String instrument | |
---|---|
Classification | chordophone |
Volume | Loud |
Attack | Fast |
Decay | Medium |
Related instruments | |
Harp |
The arpa jarocha is a large wooden harp that is normally played while standing, although early examples from the 16th through the first three or four decades of the 19th centuries were smaller and were played while seated. It has a wooden frame, a resonator, a flat soundboard, 32-36 nylon strings (originally, gut strings), and does not have pedals. This harp is tuned diatonically over five octaves. The top of its soundboard sometimes arches outward due to the tension of the strings. [1] Unlike other Mexican harps, the arpa jarocha has its sound holes located on the back of the sound board instead of on the front.
As previously stated, the arpa jarocha was once commonly played while seated, similarly to its ancestor the Spanish harp from the 16th century. In modern times, since approximately the 1940s, the arpa jarocha has been built in a larger scale, following the general pattern of the Western Mexican harps from Jalisco and Michoacan. One of the first recording artists of the genre, Andres Huesca, actually used a Michoacan harp, due to the better volume for recording. The performer uses one hand to play the bass line on the low strings, and uses the other hand to play arpeggiated melodies on the higher strings. [1] The soundboard has also been known to be used as a percussive device, though this is rare. That practice is common in the Tierra Caliente groups of Michoacan, however. [2]
The arpa is one of the main instruments used in the conjunto jarocho; a type of Mexican folk ensemble. [3] The musical style in which arpa jarocha is also heard is "sones jarochos," which blends Spanish and African-influenced rhythms. [1] Within this genre, the arpa typically provides the main melodies, while instruments such as the jarana guitar and the requinto provide rhythms and counter-melodies.
Both men and women play this instrument, although a greater percentage are men. [4]
The arpa jarocha is from Veracruz, Mexico. one of the various forms of harp that evolved from models introduced by Spain in the 16th century, and traced even back further to the Arabs who had occupied Spain for 700 years. [1]
The indigenous people of Veracruz had never before seen stringed instruments before the Conquest, and quickly adapted their own version which became a pivotal instrument used in many different musical ensembles in Veracruz, but also the rest of Mexico and the Latin Americas.
Some references have stated that the arpa jarocha was used in Jalisco, Michoacán, and among the Chamula Indians; this is incorrect. Each of those regions developed their own adaptation of the baroque Spanish harp. Also, there were regional harps in Zacatecas and in the North with the Yaqui Indians of the northern desert and southwest US. [2]
There are multiple variations of the Arpa, depending on where it comes from. Arpa Llanera, Arpa Aragüeña, Arpa Criolla originating in Venezuela, and Arpa Indígena originating in Peru, Arpa Paraguaya originating in Paraguay. [4]
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting and in orchestras or concerts. Its most common form is triangular in shape and made of wood. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments.
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking regions of the Americas. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved African people who were transported from West and Central Africa to the Americas by European settlers, as well as music from the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Due to its highly syncretic nature, Latin American music encompasses a wide variety of styles, including influential genres such as cumbia, bachata, bossa nova, merengue, rumba, salsa, samba, son, and tango. During the 20th century, many styles were influenced by the music of the United States giving rise to genres such as Latin pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, and reggaeton.
The term conjunto refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as norteño and tejano, Cuban conjuntos specialize in the son, as well as its derivations such as salsa.
The music of Mexico is very diverse and features a wide range of musical genres and performance styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, most notably the culture of the Europeans and Natives. Music was an expression of Mexican nationalism, beginning in the nineteenth century.
The joropo is a musical style resembling the fandango, and an accompanying dance. It originated in Venezuelan territory and is also present in the eastern Colombian plains. It has African, Native South American, and European influences. There are different joropo variants: tuyero, oriental, and llanero. It is a fundamental genre of Venezuelan música criolla. It is also the most popular "folk rhythm": the well-known song "Alma Llanera" is a joropo, considered the unofficial national anthem of Venezuela.
The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are requinto guitars, drums, and several wind instruments.
