Afro-Latin American

Music and Popular

music
 History:
• The history of Afro-Latin American music can be
traced during the European colonization and slave
trade in Africa.
• Latin America is comprised of different regions such
as the Caribbean Islands, Mexico and Central and
South Americas which are of diversified cultures of
the European, Moors, Mexicans, and other tribes in
Africa.
• European countries contributed religions and
languages like Spanish and Portuguese.
• Their music is defined by their rhythms, which
they adapted from the elements of Moorish
music and other African and Caribbean music in
the slave trade from 1550 to 1880.
• The enslaved Moors of North America in 1776
were prohibited from playing drums, but in the
Congo Square in New Orleans, Caribbean slaves
were free to play their drums for recreation and
entertainment and also for communication.
• These were their “talking” drums, relaying
current and timeless messages which are
their history, struggle, and revolting joy. All
of these were performed by replaying the
traditional rhythms of Moorish and African
music through drum beats.
• By the 18th and 19th centuries, African
music
started by the spread, development, and
canonizing of rhythm in the Caribbean,
and during this period another art is
born in North America containing a
rich mix of musical cultures.
• This includes the incorporation of drums
and rhythms from Africa and the use of
cymbals from India in combination
with the harmony, instruments, and
musical syncopation which we call jazz.

• During the 18th and 19th centuries, these rhythms

spread, developed, and were canonized throughout
the Caribbean, around the same time that another
American art form started.
• This North American art form also contained a rich
cultural mix. It incorporates blues intonation, African
drums and rhythms, Indian cymbals, European
instruments, harmony, and musical forms with a
syncopated beat, namely, jazz.
• This developed a unique musical culture in countries
in the Caribbean, and its influences include Latin
rhythms and dances like habanera(1 pic.) and
bolero(2 pic.) in Cuba, samba(3 pic.) and bossa
nova(4 pic.) in Brazil, and tango(5 pic.) in Argentina.
• This is the reason for the existence of rich music and
dance like jazz, tango, cha-cha(6 pic.), rumba(7
pic.), foxtrot(8 pic.), and pasodoble(9 pic.).
 Characteristics:
• Conversation: “ Call and response”
-A performance of voice interaction as an answer to
the first chant.

• Improvisation
-Non-scripted ways of singing that allow for sincere
conversations. It is a framework where the artist has
freedom in creating the musical mood.
• The voice as an instrument
-It is the manipulation of a freely
controlled piece where they can
change the tone of voice, its tempo,
the creation of moods, and even
changing the range and voice
power.

• The instrument as a voice

-The instrument serves as a “singer”
along with the performer.
African
• African music is a rich and diverse cultural heritage that
music
exists in hundreds of different languages. The music in
Africa always has the technique of “call and response”
in
which a person leads by singing a phrase and followed and
answer ed by a group of singers.
• They usually perform by singing
and using percussion instruments played
either by hands or with sticks, drums, and
others, and they use them also for
communication
 Maracatu
• The ceremony of the coronation of the Black Kings in 1674
in Recife.
• It is performed when Portuguese were still ruling in Brazil.
• About dedicating a a king who will represent the African
slaves to their master where each king is a representative
of a nation or tribe and Maracatu Nação.
• Considers Basque or Toque as a rhythmic pattern used in
Maracatu which uses the Toada or the sing part in
Maracatu .
•It begins with singing from the
leader then followed by a
response in chorus by the
subordinates.
•Today, it is known for a
combination of music for
professional ceremony, theater
and dancing.
Other Vocal
Forms of
African Music
 Blue
•sGloomy folk music of African-American origin
• Usually twelve bar order
• Developed in rural areas in US by the end of the 19th
century
• Became popular during the migration of African-
American in the 1940’s
• Gave birth to rock and roll, and rhythm and
blues.
 Sou
•lMusic that combines the basic rhythm
and blues, and gospel music
•Characterized by vocal emphasis and an
emotional and improvised delivery
•Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Otis
Redding and James Brown
Spiritual Call and response
• Always with a Christian or
religious theme • Sequence of two
• Monophonic in different
nature and in a phrases
capella •Usually played by two
• The origin of Blues or more musicians
• Provides comfort and •A direct response
eases boredom
from the first phrase
• Expression of spiritual
devotion and a desire for or commentary
 Latin American music
• Influenced by US and other countries in
Europe like Spain and Portugal
• Combination of four musical elements, music
style cultural backgrounds, language and
geography
• Musical styles: tango, bossa nova, merengue
and salsa
• Genre: reggae, jazz, rock and Latin pop
bombo
• Dual headed drum
• Made from deep tree trunk
with patches made up
of calf or goat skin
• Played with two sticks
Chajchas

•A rattle made up
of dried
hooves from sheep,
llama or goat
•Worn with a wrist
cloth bracelet
Zampoña
s
•Panpipe-type of
reed made
from pieces of
bamboo that
are tied
together
Charang
o
•Made from shell of
an armadillo
•Ten-string guitar
instrument
 Quena

