The history of the genre, its development and culture
Calypso music is a style of Afro-Caribbean music and its roots dates back to the West African slaves brought to Barbados in 1627. Calypso’s roots also dates back to Trinidad, where enslaved Africans merged their musical traditions with Amerindian rhythms and Spanish instruments.
People often associate Calypso music with the Carnival culture due to its lyrical content that speaks about freedom and emancipation from oppression.
calypso musician
Roughly 600 years ago, Spanish and French colonized the Caribbean islands. At this time, European type music was the most played, which now became folk music that people still listening to, in many areas of the world.
There was a large migration of African slaves to these colonies, and they influenced the music that people used to play. People believe that Africans brought with them a form of folkloric singing called “Calypso” from their home land.
Calypso is a fusion of African and European folk musics, and is one of the most identifiable types of Caribbean music. It was originally used as a satiric genre during carnival time to critique society. It has been around for over 100 years and everyone can listent to it at festivals all around the world.
Notable calypso musicians: Some famous musicians who make up this genre
Some of the most notable calypso musicians include Lord Invader, Harry Belafonte, Growling Tiger, Mighty Shadow, Mighty sparrow, Clive Bradley and the Mighty Terror.
Calypso music structure
The sophisticated melodies of calypso music are based on a pentatonic scale, which is an ancient musical scale of five notes. This means that the interval between each note is limited to either a whole step or a half step. The melody is typically in the middle of the pentatonic scale root note, with occasional variation toward any of its notes.
A look at some of the instruments used in calypso
Calypso instruments are typically made from locally-available materials. They typically include drums, a maraca or shaker, a triangle, and a bamboo or metal horn and Latin Percussion. The drums are typically the most common calypso instrument due to their relatively low cost. Drums may be handmade from found objects such as tin cans, metal trays, and discarded oil drums. Alternatively, people can purchase it at the market for just a few dollars.
The spread of calypso in Panama
Calypso has been a part of Panama’s culture for many years. In the decades since the influential music genre of calypso, Panama intruduced this type of music in the 1930s. Since then, they developed a variation of soca called “calypso panameno”. With a focus on protest and social commentary, artists like Lord Cobra have ushered in a new era for this uniquely panamanian art form.
The evolution of calypso: Soca Music
Soca, is on the rise and remains true to its African roots. Soca originated in Trinidad and Tobago as an offshoot of calypso and elementes from the carnival festivals of the French Antilles influenced its sound. In recent years, as Caribbean culture continues to evolve, soca has become popular across many other islands in the region.
Calypso has always been a strong part of the island’s culture. Now it needs to adapt to take on new challenges. Many people who have grown up listening to the old classics are now trying to find their own creative voice. However, today’s generation is more about adapting. Younger singers are following trends from other genres, like rap music and reggae.
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