Music and Instruments of Peru

From the jagged-topped Andes Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, from the rain forests of the Amazon River to the desert, and from rural villages to modern cities, Peru is a country filled with a great deal of variety. Its long history includes ancient civilizations, original peoples, and Spanish conquistadors. Each facet of Peru supports its own style of music and culture.

Local festivals abound in villages and cities throughout Peru. These events are colorful and lively. Special days such as Fiestas Patrias, "Fatherland Parties," commemorate Peru’s independence and are celebrated nationwide.

Peru’s festivals blend the rites of the Catholic Church with those dating back much further—to Inca times or further back, with the veneration of Pacha Mama, "Mother Earth." In Cuzco the ancient celebration known as Fiesta del Sol, "Festival of the Sun," continues to celebrate the sun in the manner of original peoples.

Some of the instruments played in Peru today have their origins in Peru’s pre-Columbian history. From the original Andean people, the Incas inherited an astonishing variety of wind instruments, including flutes and panpipes of all types and sizes. Inca military musicians also played conch-shell trumpets and timpani. In the ruins and ancient graveyards on the Peruvian coast, small broken clay panpipes and whistle-like flutes producing pentatonic, diatonic, or exotic scales are still found. Although grave robbers usually discard the instruments, archeologists often recover them.

Wind instruments are popular in Peru. Vertical end-blown flutes (like recorders) often were made of llama bone, but are now usually carved from wood. Perhaps the most well-known Andean wind instrument is the panpipe. Panpipes are played by blowing across the top end of a pipe. This produces a breathy sound similar to the sound achieved by blowing across the top of a beverage bottle, but with a more centered pitch. Panpipes come in various sizes and produce a variety of pitches.

When the Spaniards came to Peru, they brought European stringed instruments, like the guitar, violin, and harp, which the Peruvian musicians quickly adapted by inventing their own versions. They fashioned a small type of mandolin from the shell of an armadillo. The Andean harp, with its great, boat-like, half-conical sounding box, adds a bass voice to a Peruvian ensemble. Percussion instruments include deep-voiced frame drums with a soft, hide-covered head. Some ensembles include violin, accordion, or even a conch-shell trumpet as played by the ancient Incas.

Certain types of songs that are the ancestors of contemporary Andean music can be traced back to at least the 1600s, and probably to pre-Columbian origins. These songs were sung by shepherds, warriors, harvesters, and field workers. Some of the popular Peruvian music of today has evolved from those traditional forms. It has elements of poetry, music, and dance, and is primarily rural dance music.

The interaction of the African population with the original Peruvian people of the Andes began with the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, and led to the Afro-Andean musical culture, which thrives today in Peru. Dance competitions involving a special type of improvised rhythmic foot tapping and slapping are quite popular in the Afro-Andean neighborhoods of Lima and Chincha. The guitar, the box drum, the occasional donkey’s jawbone, and sometimes goats’ hooves combine with other instruments to create rhythms that accompany Afro-Andean music.

Today traditional Peruvian music can be heard on CDs and on the streets of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and cities in other parts of the world, as street musicians from Peru entertain crowds of entranced listeners.

Music of the Middle East

The term "Middle East" does not represent a precise land area, but as a cultural area it centersiIran (formerly Persia), Turkey, and the Arabic lands (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon,andEgypt). Strong elements of the culture extend into Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Influencesfrothis area extend into neighboring countries. There are four cultural groups: Arab, Persian,Turkish, and North African Maghribi. These groups experience music in similar ways in classicaltraditions and in some folk and popular styles too. Within this vast region there are many different ways of experiencing music and more than a few contradictions.

Islam is the predominant religion in the Middle East, and it allows a limited amount of music-making. Two other world religions practiced in this area but not discussed here are Judaism and Christianity. The unaccompanied, non-metric chanting of the Koran (the holy book of Islam) is to Western minds considered singing, but it is not technically considered singing, or even music, by fundamentalist followers of Islam in the Middle East (singing is frowned upon as a secular activity). This kind of music is extremely important in Islam, especially in mystic sects, and a stunningly vast and complex musical system of using melodic and rhythmic modes in ancient chant with improvisation is in place to inspire each worshipper.

Certain kinds of poetry may be sung in formal situations, sometimes with instrumental accompaniment. This is frowned upon by some Muslims, but allowed by many. In general, the more music incorporates instruments, is rhythmic, is used for fun (rather than for serious, formal occasions), fosters improvisation and virtuosity, or includes women, the more fundamentalist Muslims are suspicious of it and won’t allow it. Though the styles called "classical" are for entertainment, they are accepted by many Muslims because there is in them a connection with intellectual elements, especially in the area of mathematics. The highest level of disapproval extends to popular music, and especially that used primarily for dancing (including the accompaniment for belly dancing).

Traditional classical ensembles play public concerts, but anything beyond a conservative performance is apt to be performed in private homes for invited guests only. There are specific musical roles for Muslim women, which traditionally are part of private family life and not heard outside the home. In contrast, though private homes and private occasions are the common venues for much popular music, certain popular performers have become nationally and internationally known through TV and recordings. Women are recognized as vocalists in both classical and popular music but rarely play instruments.

Middle Eastern music is based on special scales called "modes," which vary from place to place. These modes use quarter tones in addition to half steps and whole steps. In terms of rhythm, the music is organized into beat groupings, with patterns of stressed and unstressed beats. There are many, many such established patterns, and they are extremely complex. The forces of a classical performance might range from one melody with a drum to a large ensemble of three to twelve musicians, including strings (several kinds of lute, hammered dulcimer, and two-stringed and spike fiddle), wind instruments (vertical flute and a double reed instrument), one or more types of drum, and one or more singers. The timbre tends to be somewhat flat, rough and nasal, without vibrato. This music favors higher pitches as opposed to lower pitches. The men of this region like to sing at the top of their range. Middle Eastern melodies usually move by step and are highly ornamented, and the various musical parts move independently.

Classical performance sets consist of various sections ranging from non-metered to very rhythmic, and from composed to improvised. There are rules of improvisation for each tradition. Performers learn by memorizing composed pieces, then improvising around what they know.

Middle Eastern pop musicians have mixed Western instruments and harmonies with traditional instruments, rhythms, and melodies. International pop styles such as rap, hip-hop, and rock have had an influence on Middle Eastern music. Recently, outside of fundamentalist Islam, Middle Eastern women have taken an ever more important role in music, and some are even superstars! Some people now voice their opinions about political struggles through music. Music the world over has often served this purpose.

Dumisani Maraire

Dumisani [doo-mih SAH-nee] Maraire [mah-rah-IH-reh] was a musician from Zimbabwe. His friends called him "Dumi" [DOO mee]. He collected and retold the story "Chawe chidyo chem’chero" [chah-weh chihj-goh chehm cheh-roh]. He was born in a village south of Mutare in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.

Maraire was raised in a musical family. The family traditionally sang together in the evenings at home. His Xhosa mother (from South Africa) and Shona father (from Zimbabwe) were his first music teachers. Maraire began to perform when he was twelve years old. He started to accompany his own singing on the guitar when he was fourteen. In 1966 Maraire went to the Kwanongoma College of Music in Buluwayo and began to learn nyunga nyunga mbira and marimba. Other names for nyunga nyunga mbira include "thumb piano" and "kalimba." The mbira is a very important instrument in Shona music. It is used to accompany singing and sometimes to accompany story-songs. The mbira has flat, narrow iron keys and metal buzzers that are attached to a hollow wooden body (see the illustration on page 286 in Silver Burdett Making Music © 2002, grade 2 student text.). Players strum the keys with their thumbs and their index (pointer) fingers. A very good player can play two or three melodies at the same time.

