboard around the walls of a room 3) naut. a thin, broad… …   From formal English to slang

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