​Music from the Caribbean

A diverse group of musical genres originate from the Caribbean. Popular types of Caribbean music include reggae, salsa and calypso.

The Caribbean islands lie in a chain from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south. Central in the chain are the largest islands of Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Most of the Caribbean population are descendants of West African slaves and settlers from Europe, India and China. The music of the Caribbean differs from island to island, but each kind has its origins in a mixture of African and European influences.

African musical influences include:

• syncopations (offbeat accents) and cross-rhythms
• use of percussion
• call and response
• singing styles

European musical influences include:

• tonal (based in a key) harmonies and melodies
• instruments eg guitar

Instruments

There are similarities in the types of instruments used across the Caribbean islands. The most popular instruments are percussion and drums, different types of guitar and homemade instruments.

PERCUSSION

There are many types of drums, including congas (a pair of tall, narrow, single-headed drums played with the hands) and their smaller version bongos.

Percussion instruments include:

• claves - two short pieces of wood
• maracas - hand-held shakers
• cabasa - loops of steel balls wrapped round a cylinder, hand-held
• reco-reco or guiro - scrapers
• tragogo - double-headed bells

These types of instruments are often known as Latin percussion.

GUITARS

The guitar is found in a number of sizes including the:

• guitarrone (a large four-stringed bass guitar)
• tres (a small guitar with three sets of double strings)
• cuatro (a small guitar with four strings)

Salsa

Salsa is a lively style of dance music with African and Spanish influences that originated in Cuba.

It has:

• clave rhythms (usually played by claves), which provide the rhythmic foundation
• melodic and rhythmic syncopation
• several one or two bar patterns each played by a different instrument
• much use of Latin percussion eg bongos, congas, timbales (shallow single-headed drums) and cowbells
• piano often features strongly
• rhythm section with a front line of two to five horns
• simple harmony based on repeated chord patterns, often in the minor key.
• call and response vocals
• simple melodies followed by coro (improvised sections)
• lyrics of love and everyday life

Listen to the opening of the salsa song "Se quema la chumbamba" played by Familia Valera Miranda. Notice the cuatro, the Latin percussion (maracas, bongo and claves) and the clave rhythm.

Calypso

Originally the national dance of Trinidad and Tobago, calypso is particularly associated with carnival. It has:

• 4/4 time with syncopation
• acoustic and bass guitar or band with trumpets, saxophones, electric guitars, drum kit and Latin percussion
• often uses three-beat rhythms with two long beats followed by a short beat
• often uses call and response
• simple harmony
• verse and chorus songs
• topical, witty lyrics - often satirical

Here is a sample Calypso rhythm:

Soca

Soca means 'soul-calypso' and is an energetic, disco-influenced offshoot of salsa.

Soca is characterised by:

• use of horns and Latin percussion with loud fast percussion beats
• very loud bass guitar
• repeated chord sequences
• rhythmic nonsense words
• lyrics about love and partying

Mento

Mento is a form of Jamaican folk music similar to calypso. It was most popular in the 1950s.

Mento is characterised by:

• guitar, banjo and drums
• strophic (verse-repeating) form
• lighthearted lyrics of everyday life
• precursor to ska and reggae

Ska

Ska is a fast dance music that emerged in the late 1950s. Ska music:

• fuses American rhythm 'n' blues (R&B) with mento rhythms
• uses electric guitars and jazzy horn section (trumpets, saxophones and trombones)
• uses characteristic offbeat jumpy rhythms
• has lyrics about local issues

Here is an example of a ska rhythm:

Listen to the offbeat quavers in the ska song "El Pussy Cat" by Roland Alphonso.

Reggae

Reggae is a much slower form of music than ska which emerged in the 1960s. It is characterised by:

• electric guitars and drums line-up
• amplified bass guitar riffs (short repeated patterns)
• an association with Rastafarianism (a religious movement worshipping Haile Selassie)
• characteristic rhythm in 4/4 with missing beat emphasis
• use of repeated offbeat quavers
• use of dub remixing techniques where effects such as delay are added
• simple chord sequences
• verse and chorus form
• political themes in lyrics

Listen to the reggae song Freedom Fighters by Delroy Washington. Notice the repeated bass line, the rim shots and the bass drum playing on beats 2 and 4.

Rocksteady

Rocksteady is a dance music that emerged in the mid-1960s. It is characterised by:

• rhythms more relaxed than ska
• stresses on beats 2 and 4
• loud bass guitar playing steady 4/4 beat
• political themes in lyrics

Listen to the rocksteady song "You Can Get It If You Really Want" played by Desmond Dekker and the Aces. Notice the drum emphasis on beats 2 and 4 and the steady 4/4 beat of the bass guitar.

​Merengue

Merengue was originally the national dance of the Dominican Republic and has African and Spanish influences. It is characterised by:

• traditional instruments - tambora (a type of double-headed drum), guiro, cuatro, accordion
• trumpets and saxophones playing an important part
• a fast 2/4 beat
• catchy melodies and rhythms
• syncopated rhythms played by tambora
• call and response
• simple harmony - much use of tonic and dominant
• mambo - instrumental interludes
• slick choreographed stage presentation
• lyrics of love and everyday life

Listen to the opening of the merengue song "No Me Faltes Nunca" played by Cana Brava. Notice the fast 2/4 beat and the use of the tambora.

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Test your knowledge of MUSIC FROM THE CARIBBEAN

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reggae

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reggae listening questions...audio below

question 1

question 2

question 3

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bob marley - 'three little birds'

Calypso

Origins of Calypso

Percussionist Val Serrant sings a calypso, accompanying himself on a drum. He demonstrates alternating the two tones in rhythmic patterns by using the sticks in the centre of an oil drum and towards the edge of the drum for a contrasting sound. The words of the song give a brief synopsis of the origins of calypso. For use in teaching percussion techniques, studying the origins of calypso and the use of junk materials in music making.

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Salsa

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Salsa Beat Machine

Go to the Salsa Beat Machine website via the button above. Have a play with the music.
Try taking the different instruments out and hearing each individual part.

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Caribbean composition brief