Music and Culture Test 3
• Is forró 1 rhythm?
"Forró" itself is a blanket term for a variety of different (but related) dance rhythms.
Quena / Kena
"K- nah" - Andean notched-flute - Aymara kena-kena dates to 16th century - Today, quena (kena) denotes a standardized notched flute made of cane or wood - 6 holes and thumb hole underneath - 3 octave range
Zabumba
A double-headed drum. Top is bass drum, bottom is a higher-pitched, snappy snare sound
Mestizo (Port. mestiço)
A new racial concept that develops in Latin America following the intermixing that occurred between European colonists and the native American population.
• Describe a traditional caval-marinho performance. o i.e., where does it happen, a stage? o does the audience sit o does it happen from 7-9pm?
A traditional caval-marinho performance happens in the middle of the street in small rural towns, but can be played on stages. The audience is completely involved singing the songs and clapping along, as well as standing around the entire performance (yes.. literally around the performance like a mob). Like in the plot, the performance lasts all night until dawn.
Bandoneón
A type of accordion
• How is the rabeca different from the violin?
It is more folky. It can be held many different ways. The strings are tuned in 5ths. The materials that make it are "cheaper" than those of a violin, because this is an instrument that is supposed to be easily accessible.
Pandeiro
("pahn-day-ro") - Like an American Tambourine (but better!)
Pandeiro
("pahn-day-ro") a frame drum with jingles. (Like a tambourine but better!)
"Sá Dona" Mestre Salustiano"
(We didn't listen to this in class, but I'm adding it so we have a clear example of cavalo-marinho. I don't expect you to know anything about the song other than to recognize the rhythm, instrumentation, and singing style as cavalo-marinho).
•Discuss the multiple ways (lyrics, song form, style/aesthetics) that flamenco performs Romani identity.
- "Since the mid-1970s, musicians have self-consciously used flamenco as an explicit and concentrated vehicle of gypsy identity" Manuel 1989, 54). - Stylistic features strongly associated with Romaní identity - Romani-derived cantes (song forms) distinctly modal - Raspy vocal timbre - Crying-like falsetto and voice cracks - Impassionate vocal delivery - All taken to signify struggle - Camarón de la Isla - Most popular vocalist embodying this aesthetic - Juan Peña El Lebrijano - Most politically outspoken
BaBenzele "hindewu" example / Herbie Hancock "Watermelon Man"/ Madonna "Sanctuary"
- "pygmy" a generic term applied by European Colonialists to a wide range of distinct ethnic groups from the equatorial rain forest of Africa - Lumped together because of common short-stature (less than 5 ft) - Don't use the term - "pygmy" and racist stereotypes - "Hindewhu" is interactive singing style with papaya stem whistle from BaBenzele group - 1960s - Hancock is very popular jazz artist - Pop crossovers - 1970s, soul-funk-rock fusions, with synthesizers - Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" from 1973 Head Hunters - "Look...we're the people who've lost the most, who've had the most stolen from us. We know what it means to come up with, you know, a sound or a tune, then to have it copped and turned into a big hit or something like that...This isn't like that. This is a different thing, you see, brothers, we're all making African music, that's what I'm talking about" - Herbie Hancock - Afro-Diasporic political project - Not Music-Copy right regarding "traditional" songs - Not Music Industry standard practice - A disjuncture between Hancocks' Afrocentric/Diasporic project and Columbia Records, which requires music industry concepts of ownership, financial exchange, protection of music product
Al-Andalus (Andalusia)
- 711-1492 - Cordoba - Leading Economic and Cultural capitals of Europe, Mediterranean, Arab worlds - Muslims, Christians, and Jews coexisted - After Reconquest = neglect and persecution - Economic decline, continuing hardships throughout 20th century
Cavalo-marinho o what is it? o instrumentation o basic idea of plot
