Month: March 2018
Salsa music is sometimes referred to as Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban or Afro-Carribean music. Played in dance clubs or performed in concerts, this is the sound of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela and New York. This is Cuba’s musical legacy that rose from its street culture, which shaped the country’s popular music throughout the past several decades.
Literally meaning “sauce” in the Spanish language, salsa is the type of music requiring the perfect amount of essential ingredients. To its enthusiasts, the spicier, the better.
The music starts with a clave rhythm, which commonly is eight beats long and has a 2-3 or 3-2 pattern. This serves as the heartbeat of this genre. The clave should be learned, applied and felt in order to play or dance this colorful and spicy music. Other ingredients in the salsa music recipe are montuno, tumbao and guaganco, among others. These are ostinattos, or patterns, played by the piano, bass, strings and horns all throughout or in certain parts of the song.
This Cuban original music has landed in different parts of the world years ago. Later on, its powerful tunes influenced its various destinations and vice-versa. This Latin music has evolved as it toured several countries. While it is one of the most famous genres today, it is, at the same time, one of the most specialized, since a certain level of musicality and skills is needed for it to be played, sung or danced. Once it is learned and owned, endless jamming and dancing fill the place with the distinctive energy that characterizes Latin culture.
Dance clubs around the world use salsa music frequently. The ballroom dancing boom worldwide only added to the demand for this Latin beat. Salsa clubs and Latin dance federations have grown in number internationally. Schools and universities in all continents of the world started to have dance and music organizations dedicated to teaching the fundamentals of the genre to the extent of flying in bands and instrumentalists from Cuba and Puerto Rico.
The heat of salsa became unstoppable like wildfire and influenced other genres, even classic jazz. Jazz performers and composers started to utilize Latin music in their pieces, either in a certain part of a song or for a featured solo section. The great Dizzy Gillespie, for example, did this in “A Night in Tunisia,” an ingenious mix of Latin and jazz standard.
Other genres influenced by its contagious rhythm are disco, funk, pop and even one of its roots, African music.
Salsa bands use a smorgasbord of percussion instruments including the clave, guiro, maracas, bongos, timbales, conga drums and many others. Their rhythm section is usually a party of bass, piano, guitar, strings or horns, a chorus and a lead vocalist. In some groups, they use a special type of guitar, either a tres or a quarto, a guitar that has three or four strings only.
The next time you listen to these bands, listen very well and you will hear them infuse other music styles into their salsa tunes. Other genres you may hear within a salsa piece are cha-cha-cha, bolero, guaganco, Cuban son montuno, Puerto Rican bomba and plena, and Dominican merengue.
If you are a fan of salsa or Latin music, you would love favorites like “Che Che Cole” (Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe), “Hechicera” (Oscar D’ Leon), “Congo bongo” (Larry Harlow) and “El rey del mambo” (Tito Puente), among others. If you would like to try listening to this genre for the first time, some recommended tunes for you would be “No Sabes Como Duele” (Marc Anthony), “Campina” (Afro Cuban All Stars), “Juliana” (Coco Valoy) and “Melao de Cana” (Oscar D’Leon).
Copyright 2006 Deborah Torres Patel
All you need to do is visit the kids audio/video section of your local CD shop and you will be bombarded with a multitude of educational enhancement products to buy. You may find Baby Einstein or Brainy Baby and an abundance of similar merchandise to make your child smarter. These types of goods can be a wonderful way to introduce music to your children before the age of three. However, nothing can replace private music lessons for a 3 to 9 year old.
The brain develops at a rapid rate between birth and three and is an essential window for the development of neurons. Therefore, encouraging musical exploration is an easy way to promote intellectual development.
Before the age of three, toy instruments can be an excellent introduction to the real thing and group musical play classes can prepare a child for later study. Singing at any age is highly beneficial and linguistic & musical awareness can begin as early as the fifth month of pregnancy when the fetal brain and ears are wide open to receive stimulus.
From the age of 3 years old, a childs brain circuits are mature enough to begin instrumental and/or vocal lessons. Voice is probably the most important instrument because singing is a tremendous gateway to confident communication and full self-expression.
The piano is usually the best musical instrument to start with because it does not require any specific fingering to play. However, children should choose instruments to play by the sounds they like. Kids will practice more if they like the sound of an instrument.
If your child chooses the piano, inexpensive electronic keyboards are a good way to begin because they are very affordable and portable. Many brands on the market today will display the notes on a digital screen while music is being played. These types of keyboards can greatly assist a child to begin to read musical notes and symbols. They also often have built in rhythm and song functions that make singing and dancing along with the music easy.
Since Howard Gardners Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983 and Gordon Shaw and Francis Rauschers Mozart Effect in 1993, there has be much debate and research into whether or not music study can be linked to better academic performance.
You will find thousands of books, products, articles and websites discussing the advantages of studying music. For your convenience, the top 20 benefits reported for vocal and instrumental music study are listed below.
