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.

Some Types of African Music

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.

Axe is a popular musical genre from Salvador, Bahia, and Brazil. It fuses the Afro- Caribbean styles of the
marcha, reggae, and calypso.

Jit is a hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean dance music played on drums with guitar accompaniment,
influenced by mbira-based guitar styles.

Jive is a popular form of South African music featuring a lively and uninhibited variation of the jitterbug,
a form of swing dance

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.

Kwassa Kwassa is a dance style begun in Zaire in the late 1980s, popularized by Kanda Bongo Man.

Marabi is a South African three-chord township music of the 1930s-1960s which evolved into African
Jazz.

LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY AFRICAN MUSIC

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 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 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
4 dancesrather than a single dancethat define the Sambaof dancing scene in Brazil. Thus, no one
dance can be claimed with certainty as the original4 Samba style.

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 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 1980s. 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.

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.

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.

The blues is a musical form of the late 19th century that has had deep roots in African- American
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 Billies Blues.

Soul music was a popular music genre of the 1950s and 1960s. 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: Aint No Mountain High Enough, Ben, All I Could Do is Cry, Soul to Soul, and
Becha by Golly, Wow.

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 Jacobs Ladder, Rock My
Soul, When the Saints Go Marching In, and Peace Be Still.

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

Classification of Traditional African Instruments

Idiophones These are percussion instruments that are either struck with a mallet or against one another.
1. Balafon - The balafon is a West African xylophone. It is a pitched percussion instrument with
bars made from logs or bamboo. The xylophone is originally an Asian instrument that follows
the structure of a piano. It came from Madagascar to Africa, then to the Americas and Europe.
2. Rattles - Rattles are made of seashells, tin, basketry, animal hoofs, horn, wood, metal bells,
cocoons, palm kernels, or tortoise shells. These rattling vessels may range from single to several
objects that are either joined or suspended in such a way as they hit each other.
3. Agogo - The agogo is a single bell or multiple bells that had its origins in traditional Yoruba music
and also in the samba baterias (percussion) ensembles. The agogo may be called the oldest
samba instrument based on West African Yoruba single or double bells. It has the highest pitch
of any of the bateria instruments.
4. Atingting Kon - These are slit gongs used to communicate between villages. They were carved
out of wood to resemble ancestors and had a slit opening at the bottom. In certain cases, their
sound could carry for miles through the forest and even across water to neighboring islands. A
series of gong languages were composed of beats and pauses, making it possible to send
highly specific messages.
5. Slit drum - The slit drum is a hollow percussion instrument. Although known as a drum, it is not a
true drum but is an idiophone.
It is usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the
top. Most slit drums have one slit, though two and three slits (cut into the shape of an H)
occur. If the resultant tongues are different in width or thicknesses, the drum will produce two
different pitches.
6. Djembe - The West Africandjembe (pronounced zhem-bay) is one of the best-known African
drums is. It is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body is carved from a
hollowed trunk and is covered in goat skin.
Log drums come in different shapes and sizes as well: tubular drums, bowl-shaped drums, and
friction drums. Some have one head, others have two heads. The bigger the drum, the lower the
tone or pitch. The more tension in the drum head, the higher the tone produced. These drums
are played using hands or sticks or both; and sometimes have rattling metal and jingles attached
to the outside or seeds and beads placed inside the drum. They are sometimes held under the
armpit or with a sling.
7. Shekere - The shekere is a type of gourd and shell megaphonefrom West Africa, consisting of a
dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. Theagbe is another gourd drum
with cowrie shells usually strung with white cotton thread. The axatse is a small
gourd, held by the neck and placed between hand and leg.
8. Rasp - A rasp, or scraper, is a hand percussion instrument whose sound is produced by scraping
the notches on a piece of wood (sometimes elaborately carved) with a stick, creating a series of
rattling effects.

Membranophones are instruments which have vibrating animal membranes used in drums.

1. Body percussion - Africans frequently use their bodies as musical instruments. Aside from their
voices, where many of them are superb singers, the body also serves as a drum as people clap
their hands, slap their thighs, pound their upper arms or chests, or shuffle their feet.
2. Talking drum - The talking drum is used to send messages to announce births, deaths,
marriages, sporting events, dances, initiation, or war. Sometimes it may also contain gossip or
jokes. It is believed that the drums can carry direct messages to the spirits after the death of a
loved one. However, learning to play messages on drums is extremely difficult, resulting in its
waning popularity. An example of the talking drum is the luna.
3. Lamellaphone One of the most popular African percussion instruments is the lamellaphone,
which is a set of plucked tongues or keys mounted on a sound board. It is known by different
names according to the regions such as mbira, karimba, kisaanj, and likembe.
4. Mbira (hand piano or thumb piano) - The thumb piano or finger xylophone is of African origin
and is used throughout the continent. It consists of a wooden board with attached staggered
metal tines (a series of wooden, metal, or rattan tongues), plus an additional resonator to
increase its volume. It is played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the
tines with the thumbs, producing a soft plucked sound.
Chordophones are instruments which produce sounds from the vibration of strings. These
include bows, harps, lutes, zithers, and lyres of various sizes.

