ELIZALDE ACADEMY MODULE 3

MAPEH 10 (MUSIC) 2ND QUARTER

TEACHER: MS. RODJHEN ANNE P. BARQUILLA

LESSON 1: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF AFRICAN AND LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC

I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
 To describe and explain the historical and cultural background of Afro-Latin American and popular
music.
 To analyze musical characteristics of Afro-Latin American and popular music through listening
activities
 To identify and explore ways of creating sounds on a variety of sources suitable to chosen vocal and
instrumental selections.
 To demonstrate and performs selections of Afro-Latin American and popular music in appropriate pitch,
rhythm, style, and expression.
 To evaluates music and music performance using guided rubrics.
II. CONCEPT NOTES:
MUSIC OF AFRICA
Music has always been an important part in the daily life of the African, whether for work,
religion, ceremonies, or even communication. Singing, dancing, hand clapping and the beating of drums are
essential to many African ceremonies, including those for birth, death, initiation, marriage, and funerals. Music
and dance are also important to religious expression and political events.
However, because of its wide influences on global music that has permeated contemporary
American, Latin American, and European styles, there has been a growing interest in its own cultural heritage
and musical sources. Of particular subjects of researches are its rhythmic structures and spiritual
characteristics that have led to the birth of jazz forms.
African music has been a collective result from the cultural and musical diversity of the more than 50
countries of the continent. The organization of this continent is a colonial legacy from European rule of the
different nations up to the end of the 19th century, whose vastness has enabled it to incorporate its music with
language, environment, political developments, immigration, and cultural diversity.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF AFRO-LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC?
The history of Afro-Latin American music can be traced during the European colonization and slave trade
in Africa. Latin America is comprised of different regions such as the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and Central
and South Americas which are of diversified cultures of the European, Moors, Mexicans, and other tribes in
Africa. European countries contributed religions and languages like Spanish and Portuguese.
Their music is identified by their rhythms, which they adapted from the elements of Moorish music and
other African and Carribean music in the slave trade from 1550 to 1880. The enslaved Moors of North America
in 1776 were prohibited from playing drums, but in the Congo Square in New Orleans, Carribean slaves were
free to play their drums for recreation and entertainment and also for communication. These were their “talking”
drums, relaying current and timeless messages which are their history, struggle, and revolting joy. All of these
were performed by replaying the traditional rhythms of Moorish and African music through drum beats.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, African music started by the spread, development and canonizing of rhythm
in the Caribbean, and during this period another art is born in North America containing a rich mix of musical
cultures. This includes the incorporation of drums and rhythms from Africa and the used of cymbals from India
in combination with the harmony, instruments, and musical syncopation which we call jazz.
During the 18 th and 19th centuries, these rhythms spread, developed, and were canonized throughout the
Caribbean, around the same time that another American art form started. This North American art form also
contained a rich cultural mix. It incorporates blues intonation, African drums and rhythms, Indian cymbal,
European instruments, harmony, and musical forms with a syncopated beat, namely, Jazz.
This developed a unique musical culture in countries in Carribean, and its influences include Latin
rhythms and dances like habanera and bolero in Cuba, samba and bossa nova in Brazil, and tango in
Argentina.
This is the reason for the existence of rich music and dance like jazz, tango, cha-cha, rumb, foxtrot, and
pasodoble.
TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF AFRICA
 African traditional music is largely functional in nature, used primarily in ceremonial rites, such as
birth, death, marriage, succession, worship, and spirit invocations. Others are work related or social in nature,
while many traditional societies view their music as entertainment. It has a basically interlocking structural
format, due mainly to its overlapping and dense textural characteristics as well as its rhythmic complexity. Its
many sources of stylistic influence have produced varied characteristics and genres.
Some Types of African
Music Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a term used to describe the fusion of West African with black American music.
Apala (Akpala)

Apala is a musical genre from Nigeria in the Yoruba tribal style to wake up the worshippers
after fasting during the Muslim holy feast of Ramadan. Percussion instrumentation includes the
rattle (sekere), thumb piano (agidigbo), bell (agogo), and two or three talking drums.
Axe
Axe is a popular musical genre from Salvador, Bahia, and Brazil. It fuses the AfroCaribbean styles of the
marcha, reggae, and calypso.
