2nd Quarter Music: AFRO-LATIN AMERICAN AND POPULAR MUSIC

Music of Africa
− Singing, dancing, hand clapping and the beating of drums are essential to many African ceremonies.
− African music has been a collective result from the cultural and musical diversity of the more than 50 countries
of the continent.
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
1. Afrobeat – term used to describe the fusion of West African with black American music.
2. Apala (Akpala) – a musical genre from Nigeria in the Yoruba tribal style to wake up the worshippers after fasting
during the Muslim holy feast of Ramadan.
3. Jit – hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean dance music played on drums with guitar accompaniment, influenced
by mbira-based guitar styles.
4. Jive – a popular form of South African music featuring a lively and uninhibited variation of the jitterbug.

JAZZ
➢ An offshoot of the music of African slaves who migrated to America, where it is considered a therapeutic outlet for
human feelings.
➢ 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.
• Ragtime • Big Band • Bebop/Bop • Jazz Rock

Some Latin-American Music Influenced by African Music

1. Reggae – a Jamaican sound dominated by bass guitar and drum.
2. Salsa – uses Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Colombian dance music and comprises various musical genres.
3. Samba – the basic underlying rhythm that typifies most Brazilian music.

Vocal Forms of African Music

1. Maracatu – a form of Latin-American music that first surfaced in the African state of Pernambuco, combining the
strong rhythms of African percussion instruments with Portuguese melodies.
2. Blues – a musical form of the late 19th century that has had deep roots in African-American communities.
− The notes of the blues create an expressive and soulful sound and can communicate various emotions more
effectively than other musical forms.
Notable performers:
✓ Ray Charles ✓ James Brown ✓ Eric Clapton
3. Soul – originated in United States and was a popular music genre of the 1950’s and 1960’s which combines
elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz.
− Also includes “call and response” between the soloist and the chorus.
Notable performers:
✓ James Brown (Godfather of Soul) ✓ Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson (Soul Forefathers)
4. Spiritual – a song form by African migrants to America who were enslaved by its white communities.
− It became their outlet to vent their loneliness and anger.
− The texts are mainly religious, sometimes taken from psalms of Biblical passages, while the music utilizes
deep bass voices, Negro accents, and dramatic dynamic changes add to the musical interest and
effectiveness of the performance.
Examples of Spiritual Music:
• We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder • When the Saints Go Marching In, and Peace Be Still
5. Call and Response Method – 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:
• Mannish Boy – Muddy Waters • School Day - Ring, Ring Goes the Bell – Chuck Berry

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.
✓ Modern Africans make use of recycled waste materials such as strips of roofing metal, empty oil drums, and tin
cans.

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MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA
➢ Sometimes called as Latin Music, is the product of three major influences – Indigenous, Spanish-Portuguese, and
African.
➢ Includes the countries that have had a colonial history from Spain and Portugal, divided into the following areas:
a. Andean region c. Carribean
b. Central America d. Brazil

Influences on Latin-American Music

1. Indigenous Latin-American Music – largely functional in nature, being used for religious worship and ceremonies.
2. Native American/Indian Music – Many dance forms were repetitious, while songs had a wide range of volume
levels.
3. Afro-Latin American Music – African influence on Latin American music is most pronounced in its rich and varied
rhythmic patterns produced by the drums and various percussion instruments.
4. Euro-Latin American Music – different regions of Latin America adopted various characteristics from their
European colonizers.
5. Mixed American Music – diversity of races and cultures from the Native Americans, Afro-Latin Americans, and
Euro-Latin Americans account for the rich combinations of musical elements
6. Popular Latin American Music – influenced by European folk music, African traditional music, and native sources.
− Its danceable rhythms, passionate melodies, and exotic harmonies continue to enthrall music and dance
enthusiasts worldwide even as the forms themselves undergo constant modifications.

Vocal and Dance Forms of Latin-American Music

1. Tango – a Latin-American dance form whose name may have been of African origin meaning “African Dance” or
from the Spanish word “taner” meaning to play (an instrument).
− Remains a 20th century nationalistic Argentinian piece of music that is most expressive.
2. Cha Cha – a ballroom dance the originated in Cuba in 1953, derived from the mambo and considered more
sensual that may contain polyrhythmic patterns.
− It contains jazz elements that became a model for the cha cha, mambo, and other Latin American dances.
3. Paso Doble (double step) – 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).
− Arrogant and dignified with a duple meter and march-like character.