•A flute that is
made up of
bones or bamboos
that have a vertical-
notched reed
 Cajo
n
• Rectangular box made of
wood
• Used as a drum
• Used by tapping in the
front
while the musician sits on
it
 Maraca
s
•Made of gourd-like
coconut
shells with beans,
seeds or small
pebble placed inside
•Played by shaking
Clave
s
•Pair of hardwood
sticks
•Played by striking
them together
LOCAL AND DANCE
FORMS OF LATIN
AMERICA
• Cumbia – It is a type of dance and
music similar to salsa and uses
instruments like accordions,
guitars, and percussions.
• Tango – This is a lively and spirited
dance of two people. It is a
passionate kind of dance that
shows expression and connection,
and is performed in a traditional
or modern style.
• Cha-cha – This is a Latin American
ballroom dance with the basic pattern
of three steps with a shuffle. It has a
fast
rhythmic pattern.
• Bossanova – This is a style of music
that was derived from samba, which
is an original Brazilian music. It
gives more emphasis on
percussion and melody.
•Pasadoble – It is Spain’s
traditional couple
dance. It uses music
that
is traditionally
played in bull
fighting.
• Reggae – This is a Jamaican form of
music and dance with strong,
accented, and supplementary beats.
In the 1990’s, it was known as the
ska and is a variation of rhythm
and blues. The popular artist of
this genre was Bob Marley.
• Rumba – This is a kind of song and
a dance that originated from
Cuba with percussive rhythm and
a combination of Cuba’s musical
and dance traditions.
• Foxtrot – It is a ballroom dance of
two quick slow steps and two quick
steps and is executed alternately
in 4/4 time signature.
What is jazz
music?
• Jazz is a type of music with an African American
origin that started in the early 20th century with
syncopated beats, improvised sounds and a regular
and forceful rhythmic pattern.
• Woodwind instruments, piano and brasswind
instruments are the instruments that are
commonly used in jazz.
• Jazz spans a period of range of music from ragtime
to the present day, and has proved to be very
difficult to define.
• The birth of Jazz in the multicultural
society of America has led intellectuals
from around the world to hail Jazz as
“One of America’s Original Art Forms”.
 What are the different types of jazz?
1. Ragtime Jazz
-Ragtime is a popular American music in
1890 until 1915.
-It has a steady syncopation and a melody
with a rhythmic pattern of two-four time.
2. Big Band Jazz
-A big band is a type of jazz
music that originated in the United
States and is associated with
instruments totalling approximately
12 to 25 musicians.
-This became popular in the late 19th
century.
-Ragtime artists use an occasional
harmony and note that we call blues.
3.Bebop
-Dizzy Gillespie(1st pic) and Charlie Parker(2nd
pic) introduced this kind of musical genre in the
1940s.

-It is performed in a smaller

group rather than a larger
ensemble of musicians.

-The focus of this kind of music

is for the solo musician to show
brilliance and harmonic
knowledge.
4. Jazz Rock
- Just like other kinds of rock music, jazz rock---
- or sometimes called jazz fusion--- is a variant of a
musical fusion genre that developed from mixing
funk and R&B.
-Jazz musicians often use wind and brass
instruments and display a high level of instrumental
technique.
-This style was developed around the late
1960s.
-The term “jazz rock” is often used as a
synonym for “jazz fusion” as well as for music
performed by the late 1960s and 1970s
era by rock
bands that added jazz elements to their
music.
What is popular
music?
• Popular music is a generic term for music of all
ages that appeals to popular tastes,
whereas pop music usually refers to a
specific musical genre.
• Age bracket and location are some of the
factors that determine what type of music is
popular among certain people.
 Different types of popular
music
1. Ballad
-A ballad is a light, simple narrative poem
of folk origin, composed of short stanzas and
adapted for singing.
-It is a simple song, especially one of
sentimental or romantic character, having two
or more stanzas all sang to the same melody.
-One example is the song composed by
the Neocolours band, “Maybe”.
2. Rock and Roll
-Rock and roll started with pride in 1950s,
the characteristics of which are simple
melodies with accented beats.
-Rock and roll is considered a combination
of white country music, rhythm and blues, and
is of a twelve-bar structure with the music of
guitar, drums and bass.
-One best examples is the “Jail House
Rock” sang and performed by Elvis Presley.
3. Alternative Music
- Alternative music started in the late 1980s
and early 1990s.
-It is a do-it-yourself type of music of
different music bands.
-Its definition refer its distinction from
typical rock music, which is expressed by
distorting the guitar sound in a different and
defiant attitude.
-One best example of alternative music is
“Smell Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, one of the
most popular band with this kind of music.
4. Disco Music
- The word disco derives from the word
“discotheque”, which refers to the nightclubs
people frequent in the 1960s and 1970s.
-Disco music is music for dancing or for
encouraging dance.
-Disco music is usually played and enjoyed
in nightclubs where songs are mixed by DJs.
-One example of this type of music is “Get
Down Tonight” by KC and the Sunshine Band.