Jit
Jit is a hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean dance music played on drums with guitar
accompaniment, influenced by mbira-based guitar styles.
Jive
Jive is a popular form of South African music featuring a lively and uninhibited variation of the jitterbug, a form
of swing dance.
Juju
Juju is a popular music style from Nigeria that relies on the traditional Yoruba rhythms, where the instruments
in Juju are more Western in origin. A drum kit, keyboard, pedal steel guitar, and accordion are used along with
the traditional dun-dun (talking drum or squeeze drum).
Kwassa Kwassa
Kwassa Kwassa is a dance style begun in Zaire in the late 1980’s, popularized by Kanda Bongo
Man. In this dance style, the hips move back and forth while the arms move following the hips.
Marabi
Marabi is a South African three-chord township music of the 1930s-1960s which evolved
into African Jazz. Possessing a keyboard style combining American jazz, ragtime and blues with
African roots, it is characterized by simple chords in varying vamping patterns and repetitive
harmony over an extended period of time to allow the dancers more time on the dance floor.
LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY AFRICAN MUSIC
Reggae
Reggae is a Jamaican sound dominated by bass guitar and drums. It refers to a particular
music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento and calypso music, as well as
American jazz, and rhythm and blues. The most recognizable musical elements of reggae are its
offbeat rhythm and staccato chords
Salsa
Salsa music is Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Colombian dance music. It comprises various musical genres
including the Cuban son montuno, guaracha, chachacha, mambo and bolero.
Samba
Samba is the basic underlying rhythm that typifies most Brazilian music. It is a lively and
rhythmical dance and music with three steps to every bar, making the Samba feel like a timed
dance. There is a set of dances—rather than a single dance—that define the Samba dancing
scene in Brazil. Thus, no one dance can be claimed with certainty as the “original” Samba style.
Soca
Soca is a modern Trinidadian and Tobago pop music combining “soul” and “calypso” music.
Were
This is Muslim music performed often as a wake-up call for early breakfast and prayers
during Ramadan celebrations. Relying on pre-arranged music, it fuses the African and European music styles
with particular usage of the natural harmonic series.
Zouk
 Zouk is fast, carnival-like hythmic music, from the Creole slang word for ‘party,’ originating in the
Carribean Islands of Guadaloupe and Martinique and popularized in the 1980’s. It has a pulsating beat
supplied by the gwo ka and tambour bele drums, a tibwa rhythmic pattern played on the rim of the snare drum
and its hi-hat, rhythm guitar, a horn section, and keyboard synthesizers.
VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC
Maracatu
Maracatu first surfaced in the African state of Pernambuco, combining the strong rhythms of
African percussion instruments with Portuguese melodies. The maracatu groups were called
“nacoes” (nations) who paraded with a drumming ensemble numbering up to 100, accompanied
by a singer, chorus, and a coterie of dancers.
Musical instruments used in Maracatu
The Maracatu uses mostly percussion instruments such as the alfaia, tarol and caixa-deguerra, gongue,
agbe, and miniero. The alfaia is a large wooden drum that is rope-tuned, complemented by the tarol which is a
shallow snare drum and the caixa-de-guerra which is a war-like snare. Providing the clanging sound is the
gongue, a metal cowbell. The shakers are represented by the agbe, a gourd shaker covered by beads, and the
miniero or ganza, a metal cylindrical shaker filled with metal shot or small dried seeds called “Lagrima fre
Nossa Senhora.”

Blues
The blues is a musical form of the late 19th century that has had deep roots in
AfricanAmerican communities. These communities are located in the so-called “Deep South”
of the United States. The slaves and their descendants used to sing as they worked in the
cotton and vegetable fields. The notes of the blues create an expressive and soulful sound.
The feelings that are evoked are normally associated with slight degrees of misfortune,
lost love, frustration, or loneliness.
From ecstatic joy to deep sadness, the blues can communicate various emotions more
effectively than other musical forms. Noted performers of the Rhythm and Blues genre are Ray Charles, James
Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, and John Lee Hooker; as well as B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Erykah Badu,
Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Musselwhite, Blues Traveler, Jimmie Vaughan, and Jeff Baxter.
Examples of blues music are the following: Early Mornin’, A House is Not a Home and Billie’s Blues.
Soul
Soul music was a popular music genre of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It originated in the United States. It
combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz. The catchy rhythms
are accompanied by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves which are among its important features.