POPULAR MUSIC
➢ Literally means “music of the populace,” similar to traditional folk music of the past.
➢ As it developed in the 20th century, it generally consisted of music for entertainment of large numbers of people,
whether on radio or in live performances.
✓ Michael Joseph Jackson – most popular solo performer of all time, and popularized a number of physically
complicated dance techniques, such as the “robot” and the “moonwalk.”

1. Ballads – derived both from the medieval French “chanson balladee” and “ballade” which refers to a dancing song.
− Originated as an expressive folksong in narrative verse with text dealing typically about love.
− refers to a love song in a slightly pop or rock style, with the following characteristics:
a. Blues Ballads
b. Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads
c. Pop and Rock Ballads

2. Rock and Roll – a combination of Afro-American forms that was hugely popular in the US.
✓ Elvis Presley ✓ The Beatles

3. Disco – pertained to rock music that was more danceable, thus leading to the establishment of venues for public
dancing.
✓ ABBA (Dancing Queen) ✓ Bee Gees (Stayin’ Alive)

4. Hip Hop and Rap – a stylized, highly rhythmic type of music that usually (but not always) includes portions of
rhythmically chanted words called “rap.”
✓ LL Cool J ✓ Eminem ✓ Kanye West

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PHILIPPINE POPULAR MUSIC
Contemporary Philippine music is the type commonly termed as Original Pinoy Music or Original Philippine
Music, or OPM for short.
1960s to 1970s Popular Singers:
✓ Nora Aunor ✓ Pilita Corrales ✓ APO Hiking Society

1970s to 1980s Popular Singers:

✓ Ryan Cayabyab ✓ Rey Valera ✓ Freddie Aguilar

1. Original Pilipino Music (OPM)

➢ Originally refer only to Philippine pop songs, particularly ballads, such as those popular after the collapse of
its predecessor, the Manila Sound, in the late 1970s up until the present.
➢ However, other ethno-linguistic groups such as the Visayan, Bikol, Kapampangan, and Ilocano also began to
sing and record their songs in their native dialects.
➢ 1980s to 1990s are also regarded as the golden era of Philippine ballads.
More recently OPM Stars:
✓ Yeng Constantino ✓ Sarah Geronimo ✓ Arnel Pineda

2. Philippine Pop Music

➢ It started as an adaptation or translation, if not complete imitation, of Western hits.
➢ The start of the “Manila Sound” in the mid-1970s gave rise to songs using a colloquial language called Taglish,
a combination of Tagalog and English.
✓ Bobby Gonzales (Hahabol-habol) ✓ Apo Hiking Society

3. Philippine Alternative Folk Music

➢ Combined ethnic instrumentation with electronic accompaniment, while presenting themes or issues of
society and the environment.
✓ Freddie Aguilar (Anak) ✓ Florante (Ako’y Isang Pinoy)

4. Philippine Rock
➢ Philippine or Pinoy rock music was born at 1973 which successfully merged the rock beat with Filipino lyrics.
➢ Introduced by the legendary Juan de la Cruz Band which had for its members Joey “Pepe” Smith, Wally
Gonzales, and the originator of Jeproks, Mike Hanopol, who later became a major symbol of Pinoy rock.
Early exponents of Pinoy Rock:
✓ Sampaguita – female rocker ✓ Banyuhay band – expressed strong
✓ Heber Bartolome – folk-rock singer messages of nationalism in music

Continuing the legacy of Pinoy Rock:

✓ River Maya ✓ Bamboo ✓ Parokya ni Edgar

5. Pinoy Rap
➢ Popularized by such composers and performers like Francis Magalona and Andrew E.
✓ Francis Magalona – known as Francis M, “Master Rapper,” and “The Man from Manila.” Often hailed as
the “King of Pinoy Rap.”
− Later awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit “for his musical and artistic brilliance, his
deep faith in the Filipino, and his sense of national pride that continue to inspire us.”

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