MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA

The music of Latin America is the product of three influences—indigenous, Spanish-

Portuguese, and African. It is also referred to as Latin music because of the impact on
the countries colonized by Spain and Portugal.

INFLUENCES ON LATIN AMERICA

Indigenous Latin-American Music

The indigenous music of Latin America was largely functional in nature, being used
for religious worship and ceremonies.
The use of instruments, as well as singing and dancing, served to implore the gods for
a good harvest or victory in battle, to guard against sickness and natural disasters, and
of course to provide recreation.

Afro-Latin American Music

The African influence on Latin American music is most pronounced in it’s rich and
varied rhythmic patterns produced by drums and various percussion.

Euro-Latin American Music

The different regions of Latin America adopted various of characteristics from their
European colonizers. Other European influences we’re seen in the texture of Euro-
Latin American music, from unaccompanied vocal solos to those accompanied by
stringed instruments.

Mixed American Music

The diversity of races and cultures from the Native Americans, Afro-Latin Americans,
and Euro-Latin Americans account for the rich combinations of musical elements. This
musical fusion, combining native instruments with European counterparts and
musical theories, was further enrich by the instruments brought by the African slaves.

Popular Latin American Music

Latin America has produce a number of musical genres and forms that had been
influenced by European folk music, African traditional music, and native sources.
Some of these Latin American popular music forms are the tango, bossa nova, samba, son,
and salsa.

1. Samba - The samba is a dance form of African origin which evolved into an
African-Brazilian favorite in the working class and slum districts of Rio de
Janeiro.

2. Son - The son is a fusion of the popular music or canciones (songs) of Spain
and the African rumba rhythms of Bantu origin. Although the son is seldom
heard today, it continues to influence present-day Latin American music,
particularly as the forerunner of the salsa.

3. Salsa – The salsa is a social dance with marked influences from Cuba and
Puerto Rico that started in New York in the mid 1970s. It’s style contains
elements from the swing dance and hustle as well as the complex Afro-Cuban
and Afro-Caribbean dance forms of panchanga and guaguanco.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF LATIN AMERICA

The varied cultures that developed in Latin America gave rise to different types of
wind and percussion instruments. As with the African continent, Latin America's rich
history, dating back thousands years to the Aztec, Maya, and other ancient cultural
groups, understandably generated diverse creative approaches to making music.

Aztec and Mayan Instruments

In Central America, the ancient civilization of the Aztec and Maya people used various
instruments mainly for religious functions and these were usually played by
professional musicians. Among these ancient instruments are the following:
1. Tlapitzalli - The tlapitzalli is a flute variety from the Aztec culture made
of clay with decorations of abstract design or images of their deities.

2. Teponaztli - The teponaztli is a Mexican slit drum hollowed out and carved
from a piece of hardwood.
 3. Concha - The concha is a wind instrument usually made from the shell of a
large sea snail. It is prepared by cutting a hole in the shell's spine near the
apex, then blown into as if it were a trumpet.

4. Rasp – The rasp is a hand percussion instrument whose sound is produced

by scraping a stick (or a similar object) that has a series of indentations or
notches with another stick, creating rattling effects.

5. Huehueti – The huehueti is an tubular drum used by the Aztecs and other
ancient civilization.

6. Whistles – Whistles are instruments made of natural elements such as bone

from animals, it produces a series of high-pitched notes which are similar to
the cry of an eagle.

Incan Musical Instruments

1. Ocarina – The ocarina is an ancient vessel flute made of clay or ceramic with
four to 12 finger holes and mouthpiece that projects from the body.

2. Zampoñas – Zampoñas or panpipes are ancient instruments from the Andes

Mountains of South America. They typically feature bamboo tubes of different
lengths tied together either in pairs or more to produce graduated pitches of
sound.

Andean Musical Instruments

1. Siku – The siku (panpipe) is originally from the Aymaras of Perú and Bolivia.
It is traditionally found all across the Andes, and is the main instrument used
in a musical genres known as sikuri.

