Music &Culture

Where are we?

- Trinidad is located in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela

- It shares land with its neighbor Tobago- These two countries are often called twins because of there simular cultures

and geographical friendship

Back

gro

und • Music is heavily dominated by

many secular and religious holidays

• The music has roots in many mixed desendent cultures on the island including, African, Indian, French, Spanish and British.

• One of the greatest celebrations of music is the world-renowned Carnival, a music festival preceding the season of Lent that’s filled with Parades, Music Competitions and Roadside tents.

• This country is known for it’s drumming and steel drum band competitions

Three main genres of music:

-Calypso-Soca

-Rapso

CALYPSO

-

-Over 100 years old-Largest musical genre in Trinidad throughout it’s history-A classic African derived style-Has a strong international presence-Found it’s roots in the Carnival celebration in the 19th Century, however the crowds gathered at Calypso Carnival tents are usually older musicians and fans-Many singers and composers came out of this genre including; Harry Belafonte, Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kitchener -Performances can last up to 4 hours!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5yXCDw427w&feature=related Engaged Listening:

While listening to this Calypso piece, pretend you are on a Caribbean Island and move your body to the music!

Soca

- Developed from Calypso- Has a very rhythmic Latin beat

and is associated with strong rhythmic dancing and drumming

- Draws young crowds and is often heard in Carnival celebrations

- Leading artists include; Machel Montano, Destra Garcia and

Shurwayne Winchester- Popular pieces have become

international such as the famous; “Who Let the Dogs Out”, and

“Feelin Hot Hot Hot”

Soca! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RToPIHZKdM&feature=related “Who let the dogs out”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uaPs8sxqB0 “Feelin Hot, Hot, Hot”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYITD8TMvcM

Activity: Active Listening “Who

Let the Dogs Out” and

“Feelin Hot, Hot, hot”

Rapso

-Developed from mixing rap beats with those of Calypso and Soca

-Has developed into its own form with its own artists and has taken on a culture of its own.--Includes a blend of street poetry from both

Trinidad and Tobago-This genre of music devopled as a way of

picketing during political unrest in the 1970’s during the Black Power Movement and pro- African

Sentiment-Rapso artists include; Cheryl Byron, and Lancelot

Layne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrVrvVk4MZU

Active Listening: Reflect on how this example is different from other examples of Trinidad music we have heard.

Steel Pan!:-One of Trinidad’s greatest achievements was the invention of the steel pan of steel drum (names

are used somewhat interchangeably)! -Steel bands of over 150 members gather to compete in Panorama, a competition at the

annual Carnival Festival. -Steel pans are individually pitched to cover different parts, soprano, alto, tenor, or bass.

-Steel drum music is extremely versatile and can play anything from Calypso to Classical music-Steel drumming had developed over decades

originally started using dented oil drums-Since its start, the steel drum has been an important asset to almost all the music in

Trinidad

Engages and Active Listening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQfoSll9rTg

http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=962&c=134#multimediaBoxInternalLink

http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=1094&c=134

Traditional Songs of Trinidad

Marianne

Dodo Petit Popo: Lullaby

Traditional music often gets overlooked when learning

about Trinidad Culture, however there are quite a

few children’s songs sung at celebrations, in schools, or at

bedtime!

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/trinidad___tobago_865

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/calypso_701/en_US

http://caribplanet.homestead.com/101_Rapso.html

http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/studies/pdf/study_r_henry.pdf

http://tonyguppy.com/steelpan.htm

http://www.mamalisa.com/?p=953&t=ec&c=134

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYITD8TMvcM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uaPs8sxqB0

Works Cited