Dumi Maraire was an excellent mbira player. In 1968 he came to the United States. He was Visiting Artist at the University of Washington in Seattle through 1972. At the university he started the "Tuesday Night Ensemble" where he taught mbira, marimba, drumming, singing, and dancing. Through his teaching, many students became interested in playing the traditional music and instruments of Zimbabwe. Maraire earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology (the study of music from a specific culture) in 1990.

Maraire arranged many pieces of music from Zimbabwe for marimbas and nyunga nyunga mbira. He composed pieces of his own, too. His music expresses both his Shona heritage and his own personality. There are several CD recordings of Maraire playing his own music and the traditional music of Zimbabwe.

	Facts About Dumisani Maraire
	•	In 1990 Maraire went back to Zimbabwe to teach at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare.
	•	Maraire had nine children.
	•	Maraire died of a stroke on November 25, 1999 in Zimbabwe.

	A Book by Dumisani Maraire
	•	Let Your Voice Be Heard! Songs from Ghana and Zimbabwe (with companion audio CD) by Abraham Kobena Adzenyah, Dumisani Maraire, and Judith Cook Tucker (World Music Press, 1991). This book has story-songs and information about the music of Ghana and Zimbabwe. Encourage your teacher or an adult at home to share it with you.

	A Book About the Mbira
	•	The Soul of Mbira: Music and Traditions of the Shona People of Zimbabwe by Paul F. Berliner (University of Chicago Press, 1993). Ask an adult to share this book with you.

	A Book About Zimbabwe
	Where Are You Going, Manyoni? by Catherine Stock (William Morrow & Co., 1993). This book is about all of the sights a young girl from Zimbabwe sees during her two-hour walk to school.

Recordings that Feature Dumisani Maraire
•	Chaminuka—Dumisani Maraire: Music of Zimbabwe © 1988, 1989 Music of the World, CD.
•	Shona Spirit: Mbira Masters from Zimbabwe, Dumisani Maraire and Ephat Mujuru. All songs published by Owl’s Head Music (BMI). © 1996 Music of the World Ltd.

Maori Culture, Music, and Dance

Maori Culture

The Maori people are sometimes called "Polynesians." This is because they are related to the people of the islands of the South Pacific Ocean: Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and Tongo. The Maori, however, live in New Zealand, a pair of islands far away from the other islands in the South Pacific. Many people have asked why the Maori live so far from other Polynesians. According to their history, the Maori who originally lived on several of the Polynesian islands left their homes to explore other islands of the South Pacific Ocean. Legend says that the Maori left the island of Samoa in seven boats and traveled across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. The boats landed on the northern island. This was the beginning of New Zealand Polynesian culture, called Maori.

A Polynesian explorer named Kupe discovered and named the islands Aotearoa, which means "the land of the long white cloud." The migration of many Polynesian people to New Zealand occurred between the tenth and the fourteenth centuries.

When the Maori arrived in what is today New Zealand, they faced a cooler climate and a terrain consisting of dense forests, volcanoes, and mountains. They found large deposits of jade, a green precious stone. Their new environment required them to make changes in their dress and shelter. They used the fibers of the flax plant from the forests to make their clothing, which they called "kakahu." The skirt of their clothing is called a "piupiu." They also wore a jade necklace called a "tiki." Many women also wore earrings made from sharks’ teeth. The Maori used wood from the trees in the forest to make their homes and build canoes. They chose the colors red, black, and white to represent their culture.

Maori Music

The Maori people have valued two main kinds of chanting for hundreds of years: chant that involves reciting certain words for social and religious reasons and chant that involves singing. Continuous singing without a break is the goal in Maori singing groups for both purposes. Singers take breaths at different times to maintain a constant flow of music.

Sometimes two Maori priests will recite special words very quickly on one note for certain ceremonial purposes. With two priests singing, there is not a break in the music. Other recited songs are for responding to social situations, such as a disagreement, and may be sung by a group on one note. These recitations are usually in duple meter and may include syncopated rhythms. On occasions for battle or for welcoming guests, a group of singers may recite special words in a solo-response fashion. This kind of reciting may include special stances and postures, shouting, grimacing, and sticking out the tongue. The first Europeans who were greeted in this way were probably not entirely sure if they were welcome or not!

Maori songs are sung by groups in unison with a leader who chooses the starting pitch and the tempo for the song. Maori people sing when mourning the dead or expressing sadness in love. There are Maori songs for everyday occasions. Children’s songs include lullabies and teaching songs. Everyone sings in Maori culture.

A big wooden gong used in war, to warn a Maori village of danger, or to call a town meeting. Wooden war trumpets were used in battle by Maori warriors. A special Maori jew’s harp that allows the player to sing words softly while playing is a favorite of anyone wishing to charm his or her beloved. Maori children enjoy swinging the bullroarer around on its cord. It produces a low, booming sound.

Maori Dance

In many Maori dances, the movements consist of moving the arms, stamping the feet, and making quivering motions with the fingers and hands. Other dances use poi balls, which are twirled and whirled to imitate the sounds of oars on the water, birds flying, and water dashing against the rocks. The original poi balls were made of a white pod that was attached to a long or short braided flax fiber.

Many of the songs and recitations in Maori culture involve some kind of special movements. A more recent kind of movement is the "action song," which uses Maori words and movements, but Western European popular melodies.

Jewish Music

About two thousand years ago, after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, Jews fled their homeland. In this exile, they traveled to and settled in many different countries bringing with them their religion, customs, and musical traditions. Jewish music continues to exist wherever there are Jews, which is almost everywhere in the world. Jewish music is as vast and varied as all the music in the world. There are Jews living in countries as diverse as India, Russia, Europe, Asia, Ethiopia, America, Argentina, Australia, and Israel.

Music has a central place in Jewish life both in the synagogue and home. Liturgical music, holiday music, and Jewish folk music have often been based on folk melodies found in the particular country in which Jews settle. Wherever they live, Jews are typically either of Ashkenazic, Sephardic, or Oriental descent. Ashkenazic Jews trace their roots to Eastern European countries such as Russia, Poland, Austria, Romania, and Germany. Sephardic Jews are those who were expelled from Spain during the Inquisition and settled in places such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and the Balkan countries. Jews who come from Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Kurdistan, Central Asia (Bukhara), and Ethiopia are sometimes referred to as Oriental or Oriental/Sephardic Jews. Jewish music typically incorporates musical ideas and styles from all the countries in which Jews have settled as well as the stylistic elements of the countries from which they may move. The music is often passed down in the oral tradition from one generation to the next without musical notation.

Jews often speak several languages. The Jewish language of worship, and therefore the language of liturgical music, is Hebrew. In addition to Hebrew and the language of the country in which they live, historically Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions each had their own language. Ashkenazic Jews often spoke Yiddish, a language that uses the Hebrew alphabet, but sounds similar to German. Sephardic Jews spoke Ladino, a language that also uses the Hebrew alphabet, but sounds similar to Spanish or Portuguese. These languages are kept alive today through numerous folk and composed songs for all occasions in the Jewish life cycle. Jewish songs can be in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic, or any language that Jews happen to speak.