Other characteristics include “call and response” between the soloist and the chorus, and an
especially tense and powerful vocal sound. Some important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s
contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James.
Ray Charles and Little Richard (who inspired Otis Redding) and James Brown were equally influential.
Brown was known as the “Godfather of Soul,” while Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson are also often
acknowledged as “soul forefathers.” Examples of soul music are the following: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,
Ben, All I Could Do is Cry, Soul to Soul, and Becha by Golly, Wow.
Spiritual
The term spiritual, normally associated with a deeply religious person, refers here to a Negro spiritual, a
song form by African migrants to America who became enslaved by its white communities. This musical form
became their outlet to vent their loneliness and anger, and is a result of the interaction of music and religion
from Africa with that of America.
The texts are mainly religious, sometimes taken from psalms of Biblical passages, while the music utilizes
deep bass voices. The vocal inflections, Negro accents, and dramatic dynamic changes add to the musical
interest and effectiveness of the performance. Examples of spiritual music are the following: We are Climbing
Jacob’s Ladder, Rock My Soul, When the Saints Go Marching In, and Peace Be Still.
Call and Response
The call and response method is a succession of two distinct musical phrases usually rendered by
different musicians, where the second phrase acts as a direct commentary on or response to the first. Much
like the question and answer sequence in human communication, it also forms a strong resemblance to the
verse-chorus form in many vocal compositions. Examples of call and response songs are the following:
Mannish Boy, one of the signature songs by Muddy Waters; and School Day - Ring, Ring Goes the Bell by
Chuck Berry.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF AFRICA
African music includes all the major instrumental genres of western music, including strings, winds, and
percussion, along with a tremendous variety of specific African musical instruments for solo or ensemble
playing.
African Musical Instruments from the Environment Many instruments of Africa are made from natural elements
like wood, metal, animal, skin and horns, as well as improvised ones like tin cans and bottles. These are
mainly used to provide rhythmic sounds, which are the most defining element of African music.
Africans make musical instruments from the materials in the environment, like forest areas from where
they make large wooden drums. Drums may also be made of clay, metal, tortoise shells, or gourds.
Xylophones are made of lumber or bamboo, while flutes can be constructed wherever reeds or bamboo grow.
Animal horns are used as trumpets while animal hides, lizard skins, and snake skins can function as
decorations as well as provide the membranes for drum heads. Laces made of hides and skins are used for
the strings of harps, fiddles, and lutes.
On the other hand, bamboo was used to form the tongues of thumb pianos, the frames of stringed
instruments, and stamping tubes. Strips of bamboo are even clashed together rhythmically. Gourds, seeds,
stones, shells, palm leaves, and the hard-shelled fruit of the calabash tree are made into rattles. Ancient
Africans even made musical instruments from human skulls decorated with human hair while singers use their
body movements to accompany their singing. Modern Africans make use of recycled waste materials
such as strips of roofing metal, empty oil drums, and tin cans.
These people, bursting with rhythm, make music with everything and anything. At present, new materials
that are more easily accessible, such as soda cans and bottles, are becoming increasingly important for the
construction of percussion instruments. Some rhythmic instruments like scrapers, bells, and rattles also
provide the pitch and timbre when played in an ensemble to provide contrasts in tone quality and character.
MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA
The music of Latin America is the product of three major influences – Indigenous, Spanish-Portuguese,
and African. Sometimes called Latin music, it includes the countries that have had a colonial history from Spain
and Portugal, divided into the following areas:
a. Andean region (a mountain system of western South America along the Pacific coast from Venezuela to
Tierra del Fuego) – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
b. Central America – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama
c. Carribean – Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, and Puerto Rico
d. Brazil
At the same time, because of the inter-racial cross breeding and migration, the abovenamed countries were
also somewhat commonly populated by five major ancestral groups as follows:
a. Indian descendants of the original Native Americans who were the inhabitants of the region before the
arrival of Christopher Columbus
b. African descendants from Western and Central Africa
c. European descendants mainly from Spain and Portugal but also including the French, Dutch, Italian, and
British
d. Asian descendants from China, Japan, India, and Indonesia/Java
e. Mixed descendants from the above-named groups
INFLUENCES ON LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC
1. Indigenous Latin-American Music

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Portuguese, and other

European colonizers, the natives were found to be using
local drum and percussion instruments such as the guiro,
maracas, and turtle shells, and wind instruments such as zampona (pan pipes) and quena (notched-end flutes)
remain popular and are traditionally made out of the same aquatic canes, although PVC pipe is sometimes
used due to its resistance to heat, cold, and humidity. Generally, quenas only are played during the dry
season. Materials came from hollow tree trunks, animal skins, fruit shells, dry seeds, cane and clay, hardwood
trees, jaguar claws, animal and human bones, and specially-treated inflated eyes of tigers.
