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Introduction to Latin Music Styles
This document provides an overview of Latin music styles from various regions including the Caribbean, Mexico/Central America, and South America. It discusses the history and development of genres like salsa, merengue, rumba, son, danzon, and cha-cha-cha. Key musicians and their contributions are also summarized such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Johnny Ventura, and Ramon Cordero. The document also covers music styles from Puerto Rico like plena and bomba as well as calypso and soca from Trinidad and Tobago.
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Introduction to Latin Music Styles
- 1. INTRODUCTION TO LATINMUSIC STYLES CHRISTOPHER BAKER MUSICSTUDENTINFO.COM
- 2. EXAMPLES OF LATINMUSIC Caribbean Music Merengue from the Dominican Republic Calypso from Trinidad Mexican/Central American Music Mariachi from Mexico South American Music Cumbia from Colombia Samba from Brazil Joropo from Venezuela
- 3. MUSIC OF THECARIBBEAN CUBA CUBAN BACKGROUND EUROPEAN DISCOVERY - IN 1492 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS SAILED FROM SPAIN AND LANDED IN THE CARIBBEAN SPAIN CLAIMED CUBA (AND MANY OTHER ISLANDS IN THE CARIBBEAN) NATIVE INDIANS IN CUBA THE ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN WERE INHABITED BY NATIVE INDIANS: PARTICULARLY THE CIBONEYS, TAINO ARAWAKS, AND CARIBS. THE SPANISH ENSLAVED THE NATIVE INDIANS AND FORCED THEM TO WORK IN MINES. SOME OF THE INDIANS WERE EXTERMINATED BY THE SPANISH, OTHERS DIED FROM STARVATION AND DISEASE, AND OTHERS COMMITTED MASS SUICIDE. BY 1570, MOST OF THE NATIVE INDIAN POPULATION WAS GONE IN CUBA
- 4. AFRICAN SLAVES This Photoby Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
- 5. AFRICAN SLAVES SLAVES FROMWEST AFRICA WERE BROUGHT TO THE CARIBBEAN AS WORKERS (SINCE THE INDIANS HAD MOSTLY DIED OFF) MANY OF THE SLAVES IN AFRICA WERE NOT CAPTURED BY THE SPANISH, BUT INSTEAD BOUGHT FROM OTHER AFRICAN TRIBES WHO HAD CONQUERED OTHER TRIBES AND ENSLAVED THEM. AROUND 1700 EUROPE HAD A COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CRAZE AND THIS REQUIRED SUGAR. THE CARIBBEAN WAS AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO GROW SUGAR AND THERE WERE HUGE SUGAR AND TOBACCO PLANTATIONS USING AFRICAN SLAVES.
- 6. NATIVE ARAWAK INDIANS CUBA This Photo byUnknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
- 7. AFRICAN MUSICAL ELEMENTSIN CUBA African Musical Elements in Cuba Loteria (rumba Columbia) Playing style Polyrhythm Improvisation Syncopation Instrumentation - drumming with singing Instruments - related to African instruments, but few exact replications Hand drums congas and bongos and Cuban, bata are Nigerian Bells - use cowbells or guataca (hoe blade) instead of double bell Claves - Cuban Shakers - Shekere is very close to African axatse, maracas are Cuban Songs and instrument patterns Religious songs of the Yoruba survived and the bata drums and drumming patterns survived 6/8 bell part survived Most of the other rhythms and songs were created in Cuba
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- 9. BLENDING IN CUBA Racialblending (led to cultural blending) – male plantation owners would sleep with female black slaves Musical blending - plantation owners would train some of their black slaves to play classical music. These black musicians would gradually add new rhythmic ideas to these traditional European styles Religious blending - the African slaves were forced to convert to Catholicism. The slaves related their Yoruba gods to Catholic saints, allowing them to give the impression of worshiping the saints while retaining the Yoruba religion. This mixed religion is called Santeria
- 10. EUROPEAN MUSICAL ELEMENTSIN CUBA Central Constancia (Danzon) Playing style Written out music Musical forms Major/minor scales and tonalities Homophonic texture - melody with accompaniment Instruments - most European instruments made their way to Cuba Brass - trumpet, trombone Woodwinds - flute Strings - violin, double bass Percussion - timpani Piano Songs The aristocratic dance songs of Europe were played in Cuba by the wealthy plantation owners. These included the waltz, gigue, minuet,
- 11. CUBAN INSTRUMENTS 1 Claves two woodensticks which play the “clave” rhythm translates as “key” 3 clave patterns Son clave Rumba clave 6/8 2-3 or 3-2 clave direction 11 Timbales Descendant of the timpani Large drum is called “hembra” and small drum is “macho” Played with sticks, not hands Uses two mounted cowbells (mambo and cha-cha) and often a cymbal Plays “cascara” rhythm Congas tumba, conga, quinto folkloric settings use one drum per person; popular latin settings use one player on 2 or 3 drums Plays “tumbau” rhythm
