musette

Musette is a term with several related meanings in music and everyday use, most often associated with small bagpipes and a style of French music and dance. Historically, the musette de cour was a small, bellows-blown bagpipe used at the French court in the 17th and 18th centuries; it featured one or more drones and a chanter, and its simple, pastoral timbre was imitated in keyboard and orchestral music. Baroque composers such as Jean-Philippe Rameau and others wrote pieces titled "Musette" that evoke its rustic character.

In folk contexts, regional varieties such as the musette de Provence remained part of rural music traditions. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, "musette" also came to denote a Parisian popular dance genre centered on the accordion—valse musette—characterized by a swinging waltz rhythm, chromatic melodic turns, and a warm, nasal tone that blends dance-hall and folk sensibilities. That style influenced popular and jazz musicians in France and beyond.

Outside music, musette refers to a small shoulder bag used to hand food and drink to long-distance cyclists during races; the term has been adopted into sporting jargon. More generally it can mean a small bag or pouch. The word thus covers historical instruments, musical genres, and practical objects that share a common root in the idea of a compact, portable item associated with music or provisions.