Bajo sexto is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 12 strings in six double courses. A closely related instrument is the bajo quinto which has 10 strings in five double courses.
The jarana jarocha is a guitar-shaped fretted stringed instrument from the southern region of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Typically strung with 8 strings in 5 courses, usually arranged in two single outer strings with three double-courses in between. The strings are usually nylon, although they were gut in the past. The body is somewhat narrower than a guitar because of its direct lineage from the Spanish baroque guitar of the sixteenth century. Sometimes mistaken for a ukulele, the jarana jarocha comes in at least five sizes, the smallest being the chaquiste, somewhat smaller than a soprano ukulele; then the mosquito, about the size of a soprano ukulele; the 'primera', about the size of a concert ukulele; the 'segunda', in length between a tenor and a baritone ukulele; and the 'tercera', somewhat longer than the baritone ukulele. Some luthiers are building jaranas of a size they label "tercerola" or "jarana cuarta", but there is some discussion as to whether these represent a distinct size or are merely particularly large variations of the standard tercera.
Regional styles of Mexican music vary greatly vary from state to state. Norteño, banda, duranguense, Son mexicano and other Mexican country music genres are often known as regional Mexican music because each state produces different musical sounds and lyrics.
The a'dungu, also called the ekidongo or ennenga, is a stringed musical instrument of the Alur people of northwestern Uganda. It is an arched harp of varying dimensions, ranging from seven to ten strings or more.
Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucking can be done with either a finger or a plectrum.
Son jarocho is a regional folk musical style of Mexican Son from Veracruz, a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico. It evolved over the last two and a half centuries along the coastal portions of southern Tamaulipas state and Veracruz state, hence the term jarocho, a colloquial term for people or things from the port city of Veracruz.
Son huasteco is one of eight Mexican song styles and is a traditional Mexican musical style originating in the six state area of Northeastern Mexico called La Huasteca. It dates back to the end of the 19th century and is influenced by Spanish and indigenous cultures. Usually it is played by a Trio Huasteco composed of a guitarra quinta huapanguera a Jarana huasteca and a violin. Singers will often use the falsetto register. The son huasteco is particularly noteworthy for its flamboyant and virtuoso violin parts, although the style varies from state to state. Footwork often danced to son huasteco is the Zapateado. Improvisation plays a strong role in the style, with musicians creating their own lyrics and arrangements to a standard repertoire. Typical sones huastecos are "Cielito lindo", "La huazanga", "La sirena", "El querreque" and "La cigarra".
The requinto jarocho or guitarra de son is plucked string instrument, played usually with a special pick. It is a four- or five-stringed instrument that has originated from Veracruz, Mexico.
Son jalisciense is a variety of Mexican son music from which modern mariachi music is derived. This son also relied on the same basic instruments, rhythms and melodies as the sones of Veracruz and other locations, using the same string instruments. By the 19th century, Son jalisciense developed to be played with one vihuela, two violins and a guitarrón. The best known song of this type of son is called “La Negra”. Modern mariachi developed when brass instruments such as trumpets were added.
The leona is a guitar-shaped fretted stringed instrument, from the state of Veracruz, Mexico. It has four strings and is a low pitched instrument in the son jarocho string family of instruments. The león or vozarrona, bigger than the former, is the lowest instrument in son jarocho genre.
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Folk dance of Mexico, commonly known as baile folklorico or Mexican ballet folk dance, is a term used to collectively describe traditional Mexican folk dances. Ballet folklórico is not just one type of dance, it encompasses each region's traditional dance that has been influenced by their local folklore and has been entwined with ballet characteristics to be made into a theatrical production. Each dance represents a different region in Mexico illustrated through their different zapateado, footwork, having differing stomps or heel toe points, and choreography that imitates animals from their region such as horses, iguanas, and vultures.
Son mexicano is a style of Mexican folk music and dance that encompasses various regional genres, all of which are called son. The term son literally means "sound" in Spanish, and is also applied to other unrelated genres, most notably son cubano.