2. Wooden Tarka – The tarka is a vertical duct flute with a mouthpiece similar
to that of a recorder.

3. Quena – The quena is a vertical cane flute made from fragile bamboo. Thus it
is only used during the dry season.
 4. Charango – The charango is a ten-stringed Andean guitar from Bolivia. It
produces bright sounds and is often used in serenades in Southern Peru.

5. Mariachi – The mariachi is an extremely popular band in Mexico whose

original ensemble consisted of guitars, violins, a harp, and enormous guitarron
(acoustic bass guitar).

VOCAL AND DANCE FORMS OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC

Latin American instruments are extremely useful in adding life, color, and variety to
have their many vocal and dance forms which have captured the world’s attention and
have been enthusiastically adopted.

1. Cumbia – Originating in Panama and Colombia, the cumbia became a

popular courtship dance with European and African instrumentation and
characteristics.

2. Tango – The word tango may have been African origin meaning “African
dance” or from the Spanish word taner meaning “to play” (an instrument).

3. Cha cha – The cha cha or simply cha cha is a ballroom dance that originated in
Cuba in the 1950s. The cha cha may be dance with Cuban music, Latin Pop, or
Latin Rock.

4. Rumba – The rumba is a recreational dance of Afro-Cuban origin, performed

in a complex duple meter pattern and tresillo, which is a dotted quaver–dotted
quaver–dotted semiquaver rhythm.

5. Bossa nova – Bossa nova originated in the late 1950s when a slower, gentler
version of the classic Cuban samba became popular with the upper and middle
class sectors of Brazilian society. The name bossa nova is Portuguese (the
language of Brazil) for “new trend”.

6. Reggae – Reggae is an urban popular music and dance style that originated in
Jamaica in the mid 1960s.
 7. Foxtrot – The foxtrot is a 20th century social dance that originated after the
1910 in the USA. The foxtrot gave rise to other dances such as the black
bottom, Charleston, and shimmy.

8. Paso Doble – The paso doble (meaning “double step”) is a theatrical Spanish
dance used by the Spaniards in bullfights.

JAZZ MUSIC

The development of the jazz genre was an offshoot of the music of African slaves who
were brought to America. From such melancholy beginnings, jazz evolved into various
more upbeat forms which the world has since adopted and incorporated into other
contemporary styles.

1. RAGTIME – Ragtime is an American popular musical style mainly for

piano, that originated in the Afro-American communities of St. Louis and
New Orleans. It’s music written—unlike jazz which is mainly improvised—
and contains regular meters and clear phrases, with an alternation of low bass
or bass octaves and chords

2. BIG BAND – The term “Big Band” refers to a large ensemble form
originating in the United States in the mid-1920s closely associated with the
Swing Era and it’s jazz elements.

3. BEBOP – Bebop or bop is a musical style of modern jazz that emerged

during World War II. It was characterized by a fast tempo, instrumental
virtuosity, and improvisation.

4. JAZZ ROCK – Jazz rock is the music of 1960s and 1970s bands that inserted
jazz elements into rock music. A synonym of “jazz fusion”, where the music
used amplification and electronic effects, complex time signatures, and
extended instrumental composition with lengthy improvisations in the jazz
style.
 POPULAR MUSIC

Popular music literally means “music of the populace”, similar to traditional folk
music of the pas. As it developed in the 20th century, pop music generally consisted of
music for entertainment of large numbers of people, whether on radio or in live
performances.

FOLK MUSIC

Traditionally, folk music refers to melodies and songs of the common people that are
handed down from one generation to the next.

COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC

Country and Western music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in
the Southern United States. It has a roots in traditional folk music and evolved rapidly
in the 1920s.

BALLADS

The ballad originated as an expressive folksong in narrative verse with the text
dealing typically with love. Today, the term ballad refers to a love song in a slightly
pop or rock style, with the following variations:

1. Blues Ballads – This is fusion of Anglo-American and Afro-American styles

from the 19th century that often deals with anti-heroes resisting authority.

2. Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads – This is a blues style built from a single
verse of 16 bars ending the dominant of half-cadence, followed by a refrain or
chorus part of 16 or 32 bars in AABA form.