1. Music training has been linked to spatial-temporal reasoning skills. (I.e. ability to read a map, put puzzles together, form mental images, transform/visualize things in space that unfold over time, and recognize relationships between objects. These skills are often helpful in science, math, and chess.)
2. Musical symbols, structure, and rhythmic training utilize fractions, ratios, and proportions, which are all important in mathematical study.
3. Increases problem finding/solving, logic and thinking skills like analysis, evaluation and the linkage/organization of ideas
4. Optimizes brain neuron development & circuitry
5. Assists motor development especially coordination of hands, eyes and body
6. Expands multiple intelligences and helps students transfer study, cognitive and communication skills from subject to subject in any syllabus
7. Group orchestra or ensemble activities help promote cooperation, social harmony and teach kids discipline while working together toward a common goal.
8. Music augments memory. For example, most people learn their ABCs by singing them. Repeating a tune in a predictable rhythmic song structure makes memorization easier.
9. Singing is a great way to aid/improve reading ability and instruction. Karaoke is a perfect example. Children may learn a song by ear (auditory) but words on a TV or computer screen provide a simultaneous visual anchor.
10. In vocal music learning rhythm, phrasing, and pitch greatly enhances language, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary skills. This is especially noticeable when using songs in first and second language study.
11. Improves critical reading and writing
12. Raises test scores, decreases performance anxiety, and teaches kids how to handle/manage stress during standardized exams
13. Helps children channel unexpressed and/or negative emotions in a positive way
14. Boosts creative thinking
15. Reading music and performing memorized pieces help children to think ahead
16. Improvisation helps people to think on their feet
17. Solo performance is connected to self-esteem & self-efficacy. (concept of self capacity) Children learn to reach for their very best.
18. When kids prepare and consistently practice for recital or performance, they work to sing/play without errors. They generally apply similar determination and perseverance to many future endeavors academic or otherwise.
19. Improves understanding of homework and enables a higher levels of concentration
20. Children who study music usually have a better attitude, are more motivated and are less intimidated by learning new things
Strong music reading, writing notation, sight singing (solfege), music theory, literacy, and moving the body to music are solid, transferable skills. Learning is a two-way street. For example, one can assume that mathematics can also develop music. Academic achievement links positively with musical achievement and vice versa.
As early as the 19th century, the visionary Dr. Maria Montessori included music and arts into her worldwide school curriculums to greatly enhance and accelerate learning.
Lorna Heyge, Ph.D., says: “While educational leaders turn to early childhood music because it promotes brain development, they will stay with music because of the joy and stimulation experienced in actual music making. Music learning requires total involvement-that is why it appeals so much to young children”
Bolivian music is known by its diversity and varieties of dances. In fact, Bolivian music is created especially for dancing not just for listening. The best option to hear traditional Bolivian music is a cultural festival that hosts during the year. The most popular Bolivian types of music:
Saya:
Bolivian Yungas region is home to saya music. Drum as well as the flute is the main instrument. The traditional dance is known as Negritos. Kaoma is known asd the most popular singer who played saya music. His amazing lambada became widely popular over the world since 1980s.
Caporal:
The meaning is ranch manager in Spanish, caporal is probably one of the most famous types of traditional music. This type of music has many common things with saya, but the main difference is the meaning of dance as well as the costumes.
Morenada:
This type of music was originated in La Paz that includes rattles and of course drums. In Spanish, Morenada means dark, but the playing may definitely touch your heart.
Diablada:
Carnival de Oruro is not complete without diablada music and dance. Actually, diablada has the meaning devil. For those who want to be experienced with diablada music, Carnival de Oruro must be visited.
Incas:
It is more likely as a theatre type of music that was originated in La Paz. Incas music expresses the history of conquistadors since Renaissance period.
Tinku:
It is known as one of the most recognized Bolivian type of music in the world.
This amazing music was originated in Northern Potos that is usually played with the charango and accompanied by chanting as well. Besides, the music is known as a ceremonial war rhythm since Bolivian fights.
Cueca:
This type of music is not only popular in Bolivia, but also can be found in Mexico, Argentina and Chile as well. Cueca music is usually performed with guitars or charangos. The dance Cueca is performed by woman and man while they are twirling a handkerchief overhead. While you are in Bolivia, Cueca must be danced.
Huayo:
It is a common music for Bolivia as well as Peru. Huayo is known as an is an Inca type of music that is very popular in country. Like cueca music, this type is also played with the charango. On the other hand, today it can be performed with saxophone, trumplet or the accordion. Also, it is known as one of the indigenous dances came to us from Colonial times and still is a favorite Bolivian dance.
Potolos:
This type of Bolivian music is worth your attention, as it is usually performed with wind instrument. When Bolivian people hear potolos music, the smile comes to their face, as it is really funny and pleasant music, came from Chuquisaca.