Module 5 Flashcards
Maxixe (“mah-sheesh”)
-Popular during the 1070s and eventually appeared as a ballroom dance in the US during the early 1900s, promoted by dance icon Vernon and Irene Castle
~Sometimes referred to as the Brazilian tango
*The dance is a walking two-step that includes a “stutter” step before the second pulse, essentially a “polka” step
-Among the first Brazilian music-dance genres to find an international audience
-Variety of maxixe styles emerged, which can be heard on early recordings in mediums as varied as acoustic guitar solo, string bands, marching bands, and even big-band jazz ensembles during the 1930s
Choro (to cry in Portuguese)
- A small instrumental ensemble comprised of guitar-like instruments and a lead wind instrument, usually a flute or clarinet
- At the turn of the century, choro was popular among street musicians and in Rio’s bohemian cafes
- The lead musician was considered to “cry” or “lament,” hence the name of the genre
- Popular musician Alfredo da Rocha Vinna Filho (Pixinguinha), an early composer and performer
- Style at the time (1890s-1970s) was quite and intimate, with an improvisatory feel that highlighted the lead instrument’s fluid melodic runs
- Saxophones and other jazz instrument were gradually introduced, but vocalists and prominent percussion, common to choro today, were not featured in the early style
- While choro was meant for listening, it utilized a similar rhythmic syncopation found in the maxixe dance (“stutter” step)
Samba (Belly bump)
-Focus on samba enredo (theme samba)
- Spawning from the Rio bairro (neighborhood) known as “Little Africa”
- Features a prominent two-beat pulse as its fundamental rhythm
- A corresponding “shuffle step” dance evolved that today often includes extremely fast hip shaking, most often seen in female performers.
Escolas de samba (samba school)
- Each school has a distinct “theme” expressed through the costumes, dance, and lyrics of original music, known as samba enredo (theme samba), that plays during their carnival procession
- The themes varied from historical to Brazilian Indian mythology
Bateria
-Variety of samba percussion instruments
-Including
~Surdos (bass drum)
~Repinique (high-pitched drum)
~Caixa (snare drum)
~Tamborin (frame drum)
~Pandiero (Tambourine)
~Agogo (double-bell)
~Chocalho (cymbal-rattle)
~Reco-reco (Scraped gourd)
~Cuica (friction drum)
Samba Enredo (Theme samba)
-Utilizes bateria of samba carnavalesca and sung text with harmonic accompaniment
~Latter instruments
~Bombardinos
Latter Instruments
-Usually from the guitar family
~Viola (five single or double course of strings)
~Violao (Portuguese for a common six-stringed guitar)
~Cavaquinho (Small four-string guitar)
~Bandolim (Small high-ranged mandolin with four double course of strings)
Bombardinos
-Infrequent today, brass band instruments are sometimes heard revealing the early influence that marching band music played on the samba street parades
~Cornets
~Tuba
Puxandor
-Lead samba enredo vocalist “tells the story” and the group response can include hundreds of revelers singing in harmony or with a unison melody
Carmen Miranda (“Bombshell of brazil”)
- In her youth she operated a hat shop, that undoubtedly spawned the iconic fruit and flower hats that she donned for her many movies and concert performances
- In her early twenties she achieved a modicum of fame as a radio star in Brazil and by 1930 she earned a recording contract with RCA/Victor Records
- Her and her band Bando da Lua traveled to the US to perform on Broadway, where she met with immediate success
Bossa Nova (“new trend”)
-Whispering vocals, shuttering guitar, and melancholy atmosphere
-You think of Antonio Carlos Jobim as the creator since he wrote some many of these songs
~Vinicius de Moraes
~Joao Giblberto
-Samba Cancao had acquired a softer sound that reflected the interests of a growing middle class
~No longer wanting to be labeled as a “developing nation, many Brazilians sought a new cultural image portraying sophistication, affluence, and romance
-Is the consistent “stutter” of the guita, which subtly interplays with the melodic line and subdue samba rhythm of the acoustic bass
-Overall bassa nova is slower that that of other samba styles
~Percussion instruments are minimized, is present at all, and soft brushes, rather than sticks, are commonly used to play the drum set
-Vocal melodies are usually quite lyrical, moving to different pitches, rather than continually repeating the same pitch in a rhythmic fashion
-If vocalist is not present, a “soft” instrument, such as a flute or saxophone, typically plays the melody
Jazz samab
Introduced bossa nova to American audiences and is one of the best selling jazz albums of all time
Tropicalia
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