Newfoundland New Orleans Newfoundland traditional music encompasses more than sea shanties, ballads and Celtic tunes. The French-influenced traditional music played on accordions enchanted us during our trip to the province’s West Coast. As we listened to the rhythmic reels emanating from the instruments — sometimes called squeeze boxes — we wanted to get up and dance. We resolved to attend Port-auPort’s annual Black Duck Brook Festival on our next visit to hear more of the music that keeps the francophone culture alive in the region. Peter Mikeeuniak beats a large hand drum Music is the beating heart of New Orleans, whether it’s Cajun, Zydeco (Louisiana Creole), gospel singing, classical or marching brass bands. You can hear it in restaurants, cafés and music clubs and during festivals ranging fromMardi Gras to Jazz Fest. The birthplace of Louis Armstrong is noted for its jazz. We especially enjoyed the jazz music played by street-corner buskers as well as the old-timers in Preservation Hall, where we clapped our hands to a rousing version of When the Saints Go Marching In. We’ll never forget the cold night on the Hudson Bay coast, when we huddled together inside a caribou-skin tent listening to Peter Mikeeuniak beat a large hand-drum. He explained that Inuit drumming accompanies songs that tell stories about things which they’ve done in their past that they want to remember. His wifeMary Okatsiak sang her grandmother’s Inuktitut song as Peter accompanied her on the drum. She translated her grandmother’s memories about freezing-cold igloos and sewing caribou clothing. Whether you hear them inHawaii or Tahiti, ukuleles are symbolic of Polynesian music. An integral part of a Polynesian band, the four-stringed instrument is often accompanied by guitars and a one-string inverted washtub bass. We have enjoyed ukulele music in restaurants, clubs, luaus, resorts, cruise ships and during Hawaiian aloha welcome ceremonies. Another traditional instrument is the wooden drum or pahu. Musicians play it with their palms and fingers. It’s often adorned with carved tikis (Polynesian deities) and other symbolic decorations. Polynesia Nunavut 20 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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