Music of Caribbean
MUSI 3721Y
University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus
John Anderson
Key Concepts
Shared Colonial Experiences
• Filtered through local circumstances, negotiated in
particular contexts, entered into at different historical
moments, interpreted in diverse ways
Key Concepts
Creolization
• The process of mixing
African and European
peoples, cultures, and
languages, via colonialism,
creating the Creole
cultures of the Caribbean
Syncretism and Hybrid
• The process of mixing
cultural elements and
creating a new, and
resultant, product (the
hybrid)
Key Concepts
Musical Reception
• Under colonialism, local
Caribbean music was for the
slave and underprivileged
class, scorned by the ruling
class
• Today, the music is received
openly in a global market,
especially reggae
Key Concepts
Identity
• Creole, hybrid forms that
emerged under colonialism are
today symbols of national
identity
Tourism
• Caribbean music has become
globalized. Caribbean
immigrants bring their music
where they go, while tourists to
the Caribbean purchase the
cultural products and
disseminate them
Key Concepts
Class and Cultural Politics
• During the colonial era,
the government and its
elites feared and banned
musical forms that roused
the masses
• In the 20th century,
singers, especially calypso
singers in Trinidad and
reggae singers in Jamaica,
use their vocal genres to
criticize government
policies and politicians
Musical Syncretism, Creole Music
• Let’s listen to different
examples of
Caribbean music
• Write two lists
• African instruments
and concepts
• European instruments
and concepts
Musical Syncretism, Creole Music
• The syncretism has taken
a whole new Creole sound,
but the instruments and
elements can be
recognized as either
African or European
“Times Table,” by Ophie and the Websites
• Characteristic of rake-nscrape
• The accordion begins and
is immediately
accompanied by strong
foot stomping
• Marks the basic pulse
throughout
• The saw and goat-skin
drum enter and accent the
off beats
• The “and” of each beat (one
AND two AND, three
AND…
“Times Table,” by Ophie and the Websites
• The saw player bends and
releases the saw
• This creates different
timbral effects
• Gives the impression of
changing the pitch
“No, Doctor No,” by The Mighty Sparrow
• The ensemble includes a
horn line, upright bass,
guitar, and percussion
• Reflects the modern
calypso sound
• Sparrow’s lyrics politics
in 1957
• Critical of the government’s
failure to come through on
campaign promises
“No, Doctor No,” by The Mighty Sparrow
• Verse-chorus structure
• Call-and-response during the
chorus
• Music secondary to the lyrics
• Aggressive tone of lyrical
content
• Typical characteristics of
calypso
Punta
• A song genre that
symbolically reenacts the
cock-and-hen mating
dance
• Usually composed by
women
• Performed during
festivals, at wakes, and at
celebrations that follow
dugu ceremonies
• religious ceremonies during
which a family appeals to
the ancestors for help in
solving a given problem
Punta
• Punta usually involves
call and response singing,
drums, rattles, and
sometimes conch shell
trumpets
• The drums used in punta
are called the primero and
the segunda
• Punta Rock is a popular
music style developed by
the Garifuna peoples from
punta
Discussion Questions
• With which globalized forms of Caribbean music
are you most familiar, and how have you had
access to them?
• Can we think of any other music and cultural
syncretisms than those found in the Caribbean?
• Where are they? What were their influencing
cultures?
Discussion Questions
• Do we regard any form of music as a symbol of
our national identity as Caribbean nationals do?
• What is your music?
• What forms of political protest music exist in
cultures outside of the Caribbean
• Consider Canada, the United States, China, Africa, and
Latin America for starters