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 good
harvest, victory in battles, guard against sickness and natural disasters, and of course provide recreation.
2. Native American/Indian Music
The ethnic and cultural groups of the principal native Americans share many similar yet distinctive music
elements pertaining to melody, harmony, rhythm, form, and dynamics. Short musical motives from descending
melodic lines were a common feature, where tempo, rhythm, and tone colors vary with the specific occasion or
ritual. Many dance forms were repetitious, while songs had a wide range of volume levels. Some of the Native
American music includes courtship songs, dancing songs, and popular American or Canadian tunes like
Amazing Grace, Dixie, Jambalaya, and Sugar Time. Many songs celebrate themes like harvest, planting
season or other important times of year.
3. Afro-Latin American Music
The African influence on Latin American music is most pronounced in its rich and varied rhythmic patterns
produced by the drums and various percussion instruments. Complex layering of rhythmic patterns was a
favorite device, where fast paced tempos add to the rhythmic density. Vocal music was often deepchested
while instrumental music greatly relied on resonant drums and sympathetic buzzers to produce rich sounds
and occasional loud volume levels to reflect their intensity.
4. Euro-Latin American Music
The different regions of Latin America adopted various characteristics from their European colonizers.
Melodies of the Renaissance period were used in Southern Chile and the Colombian Pacific coasts, while
step-wise melodies were preferred in the heavily Hispanic and Moorish-influenced areas of Venezuela and
Colombia. Alternating dual meters, such as and , known as “sesquialtera” found in Chile and adopted in Cuba
and Puerto Rico, were immortalized in the song I Wanna Be in America from Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway hit
West Side Story. Other European influences were manifested in the texture of Euro-Latin American music,
from unaccompanied vocal solos to those accompanied by stringed instruments.
5. 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 including
the melodic patterns, harmonic combinations, rhythmic complexities, wide range of colors
and dynamics, and various structural formats. This musical fusion of Latin America combining native
instruments with European counterparts and musical theories was further enriched by the instruments brought
by the African slaves. The result of the massive infusion of African culture also brought about the introduction
of other music and dance forms such as the AfroCuban rumba, Jamaican reggae, Colombian cumbia, and the
Brazilian samba.
6. Popular Latin American
Music Latin America has produced a number of musical genres and forms that had been influenced by
European folk music, African traditional music, and native sources. Much of its popular music has in turn found
its way to the many venues and locales of America, Europe, and eventually the rest of the world. Its danceable
rhythms, passionate melodies, and exotic harmonies continue to enthrall music and dance enthusiasts
worldwide even as the forms themselves undergo constant modifications that are more relevant to the times.
Some of these Latin American popular music forms are tango, bossa nova, samba, son, and salsa.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF LATIN AMERICA
The varied cultures developed in Latin America gave rise to different types of wind and percussion
instruments. As with the African continent, their rich history dating back thousands of years ago with the Aztec,
Maya, and other prehistoric cultural groups in Latin America understandably generates their own brands of
creativity in making music. In Central America, the ancient civilizations of the Aztec and Maya peoples used
various instruments mainly for religious functions and usually by professional musicians. As some instruments
were considered holy and it was further believed that music was supposed to glorify the gods, mistakes in
playing these instruments were considered offensive and insulting to them. Some of their instruments include
the following:
Tlapitzalli
The tlapitzalli is a flute variety from the Aztec culture made of clay with decorations of abstract
designs or images of their deities.
Teponaztli
The teponaztli is a Mexican slit drum hollowed out and carved from a piece of hardwood. It is
then decorated with designs in relief or carved to represent human figures or animals to be used
for both religious and recreational purposes.
Conch
The conch is a wind instrument made from a seashell usually of a large sea snail. It is
prepared by cutting a hole in its spine near the apex, then blown into as if it were a trumpet.