There are also forms of Jewish music that do not have words. Nigunim (songs without words) are customarily sung by Orthodox and Chassidic (ultra-orthodox) Jews around the table after Sabbath or festive meals, for example. Although there is much emphasis on vocal music in Judaism, there is also instrumental music without accompanying text. Klezmer, the Yiddish word for "performing musician," refers to a form of Jewish instrumental music that originated in Eastern Europe. For hundreds of years, klezmer groups have played for all kinds of festivities and ceremonies in Eastern European Jewish life. Klezmer music reached a peak in Prague in the Czech Republic, in the mid-1400s. Traveling klezmer musicians were sought for Jewish as well as Christian festivities. Although klezmer music’s popularity declined in the last century, klezmer bands have once again become popular in the United States and parts of Europe and Israel.

Music plays a central role in Jewish religious life. There are several different religious branches within Judaism, each one with its own musical traditions. The primary ones are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. In Orthodox Judaism, only men sing in synagogue. Instruments are not permitted in the synagogue during Sabbath services or religious observances, except for the shofar (a ram’s horn), which is blown on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year). Within the Conservative and Reform movements in Judaism, women play a more central role, singing in synagogue choirs and serving as both rabbis and cantors. In most Reform and some Conservative synagogues instruments such as organ and guitar are played on the Sabbath to accompany singing.

Over the years there have been many notable composers of Jewish music.
Salamone Rossi (c. 1570–1630) was one of the earliest accomplished composers, setting many Hebrew liturgical texts to music. An important German-Jewish nineteenth-century composer of Jewish music was Louis Lewandowski, whose settings are still widely used in many American synagogues. Jewish music for all occasions continues to be composed and performed by contemporary American Jewish composers such as Debbie Friedman and Craig Taubman.

Music in the synagogue is not confined to texts that have been set to melodies; there are also special tunes, or tropes, that are sung when reading from the Torah (The Old Testament, or Five books of Moses). Unlike traditional western musical notation, special symbols are used above and below various alphabet letters to indicate which trope to use.

In the synagogue, at the Sabbath table, and in celebration of life cycle events, festivals, and holidays, music is at the core. Music is enjoyed all over the world to celebrate the cycle of Jewish life: birth, naming a baby, circumcision, rites of passage for young people at the age of 13 (bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for girls), and weddings. Love songs, lullabies, children’s game songs, alphabet songs, and many other types of songs are plentiful in Jewish communities throughout the world.

Music and Instruments of Japan

The musical life of Japan today is very much like that of North America and Europe, with all of the familiar popular music, in addition to symphony orchestras, period instrument ensembles, performance art, and opera. Arts groups from all over the world come to Japan on tour to perform. Traditional styles associated with Japanese identity are still present, however, and are enjoying renewed vigor after long being overshadowed by Western influences. Japanese traditional music includes both art and folk styles.

Characteristics of Japanese Traditional Art Music

Melodies based on pentatonic scales are the most important element in Japanese music. Unlike Western art music, harmony does not exist in Japanese art music.

Ensembles are often made up of just a few instruments, each with its own timbre. Each part in an ensemble performs a slightly different version of the same melody in this transparent texture The way a Japanese instrument is played—including gestures—is as important as the quality of its sound. However, personal emotional expression is not the goal of traditional Japanese instrumentalists, so they usually sit still in a formal posture and don’t look at one another as they play.

A steady beat is often not present in traditional Japanese art music, but when it is present, it tends to be in duple meter and never goes very fast. The whole idea of rhythm is flexible, and traditional Japanese musicians are known for their skill in ornamenting a melody or rhythm. Improvisation is not the rule, however.

Traditional Japanese Instruments

The koto [KOH-to] (in the Sound Bank of MAKING MUSIC Grades 2 and 3) is a board zither with thirteen or more strings. The sound is mellow and resonant. Koto players place it on the floor when playing. At first the koto was enjoyed only by members of the upper class, but it developed into its present form and became popular with all Japanese people between 1600 and 1867. Since then it has been as popular in Japan as the piano has been in Western cultures.

The shakuhachi [shah-koo-HAH-chee] (in the Sound Bank for Bridges to Asia, Intermediate and Primary grades, and MAKING MUSIC Grades 2, 3, 5, and 8) is an end-blown bamboo flute. It has four finger holes on the front and one thumbhole in back. The player may move his or her head around to produce bends, shakes, and slides in ornamenting the melody. The shakuhachi is often associated with Buddhist monks, and its breathy tone quality works well in Zen meditation.

The shamisen [SHAH-mee-sen] (in the Sound Bank for Bridges to Asia, Primary level) is a long, narrow, three-string plucked lute. The square resonating box is covered with animal skin, and the strings are plucked with a large triangular pick. Japanese folk and popular songs have been accompanied by the shamisen since the 1600s.

The koto, shakuhachi, and shamisen are played together to perform some styles of traditional music with voice. The voice has an intense, tight sound that is low in pitch and ornamented with quivers, bends, slides, and other techniques.

Music is important to Japanese theater. Three kinds of Japanese theater are noh [no], kabuki [ka-BOO-kee], and banraku [bahn-rah-KOO].

Noh was the theater of royalty in the 1300s and 1400s. It is very fancy and not meant to be realistic. Noh plots usually have personal tragedy, loyalty, and honor as their themes. Sometimes there is a slow, controlled form of dance in noh theater. All noh actors wear elaborate costumes, but only the main characters wear masks. The actors are all male, even those with female roles. The band for noh theater includes a high-pitched bamboo flute, three drums, and a small, male vocal ensemble that tells the story in song. Occasionally, drum calls are played during the performance.

Kabuki is theater for the common people and has been popular since the early 1600s. The costumes, scenery, and stage action (including dance) are more flamboyant than in noh. Again, all performers are male. The band includes bamboo flute, the same drums as in noh, and a group of shamisen players who also sing. In addition, an off-stage group of mostly percussion plays sound effects.

Banraku is a uniquely Japanese form of puppet theater. Each puppet is a bit more than half life-size, and is operated by three puppeteers who wear black clothing and hoods (and are considered invisible). The cooperative effort and skill of these puppeteers bring the big, colorful puppets to life. The music and dialogue are performed by one person who sings and chants and one shamisen player.

One of the oldest styles of music currently being performed is the Japanese traditional court music (including dance) known as gagaku [GAA-gaa-ku]. People in Japan have been performing gagaku since the fifth century! This musical style is also used for Shinto religious ceremonies. Gagaku instrumentation includes winds, plucked strings, and percussion.

Many Japanese people studied and mastered Western art and pop music in every aspect during the twentieth century. Beginning in the 1990s, however, the government of Japan decided to increase the teaching of traditional Japanese music in the schools. Now each middle-school student in Japan is required to learn to play at least one Japanese instrument. Recently many Japanese young people have become interested in popular music from Singapore, Indonesia, and Africa. Balinese and Javanese gamelan study is available in universities in Japan, as well.

