Afro Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music

Afro Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music Research Paper
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Despite garnering an insignificant level of scholarly attention, the Afro Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music comprises one of the richest musical heritages of the Americas. Most scholars are inclined to evaluate the drumming, biography, religion, and general ethnography aspects of the Afro Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music. It is increasingly challenging to find scholarly articles addressing this genre holistically. The Afro-Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music's melodic practices constitute a diverse and internally consistent style system in many avenues. Instead of simply reciting ditties and tones borrowed from Western music, melodies in this genre are generally distinctive in style, with bold contours, dramatic leaps, coherent modal attributes, and appealing and expressive characteristics. This paper discusses the specifics of the Afro Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music in terms of scales, harmonies, rhythms, instruments, and techniques. It also compares Chinese traditional music and offers musical examples of this music genre.
Characteristics of the Afro-Caribbean Rumba Cubana
In terms of instruments, Afro-Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music is known to use percussion instruments, the Spanish guitar, as well as drums. The percussion instruments and drums offer the foundation of the music, whereas the Spanish guitar contributes harmony and melody. These instruments are employed to generate a rich and varied sound that is unique to Rumba Cubana. Rhumbas, including the Afro-Caribbean Rumba Cubana music, use hexatonic and heptatonic scales. For example, the g yambu forms employ heptatonic scales anchored on the primary types, while the Colombian demonstrates outstanding preference for h organization. The hierarchy is well-delineated amongst the scales' notes in both hexatonic and heptatonic contexts (Clement, 2023). This is also the case for Rumba Cubana.
One of the most distinctive elements of Rumba Cubana is its rhythm. This music genre is characterized by a fast-paced, syncopated beat, which emanates from a combination of the Spanish guitar, percussion instruments, and drums. The Afro-Caribbean Rumba Cubana Music's intricate and complex rhythm is tailored to create an energetic and lively sound that encourages dancing. In addition to the attributes mentioned above, Rumba Cubana is prominent for its vibrant and gleeful dance moves. These dances are typically performed by a couple and entail fluid and fast movements and close physical proximity between the partners. This dance is tailored to mirror the emotions and rhythms of the music (Clement, 2023). Another vital element that is worth mentioning is the lead singer tasked with improvising the melody and lyrics of the songs. An example of a film composer from Cuba is Fabian Almazan. He is a 39-year pianist, composer, and film score composer based in Havana, Cuba. Some of the musical examples of Rhumba...