Rasp
The rasp is a hand percussion instrument whose sound is produced by scraping a group of
notched sticks with another stick, creating a series of rattling effects.
Huehueti
The huehueti is a Mexican upright tubular drum used by the Aztecs and other ancient
civilizations. It is made of wood opened at the bottom and standing on three legs cut from the base,
with its stretched skin beaten by the hand or a wooden mallet.
Whistles
Whistles are instruments made of natural elements such as bone from animals. The eagle-bone
whistle is the most common whose function is to help symbolize the piece’s purpose.
Incan Instruments
Among the Incas of South America, two instrumental varieties were most common:
a. Ocarina
The ocarina was an ancient vessel flute made of clay or ceramic with four to 12 finger holes and a
mouthpiece that projected from the body.
b. Panpipes (Zamponas)
The zamponas were ancient instruments tuned to different scalar varieties, played by blowing across the
tubetop. Typical models were either in pairs or as several bamboo tubes of different lengths tied together to
produce graduated pitches of sound.
Andean Instruments
The Andean highlands made use of several varieties of flutes and string instruments that include the
following:
a. Pitus
The pitus are side-blown cane flutes that are played all year round.
b. Wooden Tarkas
The tarkas are vertical duct flutes with a mouthpiece similar to that of a recorder, used during the rainy
season.
c. Quenas
The quenas are vertical cane flutes with an end-notched made from fragile bamboo. They are used during
the dry season.
d. Charango
The charango is a ten-stringed Andean guitar from Bolivia. It is the size of a ukulele and a smaller version
of the mandolin, imitating the early guitar and lute brought by the Spaniards. It produces bright sounds and is
often used in serenades in Southern Peru.
Mariachi
The Mariachi is an extremely popular band in Mexico whose original ensemble consisted of violins, guitars,
harp, and an enormous guitarron (acoustic bass guitar). Trumpets were later added, replacing the harp.
Mariachi music is extremely passionate and romantic with their blended harmonies and characterized by
catchy rhythms. Its musicians are distinctly adorned with wide-brimmed hats and silver buttons.
VOCAL AND DANCE FORMS OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC
Latin American instruments are extremely useful in adding life, color, and variety to their many vocal and
dance forms which have captured the world’s attention and affectionate adoption. In the Philippines, many of
these characteristics have been taken in, particularly in the Brazilian bossa nova, cha cha, rumba, and the
Argentine tango. Other dance forms became locally popular especially in the 1960’s and 1970’s until the arrival
of disco and rock music. However, the original Latin dance forms have been experiencing constant revivals of
their popularity especially in “ballroom dancing” as the trendier modern styles also fade almost as quickly as
they come.
1. Cumbia
Originating in Panama and Colombia, the cumbia became a popular African courtship dance with
European and African instrumentation and characteristics. It contained varying rhythmic meters among the
major locations – meter in Colombia; , , and meters in Panama, and meter in Mexico. Instruments used are the
drums of African origin, such as the tabora (bass drum), claves, which are hard, thick sticks that sets the beat,
guitar, accordion, clarinet, modern flute, and caja, a type of snare drum.
2. Tango
The word tango may have been of African origin meaning “African dance” or from the Spanish word taner
meaning “to play” (an instrument). It is a foremost Argentinian and Uruguayan urban popular song and dance
that is related to the Cuban contradanza, habanera, and Cuban tango, and remains a 20th century nationalistic
Argentinian piece of music that is most expressive. Its main development was in the slum areas of Buenos
Aires, and eventually became fashionable in Parisian society in the early part of the 20th century, as well as in
England and other parts of Western Europe.
3. Cha Cha
The cha cha is a ballroom dance the originated in Cuba in 1953, derived from the mambo and its
characteristic rhythm of 2 crochets – 3 quavers – quaver rest, with syncopation on the fourth beat. The cha cha
may be danced with Cuban music, Latin Pop, or Latin Rock. The Cuban cha cha, considered more sensual
that may contain polyrhythmic patterns, has a normal count of ‘two-three-chachacha’ and ‘four and one, two,
three’.