Holiday Music

Music has always been an important part of holiday celebrations. Who can imagine Christmas without singing Christmas carols or a birthday party without singing "Happy Birthday"? The Fourth of July would not be the celebration it is without patriotic songs. Whether the occasion is personal, religious, patriotic, or seasonal, music is usually woven into the fabric of celebrations all over the world.

Holiday music can vary greatly from one country to another. For example, Christmas is celebrated in many different countries, but the celebration is different in each place. The United States has many Christmas songs, both religious (such as "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night") and secular, or not religious (such as "Silver Bells" and "The Christmas Song"). People in Germany might sing "O Tannenbaum" at Christmas. Families in France might sing "Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabella." Italian carolers might sing "O Bambino," while in Central America, families sing songs and have neighborhood parties during "Las posadas" celebrations in December.

Many countries celebrate New Year’s Day, but not all celebrate on January 1. The Chinese New Year, for example, begins in mid-February. It is known for the music and parades of the Lantern Festival, held at the end of the fifteen-day celebration. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, occurs during autumn. Songs and chants are performed at a special temple service.

"Auld Lang Syne," sung in the United States as the New Year begins at midnight on January 1, is a song from Scotland. Many countries mark the beginning of a new year with celebrations and music. Kwanzaa, an African American holiday that celebrates African American culture, ends on January 1. Music is a very important part of Kwanzaa ceremonies.

There are a number of holidays with roots in historical events. For example, in the United States, Martin Luther King Day is celebrated in January. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a preacher who called on African American people to claim their civil rights in a nonviolent manner. Many songs, such as "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize," "Shed a Little Light," and "We Shall Not Be Moved" were written to honor this great man and his ideals. The spiritual "We Shall Overcome" has become permanently associated with King and the civil rights movement.

Around the world, countries celebrate national holidays, such as independence days, with music. In the United States, Independence Day is July 4. Many of our patriotic songs, such as "America," "America the Beautiful," "Yankee Doodle," and our national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," are sung or played on the Fourth of July. Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican festival celebrating the defeat of Napoleon’s army in Mexico on May 5, 1862, is considered by many to be an unofficial Independence Day for Mexico. Today Cinco de Mayo is also a popular Mexican American holiday, with mariachi music and dancing as the central focus of the celebrations. In France, Bastille Day, which marks the beginning of the French Revolution, is celebrated with parades, dances, and the singing of France’s national anthem, "La Marseillaise."

Many countries also have harvest celebrations, such as Thanksgiving in the United States. Of the songs most associated with Thanksgiving, two are traditional Congregational hymns ("We Gather Together" and "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"), and one is secular ("Over the River and Through the Woods"). All three of these songs speak of family and gratitude for the harvest. The Jewish harvest holiday, Shavuot, is celebrated seven weeks after Passover with special decorations, rituals, feasting, and songs. China, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, North and South Korea, and many African nations all celebrate their harvest seasons with feasting, music, and dancing.

The strains of "Happy Birthday to You" are an automatic part of most birthday celebrations in the United States. Sisters Mildred Hill and Patty Hill, both schoolteachers, wrote this song in 1839, and we have been singing it ever since. The English words to "Happy Birthday" have been translated into numerous other languages. Of course, many countries have unique birthday songs, such as "Mubärak" ("Happy Birthday"), which is sung while guests dance at birthday celebrations in Iran.

Many cultures mark the changes of the year by celebrating holidays. Music, whether sung or played on instruments, is used to teach the traditions of the holiday, to share the communal history in song, or simply to help people enjoy themselves and each other on these special days.

Cimbalom (Dulcimer) and Citera (Zither)

The cimbalom [TSEEM-bah-lohm] is a Hungarian instrument made of wood and strings and is played with mallets that are wrapped in cotton wool. It is played the same way a person would play a xylophone, marimba, or hammer dulcimer. If a person used wrapped mallets to play on the strings of a grand piano or a harpsichord, it would sound similar to a cimbalom. To hear the sound of a cimbalom, listen to the CD The Art of the Gypsy Cimbalom by Kalman Balogh.

The cimbalom belongs to the dulcimer family. Dulcimers of every shape and size have been around for hundreds of years, and are called by various names in Poland, Belarus, the Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania. These days, a cimbalom is considered a Hungarian dulcimer. There are two types of cimbalom, a small, portable one, and a much larger one that has a pedal similar to those on a piano. The smaller cimbalom has been widely used in Hungary for hundreds of years. The larger cimbalom was invented by Jozesf V. Schunda in Budapest, around 1870.

The large cimbalom is sometimes used in orchestra music. In 1876, Hungarian composer Franz Liszt included the cimbalom in an orchestral version of his Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody for Piano. Other composers who used the cimbalom in their compositions include Bela Bartok, Zoltan Kodály, and Igor Stravinsky. Today, gypsy virtuoso cimbalom players can be heard in the cafés of Hungary, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Yugoslavia.

Cimbalom makers use wood from the spruce tree to make the main part of the instrument because the wood produces a resonant sound. Woods from maple or beech trees are used, too. The cimbalom has many strings that, when played, produce a range of pitches from very low to very high. One or two bridges (a small wooden piece that holds the strings away from the instrument body) divide the strings of the cimbalom. This allows more possible pitches to be produced.

Instrument makers often add beautiful carvings or drawings to cimbaloms. A cimbalom also has a cover that can be removed so more sound can escape from the instrument. This is similar to the effect of raising the lid of a grand piano for a performance.

Citera

The citera [CHEE-teh-rah] is a kind of zither. Many different kinds of citera can be found in many countries, especially in Eastern Europe. People play the citera by plucking, striking, or even bowing the strings. The citera has been used in the home to accompany lullabies and songs about pet dogs and cats, turtles, rabbits, farm animals, days of the week, and about family, friends, and country. One can also hear citeras being played on street corners or in cafés.

In America, the closest relative to the citera is the Autoharp. This instrument is played in many classrooms across the United States. It has from 15 to more than 50 strings that are usually strummed and plucked. It is played flat on a tabletop or held upright in the player’s lap. This kind of instrument, in so many varieties, seems to have an almost universal appeal: it is portable, practical, and can play simple harmonies to accompany singing.

Caribbean Music and Musicians

The Caribbean Islands, also known as the West Indies, include the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico), the Lesser Antilles (Martinique and Guadeloupe), the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Caribbean folk and popular music are a mixture of West African and European (primarily Spanish) influences. West Africans who were brought as enslaved people to the islands of the Caribbean made music with percussion instruments such as drums, bells, and shakers. They brought their unique musical style elements as well: special tempo-setting rhythms (time lines) played by claves or bells, multi-layered and syncopated rhythms, and songs in call-and-response formats. Europeans brought with them the guitar, Spanish dance forms, and a Western European use of harmony.

The styles of Caribbean music vary from island to island. In Cuba, the most important style of music is the son (sohn), a rural style of songs for dancing. It includes mambo dance music, among others. The ending of most Cuban sones features a quick alternation between a soloist improvising a "call" and the rest of the group playing and singing the "response." Another popular Afro-Cuban dance is the rumba, which became popular as an American ballroom dance in the 1930s.

The Dominican merengue is a dance form that is also popular in Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Venezuela. Accordions, drums, and marimba are frequently used in ensembles that play merengue dance music.

Jamaican reggae, popularized by a group called Bob Marley and the Wailers, was preceded by styles called Ska and Rock steady.