1. Musical bow - The musical bow is the ancestor of all string instruments. It is the oldest and
one of the most widely-used string instruments of Africa.
It consists of a single string attached to each end of a curved stick, similar to a bow and arrow.
The string is either plucked or struck with another stick, producing a per-cussive yet delicate
sound. The earth bow, the mouth bow, and the resonator-bow are the principal types of musical
bows.
2. Lute (konting, khalam, and the nkoni ) - The lute, originating from the Arabic states, is shaped
like the modern guitar and played in similar fashion. It has a resonating body, a neck, and
one or more strings which stretch across the length of its body and neck. The player tunes the
strings by tightening or loosening the pegs at the top of the lutes neck.
3. Kora - The kora is Africa's most sophisticated harp, while also having features similar to a lute.
Its body is made from a gourd or calabash. A support for the bridge is set across the opening and
covered with a skin that is held in place with studs. The leather rings around the neck are used
to tighten the 21 strings that give the instrument a range of over three octaves. The kora is held
upright and played with the fingers.
4. Zither - The zither is a stringed instrument with varying sizes and shapes whose strings are
stretched along its body. Among the types of African zither are the raft or Inanga zither from
Burundi, the tubular or Valiha zither from Malagasy, and the harp or Mvet zither from
Cameroon
5. Zeze - The zeze is an African fiddle played with a bow, a small wooden stick, or plucked with
the fingers. It has one or two strings, made of steel or bicycle brake wire. It is from Sub-Saharan
Africa. It is also known by the names tzetze and dzendze, izeze and endingidi; and on
Madagascar is called lokanga (or lokango) voatavo.

Aerophones are instruments which are produced initially by trapped vibrating air columns or
which enclose a body of vibrating air.

1. Flutes - Flutes are widely used throughout Africa and either vertical or side-blown. They are
usually fashioned from a single tube closed at one end and blown like a bottle.
Panpipes consist of cane pipes of different lengths tied in a row or in a bundle held together
by wax or cord, and generally closed at the bottom. They are blown across the top, each
providing a different note.
2. Horns - Horns and trumpets, found almost everywhere in Africa, are commonly made from
elephant tusks and animal horns. With their varied attractive shapes, these instruments are
end-blown or side-blown and range in size from the small signal whistle of the southern
cattle herders to the large ivory horns of the tribal chiefs of the interior. One trumpet
variety, the wooden trumpet, may be simple or artistically carved, sometimes resembling a
crocodiles head.
Kudu horn - This is one type of horn made from the horn of the kudu antelope. It releases a
mellow and warm sound that adds a unique African accent to the music. This instrument,
which comes in a set of six horns, reflects the cross of musical traditions in Africa. Today, the
kudu horn can also be seen in football matches, where fans blow it to cheer for their
favourite teams.
 3. Reed pipes - There are single-reed pipes made from hollow guinea corn or sorghum stems,
where the reed is a flap partially cut from the stem near one end. It is the vibration of this
reed that causes the air within the hollow instrument to vibrate, thus creating the sound.
There are also cone-shaped double-reed instruments similar to the oboe or shawm.
The most well-known is the rhaita or ghaita, an oboe-like double reed instrument from
northwest Africa. It is one of the primary instruments used by traditional music ensembles
from Morocco. The rhaita was even featured in the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, specifically
in the Mordor theme
4. Whistles - Whistles found throughout the continent may be made of wood or other
materials. Short pieces of horn serve as whistles, often with a short tube inserted into the
mouthpiece. Clay can be molded into whistles of many shapes and forms and then baked.
Pottery whistles are sometimes shaped in the form of a head, similar to the Aztec whistles
of Central America and Mexico.
5. Trumpets - African trumpets are made of wood, metal, animal horns, elephant tusks, and
gourds with skins from snakes, zebras, leopards, crocodiles and animal hide as ornaments to
the instrument.
They are mostly ceremonial in nature, often used to announce the arrival or departure of
important guests. In religion and witchcraft, some tribes believe in the magical powers of
trumpets to frighten away evil spirits, cure diseases, and protect warriors and hunters from
harm.

MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA

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.