4. Rumba
The rumba popular 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. It is normally used as a
ballroom dance where a solo dancer or couple would be in an embrace though slightly apart, with the rocking
of the hips to a fast-fast-slow sequence and often containing cross rhythms. There is a repetitive melody with
an ostinato pattern played by the maracas, claves, and other Cuban percussion instruments. It contains jazz
elements that became a model for the cha cha, mambo, and other Latin American dances. It was also used for
concert music, as it appeared in the Second Piano Concerto of the French composer Darius Milhaud.
5. Bossa nova
Bossa nova originated in 1958-59 as a movement effecting a radical change in the classic Cuban samba.
The word bossa comes from the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro, which means either “trend” or “something
charming,” integrating melody, harmony, and rhythm into a swaying feel, where the vocal style is often nasal.
The nylon-stringed classical guitar is the most important instrument of this style. Bossa nova contains themes
centering on love, women, longing, nature, and youthfulness. Bossa nova emerged in the 1950’s when a
slower, gentler version of the samba became popular with the upper and middle class sectors of society. It was
music for easy and relaxed listening, conducive to romantic dates and quiet moments at the lounges.
6. Reggae
Reggae is an urban popular music and dance style that originated in Jamaica in the mid 1960’s. It
contained English text coupled with Creole expressions that were not so familiar to the non-Jamaican. It was a
synthesis of Western American (Afro-American) popular music and the traditional Afro-Jamaican music,
containing a western-style melodic-harmonic base with African sounds and characteristics, American pop and
rock music mannerisms, and a preference for a loud volume in the bass.
The best-known proponent of reggae music is Bob Marley, a Jamaican singer-songwriter, musician, and
guitarist. He achieved international fame and acclaim for songs such as: One Love, Three Little Birds; No
Woman, No Cry; Redemption Song; and Stir It Up.
7. Foxtrot
The foxtrot is a 20th century social dance that originated after 1910 in the USA. It was executed as a one
step, two step and syncopated rhythmic pattern. The tempo varied from 30 to 40 bars per minute and had a
simple duple meter with regular 4-bar phrases. There was no fixed step pattern, instead borrowing from other
dance forms and having a simple forward/backward sequence. 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,
where the music was played as the matador enters (paseo) and during passes just before the kill (faena). The
dance is arrogant and dignified with a duple meter, march-like character, where the dancer takes strong steps
forward with the heels accompanied by artistic hand movements, foot stomping, sharp and quick movements,
with the head and chest held high.
JAZZ
The arrival of the jazz genre did not come overnight. It was an offshoot of the music of African slaves who
migrated to America. As music is considered a therapeutic outlet for human feelings, the Africans used music
to recall their nostalgic past in their home country as well as to voice out their sentiments on their desperate
condition at that time. Since then, these melancholy beginnings have evolved into various more upbeat jazz
forms which the world has adopted and incorporated into other contemporary styles.
RAGTIME
Ragtime is an American popular musical style mainly for piano, originating in the
AfroAmerican communities in St. Louis and New Orleans. Its style was said to be a
modification of the “marching mode” made popular by John Philip Sousa, where the
effect is generated by an internally syncopated melodic line pitted against a
rhythmically straightforward bass line. Its music is 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.
Foremost exponents of ragtime were Jelly Roll Morton who was an American
ragtime and early jazz pianist and composed Frog I More Rag. Scott Joplin, who also composed the popular
Maple Leaf Rag, Solace, and The Entertainer. Joplin is also knows as the “King of Ragtime.” Ragtime also
influenced a number of classical composers, among them Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, and Igor Stravinsky,
who injected ragtime rhythmic elements in their compositions.
BIG BAND
The term ‘Big Band” refers to a large ensemble form originating in the United States in the mid 1920’s
closely associated with the Swing Era with jazz elements. Relying heavily on percussion (drums), wind, rhythm
section (guitar, piano, double bass, vibes), and brass instruments (saxophones), with a lyrical string section
(violins and other string instruments) to accompany a lyrical melody.
A standard big band 17-piece instrumentation consists of the following musical
instruments percussion, brass, and woodwind instrruments: five saxophones (most
often two altos, two tenors, and one baritone), four trumpets, four trombones (often
including one bass trombone), and a four-piece rhythm section (composed of
drums, acoustic bass or electric bass, piano and guitar). Some big bands use
additional instruments. Big band music originated in the United States and is
associated with jazz and the swing.
