A vest frottoir or rubboard is a percussion instrument used in

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

music similar to a washboard. It is usually made from pressed, corrugated

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

and is worn over the shoulders. It is played as a rhythm instrument by stroking either bottle openers or spoons down it. Many of these instruments are home-made, but Don Landry of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

is one professional maker, making them for

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...

's band and Elvis Fontenot and the Sugar Bees, amongst others. In ''

The Amazing Race 32 ''The Amazing Race 32'' is the thirty-second season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on October 14, 2020, and the sea ...

'', racers played the vest frottoir during the season's final leg in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

References

American musical instruments Cajun musical instruments Louisiana Creole culture North American percussion instruments Scraped idiophones {{Idiophone-instrument-stub