Popular Latin American Music

Some of these Latin American popular music forms are tango, bossa nova, samba, son, and salsa.
1. The samba is a dance form of African origins around 1838 which evolved into an African-
Brazilian invention in the working class and slum districts of Rio de Janeiro. Its lively rhythm,
consisting of a 2 meter but containing three steps 4 each that create a feeling of a 3 meter
instead, 4 was meant to be executed for singing, dancing, and parading in the carnival. Samba
has a number of variations, so that there is no clear-cut definition of a single samba form. Its
most adventurous kind is known as the batucada, referring at once to a large percussion
ensemble of up to a hundred players, a jam session, or an intensely polyrhythmic style of
drumming.
2. The son is a fusion of the popular music or canciones (songs) of Spain and the African rumba
rhythms of Bantu origin. Originating in Cuba, it is usually played with the tres (guitar),
 contrabass, bongos, maracas, and claves (two wooden sticks that are hit together). Although the
son is seldom heard today, its most important legacy is its influence on present-day Latin
American music, particularly as the forerunner of the salsa.
3. The salsa is a social dance with marked influences from Cuba and Puerto Rico that started in
New York in the mid 1970s. Its style contains elements from the swing dance and hustle as well
as the complex Afro-Cuban and Afro-Carribean dance forms of pachanga and guaguanco.
The execution of the salsa involves shifting the weight by stepping sideways, causing the hips to
move while the upper body remains level. The arms and shoulders are also incorporated with
the upper body position. In each, a moderate tempo is used while the upper and lower bodies
act in seeming disjoint as described above.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF LATIN AMERICA

1. The tlapitzalli is a flute variety from the Aztec culture made of clay with decorations of
abstract designs or images of their deities
2. 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.
3. 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
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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 pieces purpose.
7. 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.
8. 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
9. The pitus are side-blown cane flutes that are played all year round
10. The tarkas are vertical duct flutes with a mouthpiece similar to that of a recorder, used
during the rainy season
11. The quenas are vertical cane flutes with an end-notched made from fragile bamboo. They
are used during the dry season.
12. 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.
13. 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
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 2 meter in
4 Colombia; 2 , 4 , and 6 meters in Panama, and 2 meter in Mexico. Instruments 4482
used are the drums of African origin, such as the tabora (bass drum), claves,
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. 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 a 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. 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.
5. 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
A foremost figure of bossa nova is Antonio Carlos Jobim, who became famous with his song
Desafinado (1957). He collaborated with Vincius de Moraes in the play Orfeu da Conceicao
(1956), musical recording of Cancao do Amor Demais (1958), and the song Garota de
Ipanema or Girl from Ipanema (1962) that turned bossa novas popularity into a worldwide
phenomenon.
In the Philippine pop music scene, Sitti Navarro is a singer who has become known as the
Philippines Queen of Bossa Nova. Some of her bossa nova songs include Para sa Akin, Hey
Look at the Sun, Lost in Space, and Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw.
6. Reggae is an urban popular music and dance style that originated in Jamaica in the mid
1960s. 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. 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. 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.
9. Ragtime is an American popular musical style mainly for piano, originating in the Afro-
American 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.
10. The term Big Band refers to a large ensemble form originating in the United States in the
mid 1920s closely associated with the Swing Era with jazz elements. Relying heavily on
percussion (drums), wind, rhythm section (guitar, piano, double bass, vibes),
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, Im in the
Mood for Love); Roy Eldridge, and others also collaborated with big bands.
11. 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.
12. Jazz rock is the music of 1960s and 1970s 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.
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

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. 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 Joels The Ballad of Billy. This style is
sometimes applied to strophic story-songs, such as Don McLeans American Pie.

In music, the term standard is used to denote the most popular and enduring songs from a particular
genre or style, such as those by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hart. Its style is mostly in a
slow or moderate tempo with a relaxed mood. It also features highly singable melodies within the range
and technical capacity of the everyday listener.
Frank Sinatra (far left) and Nat King Cole (left)
Among the foremost proponents of this style was Frank Sinatra, also known as Ol Blue Eyes,
Chairman of the Board, or The Voice. His genre was categorized as traditional pop
and jazz. He was a successful singer, actor, producer, director, and
conductor. His hit singles include My Way and Strangers in the Night.
Another

Another well-loved standards singer was American balladeer Nat King Cole. Although an accomplished
pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soothing baritone voice, which he used to
perform in big band, vocal jazz, swing. traditional pop, and jump blues genres. He was the first black
American to host his own television show and maintained worldwide popularity over 40 years past his
death. He is widely considered one of the most important musical personalities in United States
history. His hit songs include Unfogettable, Mona Lisa, and Too Young.
Matt Monroe was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers in the
international music scene during the 1960s. Throughout his 30-year career, he filled cabarets,
nightclubs, music halls, and stadia in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong to Africa, the
Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. Among his hit singles included Portrait of My Love, Softly as I
Leave You, the James bond theme From Russia with Love, Born Free, which became his signature song,
and Walk Away.
Other popular singers of standards were Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Sammy Davis Jr., Doris
Day, Patti Page, Barbra Streisand, and Paul Anka.

