John Johnson (2013) Jamaica Mento Music. Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSTKAtjSB4w. (Accessed 6th January 2014).
hugosam1304 (2012) Sonora Carruseles - La Salsa Llego. Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4mCU9-AqiA. (Accessed 6th January 2014).
This music came to be because of relationships between African slaves and European settlers. Each bringing their own attributes together. A lot of the styles are very distinctive and can be categorized as either folk, classical or pop music. The folk music has clearly taken attributes from African music with it's main use of percussion, off beats and call and response within the vocals. Below is a prime example of this.
Katia Sanchez (2009) Puerto Rico - Bomba, Diaspora Negra 3ra Oarte 15 de Agosto 2009. Aviable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3kGEG0MOXc. (Accessed 6th January 2014).
For obvious reasons the most known types of Caribbean music are the modern, popular genres. Within these are the con (the most popular type of Cuban dance music). The chadracha and the listera (a more romantic style). Finally the mambo which is a big band instrumental. Since the 1960s styles like salsa suddenly became widely popular but the most internationally famous style of Caribbean music is reggae. This style is a reinterpretation of R&B music and singers such as Bob Marley assisted to push this style into the international arena.
Musical Styles
- Ska
- Reggae
- Calypso/kaiso
- Soca music
Ska
Ska in a nutshell is dance music, plain and simple. It was a Jamaican dance music which swept out of Jamaica in the early 1960s. It's essentially a fusion of Jamaican rhythm with R&B. The drums carry the blues and swing beats and the guitar expresses the mento sound. The ska sound is drum and bass, rhythm guitar, lots of horns and maybe a Farfisa or Hammond organ.
Reggae
Reggae music is based in Jamaica and grew form ska which had elements of american R&B, Caribbean styles and folk music. As ska mellowed through rock steady, it gradually led to the creation of reggae. The transition between rock steady to reggae was unpredictable which was both a response to and a reflection of the changing social conditions of the society. Reggae usually had simple chord sequences for example a 1 5 6 4 progression and are about political matters.
Calypso/Kaiso
They're several versions of the origin of the calypso which emerged as an identifiable genre towards the end of the 19th century. Calypso represents a mixture of several folk songs in African tradition, it's original functions - to praise or deride, to comment and to relate. Modern calypso was invented in Trinidad, however the influence it had spread out to infect all the Caribbean. Modern calypsos has started to become more complex with the introduction of a brass band, called because of it's powerful trumpets and trombones. Other instruments in Calypso's are guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, drum set and a wide variety if percussion instruments. Calypso's is the music most associated with carnivals within the Caribbean.
Soca
Socais is a mixture of soul and calypso and it originates from Trinidad and Tobago carnival celebrations. It's basically an energetic and disco influenced version of salsa. There's different types of this, there's Ringbang which is a fusion of Caribbean music with focus on rhythm rather than the melody. Rapso which is quite recent and may be unaccompanied by a simple ensemble or full orchestration. Ragga-soca is a rhythm faster than reggae but slower than up-tempo soca.
References
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