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norteno music

• Conjunto 101: An Unofficial Primer - Includes origins, instruments, and development of the style of music.
• Gale - Music - Música Norteña - History of conjunto and orquesta styles of music.
• Handbook of Texas Online: Música Norteña - History of the style of music.
• Handbook of Texas Online: Texas-Mexican Conjunto - History of the style of music.
• Música fronteriza - Border Music - By Manuel Peña. Research article on the music of the Mexican/US border.
• Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas - Detailed description of this book about the corrido music style, and the Mexican culture.
• PBS: Accordion Dreams - All About Conjunto - Television program about the style of music.
• The Roots of Tejano and Conjunto Music - Music excerpts, liner notes, and photographs from Arhoolie Records.
• South Texas Conjunto Association - Information about a non-profit, educational organization that teaches about the origins of conjunto music of South Texas.
• Yo soy de aqui - Photographs of Central Texas conjunto accordion players.

Norteño (literally meaning "northern" in Spanish, and also known as conjunto) is a traditional style of Mexican music that originated in rural northern Mexico in the early 20th century, a form of music based largely on corridos and polka. The accordion and the bajo sexto is the music's most characteristic instruments. Norteño is extremely popular among first-generation Mexicans in both the inner city barrios and the rural countrysides of the United States and Mexico.

Norteño is the most popular subgenre of the Tex-Mex musical category. It is not to be confused with tejano music, which is more similar to rock music.

In the 1950s, the spread of conjunto and norteño into southern Texas gave rise to Tejano (or "Tex-Mex"), which in its modern version is also influenced by rock and swing. Another norteño-derived style is banda, which uses solely brass instruments instead of accordions and guitars.

Some of the most popular norteño artists include Los Tigres del Norte, Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte, Los Gavilanes, Carlos y Jose, Los Alegres de Terán, Los Huracanes del Norte, Los Tucanes De Tijuana, and others.

The sound of norteño
See also: Regional styles of Mexican music
In the past, norteño bands consisted of an accordion as the lead instrument, with the bajo sextos (a type of 12-string Mexican guitar) serving as the roots of the music. Today, a modern Norteño band usually consists of an accordion, a bajo sexto, a bass guitar, a drum set. Occasionally, a saxophone or electronic keyboard may also be included. Click here to hear what a typical norteño song sounds like. (Un Puño de Tierra by Ramon Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte)

Norteño has many different regional styles. Norteño in Texas, for example, is very likely to be influenced by American music, while norteño from Tijuana and Tamaulipas may sometimes have influences from the Caribbean. Durango and Sinaloa have also produced norteño bands, even though the two states are more closely associtated with the musical styles of duranguense and banda, respectively. Chihuahua and Zacatecas norteño often incorporates the saxophone into their bands, creating a saxophone-accordion duet. Additionally, norteño music from Guanajuato and Chiapas sometimes employs synthetic marimbas in their music instead of the usual accordion.

Each norteño band also has its own unique adorno (music which interrupt the lyrical lines in between). For example, one of Los Tigres del Norte's adornos is a series of flutters, while Los Rieleros del Norte's adornos are characterized by descending scales.

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