Puerto Rican musical styles include the bomba, which uses a call-and-response format and has drum accompaniment, and the plena, which is a ballad (story song) style similar to some found in Mexico.

Calypso developed mainly in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a popular style of song that often contains comical social criticism and satire. A less well-known style is tamboo bamboo, which involves using stamping tubes made of bamboo. Trinidad and Tobago are also known as the birthplace of steel drum bands.

Caribbean Musical Instruments

Conga drums: Cuban barrel-shaped, one-headed hand drums, played in sets of two to four
Bongo drums: a set of two small one-headed drums held between the knees and played by hand
Timbales: a set of two one-headed metal shelled drums played with a stick
Steel drums: also known as "pans," are made from oil drums heated and hammered into an instrument with multiple pitches played with rubber-headed mallets. Steel drums are often played in bands of many instruments.
Claves: concussion sticks made of Cuban hardwood, which often play a time line, or tempo-setting rhythm
Maracas: gourd rattles played in pairs throughout Latin America
Guiro: a notched hollow gourd played with a stick
Tamboo bamboo: hollow bamboo tubes hit or stamped on the ground
Tiple: In Puerto Rico, a small instrument of the same general type as the Cuatro,with four or five single strings

Other instruments used in the Caribbean Islands today include the violin, electric bass, acoustic bass, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and the six-string Spanish guitar.

Music and Dance of Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest country in the world. It contains mountains, plains, and the Amazon River basin, and its large coastline is on the Atlantic Ocean. Much of Brazil is covered by dense forests, which are filled with tropical plants and exotic birds.

Brazilian culture is a blend of many different cultures, including indigenous people who have lived there for centuries; people of Portuguese descent who have come from the Iberian peninsula of Europe since the late 1400s; and people of African descent who were brought as slaves from West Africa. In addition to these groups, immigrants from many different countries have come to work and live in Brazil in the last 200 years. Over time, people from these cultures have intermarried, forming a mixture of cultures and traditions, which the music and dance of Brazil reflects.

Hidden deep in many of the forests of Brazil are groups of the original peoples whose cultures are ancient. Members of these groups are often hunters and gatherers and live in the way people lived thousands of years ago. Their musical instruments include various kinds of rattles, drums, whistles, flutes, and horns. In addition to playing instrumental music, the people enjoy dancing and singing. Their music often reflects their aural surroundings—it imitates the sounds they hear. One ancient indigenous Brazilian language uses its word for "sound" for all sounds, including musical sounds. These isolated, indigenous cultures are not well known, and they have not influenced the rest of Brazilian music. A contemporary singer and expert on Brazilian music, Marlui Miranda, has collected and arranged a variety of songs from these ancient cultures and recorded them on several albums.

The Portuguese influence in music is threefold. When the Portuguese people arrived in Brazil, they had with them many European instruments, including the flute, clarinet, a small, four-stringed guitar (that later became the ukulele in Hawaii), guitar, violin, cello, accordion, tambourine, and piano. These instruments, particularly the guitar, tambourine, and flute, have been used in much of Brazil’s traditional music. The Portuguese brought from Europe vocal music such as ballads, romantic songs, church music, children’s songs, and lullabies, which were sung using the scales and harmonies common in Europe then. The choros (Portuguese for weeping or crying) is the most popular song form in Brazil and is accompanied by guitars, flute, clarinet, and mandolin. People enjoy dancing to this music. Finally, the Portuguese brought with them the familiar rhythms of their region of the world, including rhythms of the polka, the waltz, and the march.

The African musical influence is very strong in Brazil and is found in the instruments, rhythms, and dances that are enjoyed there. The most familiar African instruments are various large drums, two-toned agogo bells, a variety of rattles, and bowed instruments with a resonating gourd attached. Another popular African instrument is the friction drum, which is a metal drum with a leather head that is punctured by a stick wrapped in a wet cloth and moved up and down, making a haunting sound. Much African music is used to accompany dances that are included in rituals. The drums are considered sacred, and the drummer plays a very important role in the rituals.

Some popular dances in Brazil that have become well known in North America are the samba, bossa nova, and the lambada. The most popular dance in Brazil, the samba, comes from African rhythms and movements. The music for the samba is usually played on African-derived instruments but might also include brass instruments and guitars. Each region of Brazil has its own form of samba. The best time to experience the music and dance of Brazil is during Carnival. This is a pre-Lenten festival in which groups of people dress in elaborate costumes and parade through the streets. The celebration usually begins with marches with lyrics that praise women and criticize the government. Members of different samba schools gather and enter the parade, dancing their samba down the street and singing their school song, accompanied by large drums.

Like many North and South American cultural traditions, Brazilian culture is complex and extremely varied, although some aspects have blended over hundreds of years.

Music and Composers of Argentina

Music and Composers of Argentina

The South American country of Argentina is home to a variety of musical styles and traditions. Many of them are the result of a blending of indigenous and immigrant cultures. Spanish colonists arrived in the 1500s, and another big wave of immigrants (mostly Spaniards and Italians, and some people from France, Germany, Great Britain, and Poland) came from the 1870s to the 1940s. Africans were brought to Argentina by Spanish colonists to work as slaves, but their numbers were greatly diminished during a yellow fever epidemic in 1871. Descendents of immigrants make up about 85% of the population of Argentina today. As a result, art music in Argentina has followed patterns similar to those in Europe since the 1500s.

European-influenced music of Argentina includes Catholic musical traditions from Spain and Italy. This includes liturgical music as well as music for celebrating saint days and holidays. European Protestants brought their music with them to Argentina in the 1900s. Many European church musicians taught indigenous peoples to play and even construct European instruments. Some indigenous groups have always considered music and musical instruments to have supernatural powers for communicating with their own deities. This may be why they were open to learning about foreigners’ ways of making music, even if they did not accept the religious teachings that went with them.

Folk Music of Argentina

There are two main kinds of folk music heard almost everywhere in Argentina. One is music that comes from original indigenous cultures (there are many), and the other is creole music that has evolved from the culture of the Spanish colonists and their descendants, often mixing with local original traditions. European dances, popular songs, religious music, instruments, and festivals such as Carnival were brought to Argentina by immigrants, and have evolved into the creole music enjoyed today.

Argentina is divided into different regions according to geography and climate, and each of these areas has cultural characteristics of its own. Patagonia, which is in the south, has not had as many visitors or colonists over the centuries as other areas (the weather can be daunting), so much of the folk music is still basically the same indigenous music that it has been for centuries. It is grounded in a spiritual tradition involving life events: birth, childhood, puberty, healing, marriage, hunting, herding flocks to grazing land, expressing gratitude, and death.

In some areas of Argentina, folk music has been influenced by visitors from neighboring countries. For example, in the northwest province of Jujuy, some characteristics of the ancient music of the Incas have been brought into Argentina by workers from Bolivia. In other areas of Argentina, one can hear musical influences from Peru, Paraguay, and Chile.

The central Argentine province of Córdoba has little original traditional music left, because the indigenous peoples have largely disappeared. A style of dance music that is quite popular is called cuarteto. It has proven to be an extremely successful part of the dance hall scene and recording industry in Argentina.

