Grade 10 Music Notes: Afro-Latin and Popular Music; Latin-American; Jazz; Popular Music

Afro-Latin and Popular Music

  • Learning objectives
    • Describe the musical elements used in African Music
    • Sing a representative song of African Music
    • Listen perceptively to African music
  • Key concepts
    • Features of traditional African music
    • Yodeling: quick transition from chest voice to falsetto
    • Use of different sounds: hum, shout, whisper
    • Call and Response: leader-chorus style
    • Participative music-making: listeners perform
    • Other expressions: props, crafts, costumes, drama, sculpture, dancing
    • Purposes of African music
    • Educate the young
    • Offer something to the gods
    • Communicate important messages
    • Provide entertainment
    • Mark occasions (birth, marriage, etc.)
    • Cure the sick
    • Protest against a ruler, relative or tax collector
    • Lighten the load of hard work
    • Musical elements in African music
    • Rhythm: polyrhythm – two or more independent and contrasting rhythms simultaneously
    • Timbre: vocal styles range from relaxed to tight-throated
    • Texture: can be homophonic or polyphonic
    • African-influenced genres
    • Blues: originated among African-American communities in the Southern United States
    • Spirituals: religious folk songs; Negro Spirituals; Fisk Jubilee Singers popularized
    • Soul: emotional expression; rooted in gospel, jazz, and R&B
    • Motown: blend of rhythm and blues with popular music
    • Maracatu: Brazilian style influenced by African slave musical traditions; gathering of people; intense emotional uproars
  • Quick recall
    • Yodeling is a rapid transition from chest voice to falsetto
    • Call and Response fosters leader-chorus interaction
    • Polyrhythm means multiple rhythms played simultaneously

Latin-American Music

  • Learning objectives
    • Describe musical elements used in Afro-Latin music styles
    • Observe dance styles, instruments, and rhythms through videos
    • Choreograph a chosen dance music
  • Syncretic nature and scope
    • Highly syncretic: fusion of Spanish, Portuguese, and French-speaking cultures
    • Regions: Mexico, South America, Central America, Caribbean
  • Styles and origins
    • Cumbia: coastal region of Colombia and Panama; courtship dance among Africans; later mixed with Native American steps
    • Paso Doble: Spanish for "double step"; couple dance in Spain; used during bullfighter entrances; man resembles bullfighter; woman with red cloth
    • Tango: originated in the lower-class districts of Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Cha-cha-cha: Cuban origin; introduced by Enrique Jorrin
    • Bossa Nova: means "new trend"; Brazil; fusion of samba rhythm and jazz harmonies with improvised passages
    • Reggae: Jamaica, late 1960s; emphasis on the second and fourth beat; Bob Marley
    • Samba: Brazil; West African origin; lively movement in 2/4; traveling volta and Botafogo
    • Rumba: Afro-Cuban rumba; sensual ballroom dance
  • Quick test pointers
    • Syncretic = fusion of different music cultures
    • Cumbia origin = Colombia and Panama
    • Paso Doble: male dancer represents the bullfighter
    • Tango origin = lower-class districts of Buenos Aires
    • Bossa Nova = "new trend"
    • Reggae artist = Bob Marley
    • Rumba = Afro-Cuban influence

Jazz Music

  • Learning objectives
    • Describe the historical and cultural background of jazz
    • Analyze musical characteristics of jazz music
    • Listen perceptively to jazz music
  • Distinctive features
    • Instruments: can be a small group (combo) or big band; big band includes woodwinds, brass, rhythm section
    • Improvisation: making music spontaneously
    • Rhythm: syncopation and swing
    • Melody: use blues and bebop scales
  • Origins and notable styles
    • Origins: blues, ragtime, and bands; notable figures include Louis Armstrong, Scott Joplin, Bessie Smith, Benny Goodman
    • Dixieland Jazz (New Orleans Style/Hot Jazz): instrumental; 5–8 performers; scat-singing by Armstrong
    • Swing: Sweet Swing (dancing/easy listening); Hot Swing (big jazz); Benny Goodman
    • Bebop: fast, complex; for listening, not dancing
    • Cool Jazz: mellower bebop
    • Free Jazz: avant-garde; complete freedom to improvise
    • Fusion: jazz-rock blend
  • Quick recall
    • Improvisation = making music spontaneously
    • Scat-singing = non-texted vocalizations
    • King of Swing = Benny Goodman
    • Jazz big bands consist of woodwinds, brass, and rhythm section

Popular Music

  • Learning objectives
    • Describe the historical and cultural background of popular music
    • Sing selections with appropriate pitch, rhythm, style, and expression
    • Listen perceptively to selections of popular music
  • Meaning and purpose
    • Popular music = music for the people; mass-produced for profit
  • Origins and early forms
    • Folk songs: oral tradition
    • Broadside Ballads: single-sided printed topical songs
    • 18th-century English songs: entertainment-focused
    • Scottish and Irish songs: pentatonic melodies with Romantic lyrics
  • Genres
    • Rhythm and Blues (R&B)
    • Country
    • Rock and Roll
    • Soul
    • Heavy Metal
    • Punk Rock
    • Disco
    • Rap
  • Quick recall
    • R&B features a backbeat on the 2nd and 4th beats in quadruple meter
    • Disco emphasizes dance-friendly Latin-American rhythm
    • Broadside Ballads are single-sided printed songs
    • Punk Rock originated in working-class south London with nihilistic lyrics
    • Soul reflects gospel-influenced expression