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- 13. CUBAN INSTRUMENTS 2 Bongos Setof two small drums used in son and salsa music Plays “martillo” rhythm Plays the bongo bell for montuno section Cajon Wooden box which is played like a conga Originated with the dock workers of Matanzas playing rumba on boxes and shipping crates Guiro Gourd with ridges which is scraped with a stick Used with Danzon and cha-cha-cha Maracas Shakers used in son/salsa music
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- 15. DANZON History – comesout of the European classical tradition • In Europe, the English country dance appeared in the late 1600’s. The music and dance spread to France, then spread throughout the rest of Europe as the French quadrille. The quadrille had made its way to Cuba at least by 1750. The quadrille became known as the danza in Cuba • The Danzon evolved from the danza in Matanzas. Traditionally, the birth date of the Danzon is said to be 1879, when Miguel Failde Perez presented Las Alturas de Simpson. Instrumentation • Orquesta tipica - early Danzon group which was like a classical chamber ensemble, used through the 1800’s • 2 clar, 1 trpt, 2 horns, 2 violins, string bass, guiro, timpani • Charanga - Danzon group from 1920’s • wooden flute, 2 violins, pno, string bass, guiro, timbales Musical Style • verse like classical music, montuno more groove oriented
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- 17. CHA-CHA-CHA History – evolvedfrom the Danzón Created by Enrique Jorrín around 1950 (created from the danzon) The name came from the sliding of the feet to the dance step Son beginning to mix with danzon by this time - the tumbadora was being used by Antonio Arcano’s Orchestra in the 1940’s Instrumentation still played by charanga orchestras Musical Style Same musical style as the “mambo” or “montuno” portion of the danzon Simple harmonic progression medium tempo Now often vocally based La Enganadora
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- 19. SON History – countrymusic of Eastern Cuba Began in the 1860’s in the rural areas of the eastern mountains Around 1910 it had arrived in Havana, although it was seen as a lowerclass music By 1920 it was spreading in popularity and had solidified the instrumentation and form Instrumentation Early instruments: guitar, tres, botija or marimbula, claves, bongo, and maracas Current instruments: Double bass replaced botija and marimbula beginning in 1923 by Sexteto Habanero (sexteto) Trumpet in 1927 (septeto) Congas and piano by Arsenio Timbales were added last
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- 21. SON CONT’D Musical Style Usesverse/montuno form Vocal style Predecessor to modern day mambo and salsa Pare Cochero
- 22. RUMBA History Evolved from thedock workers playing on boxes or “cajones” Involves music, dance, and song like Africa Instrumentation 3 congas, clave, guagua (bamboo) or woodblock, singers Musical Style rumba clave quinto soloist alternates with singing and interacts
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- 24. MAMBO (1940’S –MID 1960’S) FUSING OF THE CUBAN SON AND JAZZ BIG BAND INSTRUMENTS BIG BAND HORNS SIMILAR RHYTHM SECTION TO THAT OF A SON GROUP: BONGO, CONGA, TIMBALES, PIANO, BASS RHYTHM AND FEEL OF A SON GROUP, BUT FLETCHER HENDERSON STYLE HORN ARRANGING
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- 26. PEREZ PRADO CREDITED WITHTHE INVENTION OF THE MAMBO STYLE PERFORMED MAINLY IN MEXICO QUE RICO MAMBO
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- 28. MACHITO Frank Raul Grillo ishis full name Singer/maraca player Performed in NY Barbara Batibiri
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- 30. DECLINE OF MAMBO Bythe mid 60’s the large crowds that had once been attracted to the music were dwindling Decline culminated with the close of the Palladium in 1966
- 31. SALSA A new namefor an old music “Salsa” literally means “hot sauce” The name implied that it was something new and that’s how the record companied marketed it (Fania did not include names of Cuban song composers) It was an evolution of the Cuban style The implication angered many Cubans and the word “salsa” is still not typically used in Cuba Salsa music was centered in New York City Many of the primary salsa players were Puerto Rican
- 32. WHAT WAS NEWTO SALSA Production was now much more important Salsa would have pristine recordings and quality artwork like that of pop music Large amounts of money would be used to market the recordings As with pop music, the mass marketing would cause the producers to allow the artists less freedom in their music Instrumentation Conjunto format with 2-5 horns, piano, bass, conga, bongo, timbales, and 1 or 2 vocalists plus chorus Bongo bell added to heighten montuno More driving and intense