Among the great big bands were the Glenn Miller Orchestra (A String of Pearls, Moonlight Serenade, In
The Mood, American Patrol, and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes); the Count Basie Orchestra (April in Paris); and
the Benny Goodman Orhcestra (Sing, Sing, Sing); while some solo signers such as Cab Calloway (Minnie the
Moocher) Doris Day (Stardust, I’m in the Mood for Love); Roy Eldridge, and others also collaborated with big
bands.
BEBOP
Bebop or bop is a musical style of modern jazz which is characterized by a fast tempo,
instrumental virtuosity, and improvisation that emerged during World War II. The speed of the
harmony, melody, and rhythm resulted in a heavy performance where the instrumental sound
became more tense and free. Its main exponents were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, alto sax player
Charlie Parker, drummers Max Roach and Roy Haynes, pianists Bud Powell and Thelonius Monk;
guitarist Charlie Christian; tenor sax players Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins, who was also a composer; and
trombonist JJ Johnson.
JAZZ ROCK
Jazz rock is the music of 1960’s and 1970’s bands that inserted jazz elements into rock music. A synonym
for “jazz fusion,” jazz rock is a mix of funk and R&B (“rhythm and blues”) rhythms, where the music used
amplification and electronic effects, complex time signatures, and extended instrumental compositions with
lengthy improvisations in the jazz style. Popular singer/songwriters Joni Mitchell, Tim Buckley, and Van
Morrison were among those who adopted the jazz rock style.
Some popular groups that emerged using the above music styles were the following:
 Grateful Dead  Cream  Blood, Sweat, and Tears  Santana  Traffic  Chicago  Steely Dan  Lighthouse
 Frank Zappa  Soft Machine  Hatfield and the North
POPULAR MUSIC
Popular music literally means “music of the populace,” similar to traditional folk music of the past. As it
developed in the 20th century, pop music (as it has come to be called) generally consisted of music for
entertainment of large numbers of people, whether on radio or in live performances. From the standard songs
and ballads of the legendary Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Frank Sinatra to the rock and roll craze of
Elvis Presley and the Beatles and the present day idols in the alternative music and disco modes, popular
music is now shared by the entire world.
BALLADS
The ballad originated as an expressive folksong in narrative verse with text dealing typically about love.
The word is derived both from the medieval French “chanson balladee” and “ballade” which refers to a dancing
song. Used by poets and composers since the 18th century, it became a slow popular love song in the 19th
century.
Today, the term ballad now refers to a love song in a slightly pop or rock style, with the following
characteristics:
1. Blues Ballads
This is a fusion of Anglo-American and Afro-American styles from the 19th century that deals with the
anti-heroes resisting authority. The form emphasizes the character of the performer more than the narrative
content, and is accompanied by the banjo or guitar.
2. Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads
This is a blues style built from a single verse of 16 bars ending on the dominant or half-cadence, followed
by a refrain/chorus part of 16 or 32 bars in AABA form. The B section acts as the bridge, and the piece
normally ends with a brief coda.
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.” This style is sometimes
applied to strophic story-songs, such as Don McLean’s “American Pie.”
III. GUIDED ACTIVITY:
Activity 1: Making Improvised African and Latin American Instruments Individual
1. Make improvised African or Latin American instruments using dried vegetables, animal hide, wood, strips of
roofing metal, tin cans, bamboo, etc.
2. Create a rhythmic/harmonic accompaniment for any song you know using these improvised African or Latin
American instrument.
3. How did you relate in making improvised African or Latin American musical instruments found in the
environment?
IV. INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:
1. What are the classifications of African music?
2. What are the characteristics of each classification of African music?
3. Describe how African musical instruments are sourced from the environment. Give examples.
4. What are the different musical instruments of Latin American music?
5. What are the different vocal and dance forms of Latin American music?
6. What are the characteristics of each vocal and dance form of Latin American music?
7. What are the different jazz forms?
8. What are the characteristics of each jazz form?
9. Name one of the Big Bands that became popular
V. CLOSURE ACTIVITY:
3-2-1
Write 3 things that you had learned, 2 things that you have a question about, 1 thing you want the instructor to
know.
VI. REFERENCES:
 HORIZONS Grade 10 Learner’s Materials Music and Arts Appreciation for Young Filipinos
Raul M. Sunico, Ph.D. Evelyn F. Cabanban Melissa Y. Moran