In the plains area called La Pampa (which includes Buenos Aires), the dances are lively, but the songs are often introspective and quiet. Guitar, accordions, and harmonica are used to accompany both dances and songs. Singing duels, in which improvisational skills are compared, are common in La Pampa. An old Argentine vocal duet style, in which performers sing in parallel thirds with guitar accompaniment, is popular there and in many other areas of Argentina.

In the northeastern part of Argentina, called Mesopotamia, the indigenous peoples have accepted European dances such as the mazurka, waltz, polka (which evolved into the popular cheek-to-cheek chamamé), and schottische. However, they rejected all attempts at religious conversion and have kept their spiritual traditions unchanged. In religious settings, they use instruments like the sacred stamping tube (played by women), flutes, and drums. Singing is reserved for a male religious leader and women who echo his phrases. In this region the secular creole tradition uses European instruments such as the accordion, violin, harp, and guitar.

Dance is a natural part of most creole traditions and some indigenous traditions in much of Argentina. The zamba is the national dance of Argentina, and the gato ("cat") is the most important rural dance. These dances for couples are enjoyed on many occasions, especially at Carnival. The music for these dances is sung and accompanied by accordion and drum, or sometimes violin and harp or guitar.

Tango

One famous Argentine dance style is the intense couples’ dance called the tango. A tango orchestra might include an accordion, violin, piano, and string bass. Guitars are also sometimes used. The tango was originally a popular dance style among poor and lower middle class people of Buenos Aires, early in the twentieth century. In the 1920s and 1930s, the tango became popular in France, and other classes of society in Argentina began to enjoy dancing the tango in cabaret settings. A singer named Carlos Gardel helped bring the tango to worldwide attention in the 1920s.

A new style of tango was introduced by Astor Piazzolla, a well-known composer and performer of tangos in the 1950s. Many of his new tangos have jazz and modern art music influences. He took the music of the great tango masters, removed it from the concert hall, and took it to the streets of Buenos Aires. Many jazz musicians and listeners came to know and appreciate tango music in this format. More recently, Piazzolla took the tango back to the concert halls, composing and performing works for groups ranging from the string quartet to the symphony orchestra, and even an opera. In the 1980s, shows featuring tango dancing began touring the world, with great success.

Another kind of music and dance that became very popular in Argentina in the latter part of the twentieth century is tropical music, or music of the Caribbean. Salsa and son are two tropical dance music styles that are popular in Argentine urban dance halls.

Rock music from Great Britain and the United States has been popular in Argentina, as well. Argentine rock music, called "progressive national music," was an attempt to make Argentine rock distinct from British and American rock. Argentine rock embraced issues such as support of the working class during the military dictatorship. It is the product of Anglo rock, tango, jazz, Brazilian music, and Argentine folk song styles.

Some Musicians of Argentina

The folk singer Mercedes Sosa (born 1935) interprets folk traditions of Argentina as well as folk traditions found throughout Latin America. Sent into exile by Argentina’s military regime in 1978, she returned five years later to a heroine’s welcome.

Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983) started out composing in the nationalist style popular in Argentina in the early twentieth century. He turned to composing neoclassical pieces in the 1950s and switched to atonal and serialist compositions in the 1960s. He was recognized as a major composer in Argentina, the United States, and Europe.

Martha Argerich (born 1941) is a famous concert pianist from Buenos Aires. She won two international competitions in Europe at age 16 and went on to win many more. Argerich is known for her passionate and technically brilliant performances of the works of Chopin, Liszt, Bartók, and Prokofiev, among others.

Daniel Barenboim (born 1942) is a conductor and concert pianist from Buenos Aires. In 1952 he moved with his family to Israel. He was in demand as a concert pianist early in his career, and from 1954 on, he recorded piano concertos with some of the world’s famous conductors. He has served as conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic, among others.

In the popular music realm, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and singer-songwriter Fito Paez are prominent artists in Argentina who have gained international fame.

Appalachian Music and Instruments

Appalachian Music and Instruments

The Appalachian Mountains form the oldest mountain range in North America. This beautiful mountain range spans a huge region of our country from Alabama in the south to the New England states in the north. The Southern Appalachian Mountain region includes parts of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky. In this region there is some of the best folk, bluegrass, and country music to be found anywhere.

Music has always been at the center of life in Southern Appalachia. The people of this region are descendants of Scottish-Irish, English, Welsh, German, and French settlers who came across the Atlantic 200 years ago, as well as people of African American and Cherokee heritage. An oral musical tradition came with these people, many of whom were laborers, servants, and farmers. Because the southern Appalachian settlements were isolated from other groups of people by the mountains, their music did not change very much over hundreds of years. In the mid-1910s, an Englishman named Cecil Sharp traveled to the southern Appalachian Mountains in search of British folk songs. He and his assistant, Maud Karpeles, collected and wrote down many, many folk songs as they moved through the area.

Southern Appalachian melodies are usually diatonic or modal and end on the tonic. They are in verse form. Duple and triple meters are used, sometimes changing to accommodate the words, melody, or the singer’s unique style. The literature includes songs, play-party games, and ballads. The most frequently heard vocal form from this region is the ballad—a song that tells a story. Each singer sings a ballad in his or her own personal way. Sometimes new words are sung to an old melody. A ballad can be based on an event in history, a humorous situation, a tragedy, happiness, a religious topic, a heroic deed, or the supernatural. Singing ballads provided entertainment for hundreds of years for people who did not have computers, TV, or radios. Because most of the original European settlers of Appalachia could not read, the stories contained in ballads were used to teach the history, ethics, and morality of the community. Characters in ballad stories who broke the rules suffered in some way. Some examples of ballads are "Old Joe Clark," "Barbara Allen," "Mister Frog Went A-Courtin’," and "Sourwood Mountain."

The southern Appalachian area is known for its instrumental traditions, particularly the music of the mountain dulcimer, fiddle, banjo, and limberjack.

The mountain dulcimer, one of the earliest North American folk instruments, looks like a long, thin violin with frets and three or four strings. On the mountain dulcimer the melody is played on the highest-pitched string, and the other strings are the drones. To play the dulcimer, hold the instrument across the lap. Use the right hand to pluck the strings with a quill, a pick, or a finger, and press the strings against the frets to change melody pitches with the left hand, or use a wooden slide.

The fiddle was brought to America by settlers from the British Isles. It was used as a solo instrument and to accompany dancing. The Appalachian fiddle is often held against the upper chest, not under the chin, and the bow is held a bit in from the end. This is also a very old position of classical violin playing that has remained unchanged in the isolated communities of Appalachia for many, many years. Modern classical violinists use a chin rest and hold the bow differently. Sometimes rattlesnake rattles have been placed inside the body of the fiddle for a percussive effect.

The banjo was brought to the southern Appalachian area by traveling minstrel shows or by European Americans who learned to play the instruments from enslaved African Americans while visiting plantations. The banjo is a fretted instrument with a round body and five strings and is either plucked with the fingers or played with a pick. Early banjos were modeled after a West African string instrument of a similar design.

A unique percussion instrument of Southern Appalachia is the limberjack—a wooden doll-like figure attached to a stick on the back. The player sits on one end of a board and suspends the doll over the free end of the board. When the player hits the free end of the board it moves up and down, hitting the doll and causing it to bounce around. The sound made by the bouncing wooden doll is similar to that made by Appalachian clog dancers.