- A folk, music-dance-theater performance about a magic ox - Takes place on a plantation, w/ stock characters (human and animal) - Ox, horse, The Captain, Enslaved workers (Mateus, Bastião, Catirina), Bosses, Soldiers, Cowboys - Typically performed during Christmas season and often peaks at Epiphany, celebrating the 3 Kings PLOT: - Mateus and Bastião (aka Sebastião) are comic figures, performed in blackface and imagined to be enslaved (during the time of slavery). - They are left in charge of the plantation while Captain (the owner) is away. - They refuse to allow Captain to return to his land; he hires a Soldier to force their permission. They struggle. - Eventually Bastião and Mateus allow the Captain to return, who celebrates by throwing a big party in devotion to the 3 Kings - There is then a series of music and dance in honor of the 3 Kings - A long series of additional characters, including fantastic animals - Concludes with a magical dancing ox, who sickens (or dies) and is cured (or resurrected) as dawn breaks Instrumentation: - Rabeca - Pandeiro ("pahn-day-ro") a frame drum with jingles. (Like a tambourine but better!) - Bage (a scrapper) - Mineiro (shaker)
Discuss how samba reflects national ideologies of race in Brazil, especially as the Vargas regime promotes it as national culture.
- Adoption of Black cultural practices IN SAMBA (i.e. African Rhythms with European Melodic structures) allows for perpetuation of myth of Racial Democracy - E.g, "Brazil doesn't have racial segregation", "look at how we celebrate our black culture," etc
• In what ways does cavalo-marinho performance reflect the rich cultural history of Brazil? o In relation to Slavery and its aftermath, does cavalo-marinho offer a means of expression? How?
- Cavalo-marinho offers a means through which enslaved Africans (and as it continues, their descendants) tell their story and reflect on the society forced upon them through their perspective - Slave Characters express resistance, ridicule and mock "masters" - Escaping, Catirina song example - Struggling for land rights, economic power - Fighting the soldier = a history of military and "slave hunters" who tried to recapture escaped "slaves" - Portuguese Influence: veneration of São Gonçalo do Amarante - Brazilian (Afro-Indigenous Religions): Jurema Sagrado
"Adios Nono" Astor Piazzolla
- Composed by Piazzola in 1959 - One of his most famous pieces - Representative of concert hall tango nuevo Listen for: - Opens with Solo Piano - Jazz-inspired - Sounds improvised - @ 1:36, Solo piano plays theme A - Dramatic, expressive, rubato - Range and volume increase, cadence into next section - @2:47, Bandoneón introduces Theme B - Dissonance, faster tempo, violin glissandi - @ 3:33, Violin returns to theme A, sentimental, syncopated tango rhythms in ensemble accompaniment
• Describe common musical characteristics of Flamenco
- Dance, guitar, singing. - Guitar accompaniment - Virtuosic. Uses a variety of techniques: rasgueado, picado, alzapúa, golpe - Improvisatory, following singer or dancer - Falseta: guitar interlude between lyrics - Lyrics frequently about unrequited love and hardships - Including social commentary, responding to persecution - Whatever the topic, most texts express intense sorrow - Heightened by musical interpretation - Key expression of Andalusian and Romaní identity
Sikus
- Date to before Spanish arrived - Siku is a paired panpipe - Dense timbres - Forceful, Overblown technique - Breathy quality - Abundant overtones - Typically three sizes (low, middle, and high) octaves - Associated with dry-season - Traditionally not played during wet-season because this could attract drought - Played in processionals, accompanied by bombos (double-headed bass drums) and shakers - Sikus sets of 2 rows of panpipes - The scale is split between the 2 rows - Each row is a series of thirds - Melodies are split between the two rows - Performing a complete melody requires 2 players to coordinate
• Discuss the 12-beat rhythm forms called cantes, (basic understanding of emphasizing certain beats in cycle.
- Each cante form emphasizes different beats in the cycle - Key feature is 3+3 / 2+2+2 division - Palmas = clapping along with rhythmic pattern.