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- 35. TITO PUENTE Timbale, vibraphoneplayer Composer Led one of the major New York mambo bands in the 1940’s Continued performing until his death on May 31, 2000 Calle 54 Video Performance (50:00)
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- 37. EDDIE PALMIERI Pianist Major contributorto latin piano style: montunos, solos Palo’ Pa’ Rumba
- 38. EDDIE PALMIERI This Photo byUnknown r islicesed under CC BYSA
- 39. OTHER CARIBBEAN & COUNTRIES AND STYLES DominicanRepublic Puerto Rico Trinidad and Tobago
- 40. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Dominican RepublicBackground Originally a Spanish colony called Santo Domingo The island has been controlled by many different countries at times French invaded and took control in 1795. Haitian government invaded and occupied from 1822 - 1844. Became independent in 1844. U.S. Marines occupied the country from 1916 to 1924 to try to establish stability. Due to the short length of stable colonial rule, the country never developed a plantation based economy Because of the Haitian invasion, they see blackness as evil and will call themselves white if they have any white in their skin.
- 41. MERENGUE • Tipico style- by 1920’s • Guira, tambora, accordian, marimbula. • Used a march-like paseo section, jaleo section, and apanpichao section (like a bridge) • Compadre Pedro Juan • Modern style - Beginning in the 1960’s • Johnny Ventura began a new style of merengue with a more driving beat with a bass drum on all 4 beats and with saxophones playing fast patterns. • The speed of the merengue also got faster • Produced, commercial sound. • Pa’ Que No Descuide Lo Tuyo
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- 43. BACHATA Slower and saddermusic than merengue Typical instrumentation includes 1 or 2 guitars, maracas, bongo and a male siinger Nuestros Lazos
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- 45. PUERTO RICO Puerto RicanBackground • Like Cuba in that it was colonized by Spain around the same time and developed a plantation-based economy with slaves • Since 1952 it has had a commonwealth arrangement with the U.S 40% of all Puerto Rican’s now live in the mainland US - particularly New York.
- 46. PLENA Since the early1900’s Uses panderetas and singing and possibly guitar, cuatro, accordian or whatever is around. Played at parties, street protests, and other events and can be about news, barrio gossip or anything Uses strophic form Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one- part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. El Safacon
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- 48. BOMBA Since the 1820’s Involvesdrumming, singing, and dancing The most African of the Puerto Rican styles - similar to Cuban rumba Played on barrel shaped bomba drums Bomba Calinde
- 49. CONTEMPORARY PLENA ANDBOMBA Ellos Se Juntan (bomba) Cucu (plena) Contemporary settings of bomba and plena mix it with a salsa and merengue instrumentation and sound
- 50. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Trinidad andTobago Background Columbus discovered the island, but the Spanish took little interest in the island and had few settlers by the mid 1700’s. In 1797 Britain took control of the island. There were relatively few slaves brought to Trinidad, and those that were brought were freed from 1834-1838. After this, the British imported around 143,000 peasants from India to work the fields. Did not gain independence from the British until 1962. Drums were forbidden until the late 1930’s, so “tamboo bamboo” was played instead. (bamboo cut to different lengths)
- 51. CALYPSO Sarcastic, witty speaking/singing Usedlong and often made up words Topics could include women, current social issues, political topics Yankees Gone
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- 53. SOCA “Soul calypso” Dance musicwith a faster tempo and repeated, generic lyrics Less focus on the text than in traditional calypso
- 54. STEEL PAN MUSIC Around1939 the steel pan was developed by taking an oil drum and denting it to create distinct pitches Steel pan bands play calypso and soca music in an instrumental form Steel bands perform yearly at a festival called “Panorama” Yellow Bird (calypso) Bass Man (soca)
- 55. ‘LIKE A BOSS’/ BP RENEGADES STEEL ORCHESTRA
- 56. SESSION TRACK -POP LATIN SANTANA ‘SMOOTH’
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