Talk:Washboard (musical instrument)

Further documentation of the Cajun frottoir
I have no experience editing pages, but have some information I think would enrich the topic of musical washboards.

I just returned from Louisiana cajun country where I picked up a washboard from Tee Don Landry who has carried on the process of frottoir production that he learned from his father, Willie Landry. Willie was the metalworker who met Clifton and Cleveland Chenier and made what is likely the first frottoir, based on a design Clifton drew in the dirt. I spent an hour with Tee Don at his home on May 7, 2007 listening to his recollection of this history, and observing the shop where he carries on the tradition of handmade frottoirs.

Further documentation of these events can be found on Tee Don's website at. From there, you can also follow the link to, which not only details this history, but also describes and documents the acceptance of 2 of Tee Don's rubboards into the Smithsonian's collection. On this link, further links are referenced that provide additional documenting sources.

Finally, I would also recommend including one of New Orlean's contemporary musicians in this article. Washboard Chaz is a highly respected artist in the New Orleans area, and a repeat performer at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. The Washboard Chaz Trio includes a harmonica player and exceptionally talented blues guitar player of the Mississipi blues tradition. What makes him of added interest to an article on musical washboards is the fact that he makes great music utilizing the simple laundry-style washboard, as demonstrated on his website,

I hope this info will be useful to someone with more experience editing Wikipedia pages.

Tongatim 07:15, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Necessity of two separate articles for the same item
Wholly my opinion: this article concedes almost immediately that the musical washboard are the same object, and having read the articles for the different uses of the same object, it seems extraneous to have both, unless there's some significant difference in manufacture or marketing of washboards intentionally created for mutually exclusive purposes; again:  the same object that is not uniquely created for either specific use, nor is there anything prohibiting the singular item being used both ways, though not necessarily at the same time. Absurdist1968 (talk) 05:37, 30 August 2018 (UTC)