A look at the music of Southern Appalachia gives us a fascinating peek into the past from the present. We can experience a living oral tradition that in some ways has not changed at all from the time settlers came over from Europe long ago.

African American Music:

African American Music:
Spirituals and Gospel Music

Spirituals and gospel music are two of several different kinds of music that originated in the experiences of African American people. There are now European American categories within these two styles, but for now, we will focus on spirituals and gospel music of African Americans. Spirituals and gospel music are related to each other, but they developed at different times in history: Spirituals rose out of the experience of enslaved Africans in Colonial America, and gospel music developed in the early twentieth century in cities.

Spirituals

There are two types of spirituals: One is the folk spiritual and the other is the arranged spiritual. The folk spiritual grew out of the earliest spiritual expression of enslaved Africans in the farmlands of Colonial America.

Folk Spirituals

When enslaved Africans were exposed to Christianity, many accepted some aspects of it and rejected others. They came to the New World with the knowledge of another way of expressing religious fervor that involved responding verbally, singing, dancing, and shouting. They sought privacy when worshiping, because some slave owners forbade them to express spirituality in this way. They met in "invisible churches" in ravines, forests, fields, slave quarters, and anywhere else they could that was away from the critical eyes and ears of European Americans. This was the only opportunity for meaningful expression and for preservation of elements of African culture for many enslaved Africans. Their church meetings involved prayer, singing, hand clapping, dancing, telling of personal spiritual experiences, and sometimes shouting and preaching. Prayer often turned into singing, and the congregation was encouraged to respond verbally to what was going on at all times.

The call-and-response pattern of singing that was the basis for the spiritual is one cultural trait that has flourished everywhere the people of Western and Central African countries have gone. In this pattern the soloist sings something different each time, changing the words and the melody, but the group sings the same response, chorus, or refrain after each solo. This musical pattern can go on indefinitely. Some early church meetings lasted all night. The solo-group pattern illustrates a social order in which the success of the individual and the idea of diversity are celebrated by the group, which is constant in its support. The texts for call-and-response spirituals were often taken from European hymns.

Although drums were banned by many slave owners because they were believed to be used to send signals, African Americans still "drummed" with their feet and used body movements to keep drumming styles alive as a part of religious singing and worship.

The "ring shout" is a shuffling circle dance that involves clapping. It was performed with lively spirituals. The ring shout is related to spiritual practices in West Africa.

Spirituals were sometimes sung for purposes other than worship. They were sung in work gangs, to keep everyone working at the same speed. Sometimes they were coded with messages about impending escape attempts, directions for how to head north on the Underground Railroad, or which houses were safe havens while traveling. Spirituals containing such messages include "Go Down, Moses" and "Follow the Drinking Gourd." The texts of most spirituals were based on biblical passages. On the surface, a text might be about Moses leading the Hebrews out of exile, but the message applied well to enslaved Africans who yearned for the "promised land" of the North and the freedom found there.

Arranged Spirituals

Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, was the place where the African American spiritual was developed for presentation in concerts all over the United States and Europe, to white as well as black audiences. The treasurer of the university, George White, organized the Fisk Jubilee Singers to give concerts to raise funds for the university. There were eleven men and women in the group, and most of them were formerly enslaved African Americans. Some elements of the performance practice of spirituals were changed for concert use. Gone were the round shouts, foot stomping, spontaneity, improvisation, and overt expression of folk spirituals. Control, precision, and uniformity of expression were the norm for concerts. Spirituals were sung a cappella and in call-and-response patterns within verse-and-refrain form, but the singing was now blended. The music was notated and arranged for harmony parts in a Western European style. Notating each arranged spiritual gave it a definite ending, unlike the folk spiritual. Important composers of arranged spirituals include John Work II (1873–1925), William Dawson (1899–1990), R. Nathanniel Dett (1882–1943), John Work III (1901–1968), and Undine Smith Moore (1904–1989).

Some arranged spirituals were composed for solo voice accompanied by piano. The solo spiritual has become an important part of African American Christian worship services as well as a favorite way to end a solo vocal recital. Harry T. Burleigh (1866–1949) was the first composer to arrange spirituals for solo voice and piano.

Gospel Music

In the first few decades of the twentieth century, many African Americans moved from the southern countryside to northern cities. They brought their religious traditions with them to the new urban setting. Congregants from small country churches found their new spiritual homes in storefront city churches. Music for worship centered on the folk spiritual, but with the addition of instrumental accompaniment. This was a big change that led to what we call gospel music today. Three styles of gospel music emerged: the gospel hymn, rural gospel (sacred blues), and the Holiness-Pentecostal style.

Gospel Hymn

Charles Albert Tindley (1851–1933) was a Methodist minister in Philadelphia who developed the gospel hymn style. Some of his hymns had their roots in European anthems that lent themselves to choral responses. In his melodies, Tindley sometimes avoided the third and seventh scale degrees to allow for improvisation of blue notes on those degrees. He composed in the traditional call-and-response pattern in verse-and-refrain form, but his instrumental accompaniments moved his work from the spiritual category into the gospel category.

Rural Gospel

The blues of rural areas of the South found their way into church services in the urban North and became gospel music. Religious lyrics were sung in blues style by a solo singer accompanied by harmonica or guitar. Blind Willie Johnson and Blind Mamie Forehand were two important rural gospel singers around the turn of the twentieth century.

Holiness-Pentecostal Gospel

A very expressive and uninhibited worship style evolved in the new Pentecostal denomination in the first decade of the twentieth century. The Holiness-Pentecostal gospel style was close to the rural spiritual style with its singing and dancing. The use of brass instruments, mandolins, and jugs added to the enthusiasm of these worshipers and placed the music in the gospel category. Arizona Dranes was an important Holiness-Pentecostal gospel performer. Her recordings exhibit her trademark rhythmic ragtime piano playing and her vocal leads that could sometimes be characterized as shouts.

In the 1930s, Thomas Dorsey (1899–1993) worked with musicians such as Mahalia Jackson (1912–1972) to blend these three styles into one, which is what we now call traditional gospel music. Dorsey brought a combination of jazz,blues church music to the mix. Mahalia Jackson’s love of her native New Orleans blues, her church choir tradition (Baptist), and the sounds of the church next door to her house (Pentecostal) were blended into the new gospel style. At first, this style of religious musical expression was not accepted. It was called "sin music" because of its similarities to secular music. Thomas Dorsey organized workshops and conventions for gospel choirs. The style caught on fast. Now traditional gospel music is sung by black and white solists, quartets, and choirs of men or women or both. Accompaniments range from organ or piano to synthesizers, electric bass, drum set, bongos, saxophone, and brass. There are no limits on instrumental accompaniment.

Contemporary gospel groups are usually made up of small groups of one soloist or four to six singers; accompaniments are usually the same as the secular style the group embraces, such as hip-hop, rap, jazz, or funk.

A look at spirituals and gospel music reveals that although the musical style of the folk spiritual has changed over hundreds of years (as has much of America’s music), the core beliefs, strengths, and values of African American culture are still intact as expressed in spirituals and gospel music.