Forró o what is it?
- Forró is popular regional dance music from the Northeast. - It is also heavily associated with Mid-Summer's Day festivals in June (St. John's Day) - "Forró" itself is a blanket term for a variety of different (but related) dance rhythms. - Either a Brazilianization of English "for all" to refer to dance parties or from a term of unknown origin "forrobodó" to refer to a party - Forró rhythms: baião, xote, forró, arrasta-pé, xaxado, samba Standard Core instrumentation: Trio 1.Either accordion (most common) or rabeca 2.Zabumba : a double-headed drum. Top is bass drum, bottom is a higher-pitched, snappy snare sound 3.triangle
"La Cumparsita" Carlos Gardel and José Ricardo, 1928 version
- Guitar: + Strong Aggressive Attack + Marcado plays on every beat - Yet + Full of countermelody, bass lines & rhythmic accents - Voice: + emotional expressive phrasing + Dynamics, vibrato + Influenced by operatic singing + Lyrics express typical Tango themes: Torment
Brazilian Northeast
- Home to 200 million people - Colonized by Portuguese beginning in 1500 - Major Colonial Industries: Sugar..... Coffee, gold and diamonds - Africans forcible brought to Brazil for over 300 years - More enslaved Africans brought to Brazil than any other country - Last country in Americas to officially abolish Slavery, 1888 - Largest population of Afro-descendants outside of Africa. By Numbers, Nigeria is only country with more Afro-descendants
"Pernambuco é o Lugar" Maciel Salu
- Maciel Salu - Forró song in "forró" rhythm - Opens with rabeca melody - Common to rabeca style forró, the rabeca doubles melody with the singer - Lyrics in the verses especially are sung very quickly
Racial democracy (Brazilian nationalism and racial ideology)
- Much music in Latin America is discussed as being an historically derived hybrid - European + Indigenous - European + African - (Thus the music is said to reflect national racial ideologies) - Very common is European harmonic/melodic structure, language, and string instruments - With Indigenous & African percussion and rhythms Samba and Inclusion/ Appropriation: - Following Mestiçagem and Racial Democracy Ideology - Afro-Brazilian cultural roots are celebrated - Mix of African elements and Brazilian elements= Samba as musical pulse of Brazil, its essence - Black masses, or at least their culture, is incorporated into the Nation - Many white singers get rich and famous singing songs composed by Black composers - Adoption of Black cultural practices allows for perpetuation of myth of Racial Democracy - E.g, "Brazil doesn't have racial segregation", "look at how we celebrate our black culture," etc
Rabeca
- Rabeca = fiddle. Violino = violin - A folk fiddle of Portuguese origin - Non-Standardized - Northeastern rabeca used in regional styles of popular and folk music (cavalo-marinho; forró) - Most common tuning in Northeast is in 5ths: - D A E B (low to high)
Repique de mão
- Repique de mão ("heh-pee-kee gee m-ow!") - Like a smaller higher-pitched tan-tan.
Roma (also Rom, Roman, Romani)
- Roma first arrived in Span in 15th century - "Gitano" = "Gypsy" - Still widely used - Negative connotations - Movement in Spain to use term "Romaní" or "cale" - Caló =Iberian variant of Romaní language - Large populations in Andalusia - Persecution - Become closely tied with regional culture - Flamenco emerges from Roma community during 19th century
Cante
- Romani-derived cantes (song forms) distinctly modal
• Refer to Steven Feld's "Pygmy POP" article and class discussions: o What is the issue or problem Feld wants to draw our attention to? o What is his ultimate goal? o What does schizophonic mimesis mean? o How does he explain/illustration his concept of schizophonic mimesis with examples in his article? o What are his conclusions? Or, what does he suggest we do now?
