This section and the one that will follow covers a brief overview of World Music - the music that is not a part of Western Classical or American Pop and Folk music varieties. This section is about the music traits of Native Americans and also the types that have developed throughout Latin American and some countries in South America.
What to Listen For:
- Pitch patterns, particularly pentatonic.
- Styles in which harmony isn’t valued.
- Non-Western rhythms or sense of meter.
- Musical instruments and vocal styles.
- Functional and ceremonial music not designed to entertain.
- Music that mixes American styles with cultural styles.
- Dissimilar from Western European
- Unique:
- Instruments
- Functions
- Aesthetics
- Oral Tradition
- No literacy
- Great variety between Tribes
- Ignored by Colonial Americans
- Unknown – even today
- Little (or no) influence on popular music
Styles and Context of Native Music
- Music served a function in daily life
- Not used as a means of entertainment separate from its function
- Some words (vocal sounds) carried no meaning – vocables
- Melody instruments were rare
- Vocal melodies were ornamented with no concern for harmony
Assimilation and Preservation
- Originally, there was pressure to enter the “mainstream” and segregate the culture – this has changed
- Some indigenous American music exists though much has been lost
- Native Americans tend to be multi-cultural today
Ethnic Music in the U.S. - The Nineteenth Century
- English folk songs
- Ireland, Germany and Scandanavia
- Italy, Poland, Greece, and other Eastern European countries
- China and Japan (on the west coast)
- Asia and former states of USSR
- Rural Europeans became urban, (concentrated) ethnic Americans
- Immigrants – a strong market for recordings of music of their homeland
- Tastes often modified by experiences in the “new world”
Examples of Ethnic Music
- Reggae
- Salsa
- Bossa Nova
- Tex-Mex
- Mariachi
- Cajun/Zydeco
- Klezmer
Reggae
- From Jamaica 1950s
- Connected to
- Rastafarianism
- Black Nationalism
- Social Reform
- Substyles
- Ska
- Rocksteady
- Artists
- Jimmy Cliff
- Bob Marley
- Bunny Wailer
- Peter Tosh
- DJ was integral
- Precursor to rap
- Merged with hip-hop
Latino
- Nationalism of Art Music in Cuba
- Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905)
- Amadeo Roldan and Alejandro Caturla; both found "Afrocubanismo" an appropriate term of reference regarding a Cuban form of art music
- Salsa (Latin jazz), chachachá and mambo (Cuba)
- Ruben Blades
- Tito Puente
- Bossa nova (Brazil)
- Antonio Carlos Jobim
- Joäo Gilberto
- Tex-Mex (Texas and Mexico)
- Little Joe Hernandez
- Texas Tornados
- Mariachi (Mexico)
- Traditional (mostly local) ensembles
Cajun/Zydeco (Louisiana)
- Cajun
- Mostly Whites,
- French Language
- Instruments
- Fiddle
- Accordion
- Zydeco
- Mostly Blacks
- French Language
- Instruments
- Accordion
- Electric Guitar
- Electric Bass
- Drums
- Washboard
Music of South America, Mexico and the Caribbean
- Indigenous folk music
- Spanish-language folk styles
- Folk instruments
- Church/missionary influence
- Music schools
- European art music accepted
- Nationalism
Latin American Instruments
- Wind Instruments
- Reed Flutes
- Ocarinas
- Panpipes
- String Instruments
- Violins
- Guitars
- Bass Guitars
- Harps
- Percussion Instruments
- Maracas
- Claves
- Guiros
- Castanets
- Bongos
- Congas
- Xylophones (and marimbas)
- Steel Drums
General Qualities of Latin Music
- European harmonies
- Simple and repetitive, but layered for complexity
- Rarely chromatic
- Melodies of limited range
- Little improvisation (except where African-influenced)
- Clear, regular phrases
- Usually major and/or minor tonality
- Syncopated, percussive rhythms
Prof. Songer
JCTC - Downtown