Rock and roll was a hugely popular song form in the United States during the late 1940s to the 1950s. It
combined Afro-American forms such as the blues, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music with the Western
swing and country music. The lead instruments were the piano and saxophone, but these were
eventually replaced by modern instruments.
In its classic form, rock and roll employed one or two electric guitars (lead, rhythm), a string bass or bass
guitar, and a set of drums that provided the rhythmic pattern. This form came during the age of
technological change when electric guitars were supplemented by amplifiers and microphones to raise
the volume. It derived its name from the mot of a sonhip on the ocean, rock and roll.
The greatest exponent of the rock and roll style was the legendary Elvis Presley. His hit songs such as
Heartbreak Hotel and Blue Suede Shoes were complemented by his good looks and elaborate
movements that included hugging the microphone as he sang
Presleys style was the precursor of the British band known as The
Beatles, whose compositions further boosted rock and roll as the favorite genre of the times. Examples
of The Beatles songs in this genre are I Saw Her Standing There, Get Back, While My Guitar Gently
Weeps, Rock and Roll Music, and Ticket to Ride.

John Lennon (1940-1980) was an English musician, singer, performer, songwriter and co-songwriter. He
was born and raised in Liverpool, England. He rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the rock
band The Beatles, which was considered as the most commercially successful band in the history of
popular music.
Lennon formed as songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney, which is considered as one of the
most celebrated songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. Lennons hit compositions for the
Beatles include Strawberry Fields Forever, Help, In My Life, Tomorrow Never Knows, Rain, Norwegian
Road, I am the Walrus, Come Together, Youve Got to Hide Your Love Away, and Happiness is a Warm
Gun.

Sir James Paul McCartney (1942- ) is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, co-writer, and
composer. Paul gained worldwide popularity and fame as a member of The Beatles, which included John
Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Beatles was one of the most influential groups in the history
of pop music.
The songwriting partnership with Lennon for the Beatles is one of the most celebrated of the 20th
century. McCartney has been recognized as one of the most successful composers and performers of
all time, with 60 gold discs and sales of over 100 million albums and 100 million singles of his work with
the Beatles and as a solo artist. It has been known that more than 2,200 artists have covered his
Beatles song Yesterday, which is more than any other copyrighted song in history.
McCartney was a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Beatles in
1988, and as a solo artist in 1999. He is a 21-time Grammy Award winner
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MUSIC Quarter II
having won both individually and with The Beatles. He has written or co-written 32 songs that have
reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

DISCO
The 1970s saw the rise of another form of pop music known as disco. Disco music pertained to rock
music that was more danceable, thus leading to the establishment of venues for public dancing also
called discos. The term originated from the French word discotheque which means a library for
phonograph records.
The disco style had a soaring and reverberating sound rhythmically controlled by a steady beat (usually4
meter) 4 for ease of dancing, and accompanied by strings, horns, electric
guitars, and electric pianos or synthesizers.

Famous figures of the The Bee Gees disco genre include ABBA, Donna Summer (The Queen of Disco),
The Bee Gees; Earth, Wind, and Fire; KC and the Sunshine Band; The Village People; and Gloria Gaynor,
bringing us such hits as Dancing Queen, Stayin Alive, Boogie Wonderland, and Hot Stuff.

Michael Jackson, The King of Pop One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include Multiple Guinness World Recordsincluding one
for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo
career, and the sale of 750 million records worldwide. Jackson is one of the worlds most famous artists
because of his highly successful career which made him a part of popular culture for nearly four
decades.

Hip hop music is a stylized, highly rhythmic type of music that usually (but not always) includes portions
of rhytmically chanted words called rap. In rapping, the artist speaks

Alternative music was an underground independent form of music that arose in the 1980s. It became
widely popular in the 1990s as a way to defy mainstream rock music. Thus, it was known for its
unconventional practices such as distorted guitar sounds, oppressive lyrics, and defiant attitudes. It was
also characterized by high energy levels that bred new styles such as new wave, punk rock, post-punk,
indie rock, gothic rock, jangle pop, noise pop, C86, Madchester, Industrial Rock, and Shoegazing.
Examples of alternative music are You Belong with Me, Shake It Off.