- Schizophonia - Stephen Feld - Sound that is split/separated from its source of production - Schizophonic Mimesis - "ask how sound recordings, split from their source through the chain of audio productions, circulations, and consumption... stimulate and license renegotiations of identity." - Recordings retain a relationship to place and people - Contains and circulates - Creates new possibilities - Exists in uneven power structures - Despite original intentions, a recording cannot be controlled once it enters commercial circulation
Hocketing
- Sikus and interlocking melody - Hocket (hocketing)= interlocking the melody notes between 2 players - Requires extreme coordination - Reflects the participatory nature of much traditional, indigenous Andean music performance
"Qantus / Kantus"
- Sikus kantus music from Bolivia. - Note the dense timbres achieved by 1 layer of low, middle, and high-octave sets - Overblown, forcefully blowing creates breathy timbre rich with overtones - Bass-drum accompaniment - Note the hocketing indicated in the transcription
Surdo
- Surdo ("Sue(r)—doo") Means "deaf" - A large bass drum, sits on stand, played with mallet
Tan-tan (or tantã)
- Tan-tan, also tantã. Nasalized: "tauh-tauh" like "huh") - a bass drum held horizontally across lap, played with hands
Getúlio Vargas
- Vargas a central figure in Revolution, emerges as President in 1930 and serves until 1937 as elected official - 1937 Vargas becomes dictator for next 8 years - "Estado Novo" = New State - Major Thrust of Vargas Era: - Populism and encouraging a strong sense of unified national identity - Pride in being Brazilian no matter ethnic background or social class - Propaganda machine to promote this sentiment, promotes SAMBA - 1934 Dictator Getúlio Vargas makes Samba an official national event - Only samba schools registered with government can compete - Competition, themes, requirements - Schools strongly encouraged to create costumes and compose songs that stimulated national pride - Glorifying national heroes - Promoting patriotic symbols - Compete for prizes based on costumes, dancing, music
ANDEAN
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BRAZILIAN RABECA (CAVALO MARINHO AND FORRó
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FLAMENCO
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LATIN AMERICA
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SAMBA
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TANGO
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WORLD MUSIC ISSUES
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Astor Piazzola
1921-1992 Prolific Composer Developed virtuosic and "high art" tradition
Validation through visibility
As soon as Argentina found out that tango was a hit in France, Argentina then started to accept the music.
Bulerías
Bulería is a fast flamenco rhythm in 12 beats with emphasis in two general forms as follows: 1 2 [3] 4 5 [6] 7 [8] 9 [10] 11 [12]. or. 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 [7] [8] 9 [10] 11 [12].
• Be able to distinguish between cavalo-marinho and forró
Cavalo-marinho has a pandeiro!
Semantic flexibility
Changing the definition and origins of tango to be accepted as a higher class definition but also flexible with the original meaning and origins of tango.
• Why is it helpful to conceptualize Latin America as a cultural area for studying music?
Commonalities in colonial-social history as slightly distinct from Anglo-US. Colonial crops, economic systems, etc. Spanish Language has facilitated transnational cultural ties and political collaboration, BUT, Cultures are also extremely diverse. DO NOT ASSUME HOMOGENEITY
• What features of flamenco highlight connections with Middle Eastern musical characteristics?
Flamenco Árabe - Term = hybrid of flamenco and Middle Eastern music - setting Arabic song texts to flamenco music or vice versa - Lole Montoya and her mother, La Negra - Born in Tetuan (Spanish Morocco) - Juan Peña & Andalusian ensemble from Tangiers. - 1985 album "Encuentros" - "Dáme la Libertad" - Lyrics aimed at Romani issues - Highlights Andalusian ties with Arabic past
Carlos Gardel
Legendary star of Tango
Cavaquinho
Like a Brazilian ukulele
Mestizaje (Port. mestiçagem)
Mixture of races
• How do discourses about national/racial identity (i.e., mestizaje (mestiçagem)) correspond to discourses about national popular music forms?
