Music of Brazil, Cuba & Trinidad and

Tobago

Music of Brazil

This is perhaps one of the most popular music and dance styles ever to emerge from Brazil: Samba evolved in Rio de Janeiro by the early 20th century and grew to become the essential music and dance form associated with Rio's carnival. Samba music has very syncopated rhythms and its often voluptuous dance moves, samba has circled the globe as one of the most infectious and popular styles from the South American continent. The history of Samba can be traced back to Africa, but its mixture of cultures and races allowed it to evolve into many different forms and styles.

Your teacher will now play you an example of Samba Music

Samba Instruments• The Surdo is a double-headed drum played with a large padded

beater. Players muffle the sound with their hand for one beat, and then the second beat is accented.

• The Pandeiro is the national instrument of Brazil. It is the equivalent of the tambourine; the frame drum is single-headed and pratinelas (jingles) are loosely arranged in pairs around the instrument's side. The Pandeiro produces a stream of semi-quavers

• The Cuica Pronounced 'qweeka', this makes an unusual sound that resembles a monkey laughing. You play the cuica by rubbing a stick inside the shell of the drum with a wet piece of paper or cloth. The Cuica musician presses on the drum's head simultaneously to change the pitch.

More Instruments…….

• Ganzá & Chocalho: These are 'jingle' shakers that produce different sounds; they contribute to the samba swing.

• Repinique is a small double-headed percussion instrument is tuned very high. It is played with one stick and the player's hand. You can also use two flexible plastic sticks. It leads the bateria, signaling breaks and cues.

We are now going to perform our own ‘Vocal Samba’ Each vocal line will represent an instrument. Have fun, but remember this is complicated!!

Vocal Samba PartsLets see if we can put these 3 parts together – there

are more…..

Music of Cuba

Salsa originated from Cuba in the early 1930's. Its roots come from various African rhythms and the traditional Cuban music "Son". While it is definitely more than just Cuban, a large part of the dance originated on the island. The Cuban’s began to mix the African rhumbas such as Guaguanco, Columbia and Yambú, then Aadded the Són of the Cuban people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour (sonero) and the African drumbeats. This occurred in other places like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Puerto Rico, but not as much as in CubaThere are many different styles of salsa dance that are influenced by their respective regions. What makes the salsa dance unique is its ability to absorb the many steps and turns from other dances such as the mambo, cumbia, hustle, swing, jazz, and other local dances. Uniting the all styles of salsa despite these differences is an underlying rhythmic frame

Salsa Instruments

• Salsa uses a lot of Percussion such as:Claves, Maracas, Guiro, Cowbell, Bongos,

Congas and vibra slaps.The Piano also features strongly, often playing

broken chord patterns: A rhythm section with a front line of two to five horns (trumpets, saxophones and trombones) often plays in unison with short, syncopated riffs

Vocal Salsa TaskCan we add instruments as an extension?

Music of Trinidad & Tobago

• The steel pan, possibly the only instrument made out of industrial waste, has become an icon of Trinidadian culture.

• Hammered into the shiny metal surface is a series of dents. Each one creates a different note, subtly different from the ones around it, according to their position and size.

• The steel pan, often referred to incorrectly as a steel drum, emerged in the 1930s. Metal objects including car parts, paint pots, dustbins, oil drums and biscuit tins, were originally used as percussion instruments, but at some point they began to be tuned.

Steel Pan Family

A typical Steel band has four sections1.Frontline pans are the highest pitched instruments in the steel pan family. They usually play the melody, countermelodies or provide high harmonic support. They include: Tenor pan, Double Tenor pan, & Seconds pans 2.Mid range pans The main function in this section is to provide harmonic support and sometimes countermelodies. Its members are: Guitar pans, Cello pans and Quadrophonic pans3.Background pans: This section contains the lowest pitched instruments in the steel pan family. They play the bass lines which provide the harmonic foundation for the steel band. There are many members in this section but only the more common types are mentioned. The Dudup, 4 Note Bass pan, Tenor Bass pan, Six Bass pans4.The Engine room: Engine room is a term used to describe the group of un-pitched percussion instruments that accompany steel bands such as: Drum Kit, Congas, Tambourine, Cabasa, Claves, Guiro etc

Parts of the Steel Pans

Now your teacher will show you a video letting you hear and see a Steel Band