3. Pop and Rock Ballads – A pop and rock ballad is an emotional love song
with suggestions of folk music, as in the Beatles' composition The Ballad of John
and Yoko and Billy Joel’s The Ballad of Billy.
STANDARDS

• In music, the term “standard” is used to denote the most popular and enduring
songs from a particular genre or style, such as those Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and
Rodgers and Hart.

ROCK AND ROLL

Rock and roll was a hugely popular song form in the United States during the late
1940s to the 1960s. The lead instruments were the piano and saxophone, but these were
eventually replaced by modern instruments.

DISCO

The 1970s saw the rise of another form of pop music known as “disco”. Disco music
pertained to rock music that was more danceable, thus leading to the establishment of
venues for public dancing also called discos.

POP MUSIC

Parallel with the disco era, other pop music superstars continued to emerge.

HIP HOP AND RAP

Hip hop music is a stylized, highly rhythmic type of music that usually (but not
always) includes portions of rhythmically chanted words called “rap”. In rapping, the
artist speaks along with an instrument or synthesized beat.

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC

Alternative music was underground independent form of music that arose in the
1980s.It became widely popular in the 1990s as a way to defy “mainstream” rock
music.

CLASSICAL MUSIC MADE POPULAR

Meanwhile, classical music continued to flourish alongside all these other musical
styles. The famed masterpieces of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Liszt
continued to be propagated on the concert stage and through recordings. For their
part, 20th century composers expanded the genres of classical music with daring new
styles such as minimalism, chance music, and avant-garde music.

CROSSOVER PERFORMANCE: CLASSICAL AND POP

In recent years, a number of classical musicians have begun to render “crossover”

performances, in which they combine classical composition with popular pieces such
as jazz, rock, and folk music in the same concert or recording.

PHILIPPINE POPULAR MUSIC

The one word that comes to mind when we think of contemporary Philippines music
is the type commonly known as Original Pinoy Music, Original Philippine Music, or
OPM for short .The term was originally use to refer only to Philippine pop songs,
particularly ballads, such as those popular after the fading of it’s predecessor, the
Manila Sound, in the late 1970s.

ORIGINAL PILIPINO MUSIC (OPM)

The 1980s and 1990s are also regarded as the golden era of Philippine ballads. At the
start, OPM was centered in Manila, where Tagalog and English are the dominant
languages. However, other ethno-linguistic groups such as the Visayan, Bikol,
Kapampangan, and also Ilocano also began to sing and record their songs in their
native dialects.

PHILIPPINE POP MUSIC

Pop music in the Philippines started as an adaptation or translation, if not complete

imitation, of Western hits.

PHILIPPINE JAZZ
Philippine musici0ans have also been inspired by jazz music. Among them are jazz
pianist and recording artist Boy Katinding, who comes from the well-known clan of
musicians that includes jazz piano legend Romy Katindig and saxophonist Eddie
Katindig.

PHILIPPINE ALTERNATIVE FOLK MUSIC

The Philippines also saw the rise of alternative folk music which was different from the
traditional and popular form. This new form combined ethnic instrumentation with
electronic accompaniment, while presenting themes or issues of Philippine society and
the environment.

PHILIPPINE ROCK

The year 1973 saw the of Philippine or “Pinoy” rock music which successfully merged
the rock beat with Filipino lyrics. This new sound was introduce by the legendary Juan
de la Cruz Band (with their song Ang Himig Natin) which had for it’s members Joey
”Pepe” Smith, Wally Gonzales, and the originator of Jeproks, Mike Hanopol, who later
became a major symbol of Pinoy rock.

PINOY RAP

In the Philippines, rap was also made popular by such composers and performers as
Francis Magalona (Humanap Ka ng Pangit), and Gloc 9 (Lando). Francis Magalona
was born on October 4, 1964 and died on March 6,2009.

PINOY HIPHOP

Hiphop is becoming popular especially in dance forms in the Philippines.

FILIPINO CLASSICAL PERFORMERS

The Philippines is also home to internationally acclaimed classical artist, whose talents
have been honed at some of the most prestigious institution both here and abroad, and
who have performed all over the world.