Much music in Latin America is discussed as being historically derived hybrid European + Indigenous/ European + African (Thus the music reflects national origins and national racial ideologies). Very common is European harmonic/melodic structure, language, and string instruments with Indigenous & African percussion and rhythms. What are the problems with this framework??? - Rigid and bounded cultural binaries - Clearly implicated in nationalism narratives
"Las Obreras" Illapu
Opens with charango plucking melody - :04 Guitar bass-line comes in - :14 Charango strums pattern w/variations - Bombo enters with wayno (huayno) rhythm guitar strums as well - :27 quenas enter w/ countermelody - :32 quenas take up main melody (note alternating dynamics) - :46 voice begins, note call and response (in vocal harmony) - 1:31 charangos and quenas alternate melody in interlude
• How is the orquesta típica different from previous ensembles of tango?
Orquesta típica is different because original Tango ensembles used guitar, flute, and violin. Orquesta típica adds Bandoneón and Piano
Pagode
Pagode - Year-round - Smaller groups of musicians - Drums and stringed instruments (guitars, etc) - Backyard, Party, BBQ, bars - Collective performance: Audience participates by clapping and singing Instrumentation: - Bass Percussion + Surdo + tantã - Middle Percussion + Pandeiro + Repique de mão - Higher Percussion + Tamborim + shakers, bells, scrapers - String Instruments + Cavaquinho + Guitar + 7-string guitar - Audience Participation + Singing + Dancing + Clapping + Bottles, plates
• What is Latin America? o How is it defined? o What are potential problems or issues in mapping or defining the scope of Latin America?
Region of the Americas where Romance languages (derived from Latin) are spoken. Especially Spanish and Portuguese Mexico south to Argentina Latin America is very big and what is considered Latin America can get complex because of what people define it as.
What is the difference between pagode and samba school style samba?
Samba is a dance genre and a group of related rhythms. - It can be interpreted or performed in a variety of ways. - Thus, Samba has many different styles and subgenres. - Samba School + Almost entirely percussion; huge ensembles + Closely associated with Carnival parade - Pagode (aka Table Samba, or Circle Samba) + Smaller group, both percussion and stringed instruments (guitars, etc) + Represents a more traditional, roots samba + i.e., before the glitz and glam of Carnival parades and competitions
Tamborim
Small framed drum that is played with frayed sticks.
Charango
Small guitar variant: - 5-courses, - Tuned: cc, gg, eE, aa, ee - Small body, rounded back - Some traditional models made from shell of armadillo Origin stories: - Spanish vihuela? - Clandestine instrument?
Rasgueado
Strumming of the fingers by opening up the hand on a guitar.
Using relevant terms, discuss how the melody is performed in sikus performance.
The melody is performed with 2 players that use hocketing to play interlocking melody notes. - Requires extreme coordination - Reflects the participatory nature of much traditional, indigenous Andean music performance
Triangle
Triangle
Tango rhythm ("habanera" and marcado)
Two most common rhythms. - Habanera is considered to be (These are note heads) p.-p pp or P. p P P Marcado ( literally "marked" is also very common) Every beat marked but swells from 4 to emphasize downbeat on 1
Samba school
Type of Samba Music: - Carnival - Huge numbers of percussionists - Thick layering of drum timbres and rhythmic patterns Instrumentation: - Surdo: bass drum - Repenique - Snare drums ("caixas") - Tamborim: small frame drum - Shakers, Bells
Arca
Type of Sikus - Arca (the one that follows) - Row with 7 tubes
Ira
Type of Sikus - Ira (the one that leads) - Row with 6 tubes
Orquesta típica (de Argentina, for tangos)
Type of ensemble that plays Tango music. Comprised of an arrangement of strings, Bandoneónes, piano became standard 1935 onward
Quechua and Aymara
Unified languages however Aymara is more centered in Bolivia. Quechua has several dialects. Largest linguistic group in the Andes.