African American Music:

African American Music:
Blues and Jazz

Although the enslaved African people who were brought to America could not bring their musical instruments with them, they did not forget their musical traditions. Some slaves were not allowed to speak their native language in America and added their own traditional styles to European-American songs and dances. They passed on traditional African musical styles from generation to generation. Gradually, several styles of African American music emerged in the United States. Today, two of the best-known styles are blues and jazz.

The blues most likely began as solo singing. These solo songs may have come from "field hollers" that slaves yelled while they toiled in the fields. They also may have come from story songs, called ballads, and other songs that were sung at lively dances. Blues singers made slight changes to original melodies and rhythm in order to add emotional expression, including sounds of moaning or crying. The emotions expressed were often sad and mournful.

Later on, instruments such as the guitar, banjo, and harmonica were added to accompany solo blues singing. Eventually the piano, bass, drums, brass, and woodwind instruments were also added. Today, musicians follow a specific form or pattern of phrases when they sing or play the blues. One of America’s most famous blues singers was Bessie Smith (1894–1937).

Jazz probably began in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the early twentieth century. It started as a mixture of many different types of music including popular music and the blues. It has changed over the years and has many different sub-styles, such as Dixieland, swing, bebop, Afro-Cuban, cool, free jazz, and fusion.

In jazz the performer often improvises (alters the melody and rhythm, as is done in the blues) to create new or different sounds that add to the emotional expression of the song. Jazz musicians create their own version of the melody while they are performing. The performers usually begin by playing a tune that they all know, and then they take turns improvising around that tune. Sometimes jazz performers make up a completely new melody that goes with the same chord progression of the original melody. Players or singers often repeat the melody in its original form at the end of the selection. In jazz style, performers often "swing" the rhythm of steady eighth notes, for example. To do this they change an even rhythm to uneven (long-short, long-short).

There are different kinds of jazz bands. A "combo" is a small jazz ensemble that usually consists of a keyboard, bass, drums, and sometimes guitar. These form the rhythm section. They support the rhythm and harmony, and each of these instruments can function as a soloist, trading off with the others. Sometimes a melody instrument is added, such as a clarinet, saxophone, or trumpet, and there may be a singer. A "big band" might include five saxophones, five trombones, five trumpets, and a rhythm section of a keyboard, drums, guitar, and, in the early days, banjo and tuba.

Jazz also uses different timbres for special effects. Instrumentalists often imitate the same vocal sounds that are used in the blues, such as moaning, wailing, growling, and shouting. Some jazz singers like to "scat," or sing nonsense syllables that sound like instruments playing jazz. One singer famous for her scat singing was Ella Fitzgerald.

Other jazz artists popular today include members of the Marsalis family.

Jazz and the blues are two of the few art forms that originated in the United States. We have many different art forms and styles that have come from other countries and are maintained by the people who brought them here, but jazz and the blues were born in our own history. For more information about music in the history of the United States and composers of the United States see these articles

Music of Israel

Music of Israel

Geographically, Israel is part of the Middle East; its musical heritage is historically related to Arab, Persian, Turkish, and North African traditions. However, its history of immigration in the last century has made its musical profile very different from that of its MIDDLE EASTERN neighbors. Israel as a country is rather new, established in 1948 as an official Jewish state. When the state was established, music was recognized as an important element: It has the power to bring diverse immigrant groups together and can function as a way to form a national identity.

Beginning in the 1880s large numbers of Jewish people began moving to this area, as the historical homeland of the Jewish religion. By 1914, the population was approximately 80,000. Due to increasing prejudice against, and brutal persecution of, Jews in various parts of Europe between 1920 and 1948, Jewish people emigrated from their various homelands to this country, which was then referred to as Palestine, in great waves. Many immigrants came from parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Immigrants also began arriving from North Africa, South America, and North America. Today, Jews from Ethiopia, Russia, Argentina, and many other countries continue to immigrate to Israel. In fact, there are now so many diverse ethnic groups in Israel that it is considered to be one of the most multicultural nations in the world.

Each immigrant group brought the traditions of the homeland, including music. Since there were many fine musicians and composers among the early immigrants from Europe, Western classical music became well known and widely performed in Palestine. The Palestine Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1936 (renamed the Israel Philharmonic, now an important world-class orchestra). At that time, urban musical life was similar to that in European cities, with orchestra concerts, vocal and instrumental solo and ensemble recitals, European-style musical theater and cabaret shows, and many styles of popular music. Indigenous and traditional Arabic music continued to be performed by established poets and musicians. Immigrants also brought their own folk and composed music. Classically-trained composers emerged, such as European immigrant Paul Ben-Haim, whose work is internationally recognized. In addition to the Tel Aviv is the home of the Israel Philharmonic. The cities of Jerusalem, Beer Sheva, and Haifa each each have their own symphpny orchestras too. European immigrants brought a strong choral tradition to Israel. It continues to this day with numerous community, symphonic, and children’s choirs performing throughout the country. Israel has hosted the Zimryia (world choral festival) every three years since 1952.

In the early waves of immigration to Palestine and the State of Israel, it was believed that there should be one kind of music that would unify the various groups belonging to the new region. To fill this gap, amateur and professional composers invented a "new" folk tradition, writing songs that spoke to the emotions and ideals of the new settlements. The lyrics of these songs are in Hebrew, and the melodies are primarily derived from Eastern European folk and pop sources. Often they are in minor keys, in duple meter, and simple in structure. It was widely held that the use of familiar melodies would help immigrant groups assimilate more quickly into the developing Israeli culture. Song texts emphasize pride in the new nation and hope for its development. Accordion, guitar, and an Arabic clay drum (dumbek) typically provided accompaniment. Lyrics might be composed specifically for the new songs, but frequently either existing texts or the beautiful poetry of Bialik and Rahel have been set to music. A comparable trend was seen in folk dance—lacking a common heritage, choreographers invented dances based on their home traditions that then became identified with the new cultural region.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a rise in folk music with texts reflecting the political and social times. It was during this time that numerous songs about Jerusalem and peace appeared. Songs by composers such as Naomi Shemer, whose music helped form the Israeli folk idiom, remain popular to this day. Immigrant singers, such as the still popular Chava Alberstein continued to sing in Hebrew and Yiddish.

The global spread of rock music in the 1960s affected this tradition as well; the new folk music took on the characteristics of rock and was accompanied by electric organ, drums, guitar, and bass guitar. The music of other artists like Arik Einstein, Shalom Hanoch and Tvika Pik began to show the influences of world and rock music. Since then, Israel has produced its own rock groups such as Kaveret that sing in Hebrew about topics important to Israeli youth but follow international musical trends. More recently, other groups have successfully blended world beat music with the Israeli idiom and the music of their own background. Ofra Haza, born in Israel to a family originally from Yemen, was a prime example of the fusion of musics that create the contemporary Israeli musical sound. She became internationally known and before her untimely death her voice was also heard on the 1998 Disney Soundtrack "Prince of Egypt."

Along with the ongoing and pervasive European influence on Israeli musical life, there has been an ongoing desire by some to return to pre-European, Middle-Eastern roots. The 1950s saw influences of Iraq and Egypt in popular music; the 1960s saw Arabic and Greek influences.

In the 1980s a style known as "eastern Mediterranean" developed, incorporating melodies in modes and with ornamentation that sound Middle Eastern but with accompaniment built around electric guitar, bass guitar, and drum set. This is yet one more addition to the many musical styles found in Israel today.