Music in the Caribbean

1258 Words3 Pages

Music is “The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre” ( Farlex, Inc 2013). Caribbean music has its own unique history, is very diverse with each island having its own unique genre of music. With so many different types of music out there and different performing artists these artists are looking for ways to make money by becoming popular.
Music in the Caribbean was first developed by the Neo Indians around 1600 the Neo Indians died taken their culture and music. Music then reemerged when the African slaves came to the Caribbean. The type of music the Africans brought was both lively and entertaining. The slaves found a rhythm in everything they did from cutting cane to taking care of the homes of the planter class. They sang to keep their spirits up, because they were taken way from family back in Africa and the harsh working and living conditions affecting them.
Music is a form of communication, letting others knows what is going on in the country, political, social or economic and any other problems the people of the Caribbean faced. With so many different ethnic backgrounds in the Caribbean, they are people with Asians, Indians, and Africans descents. This created a language and culture barrier but each ethnic background shared a common link music. Music bridged the gap between the different ethnicities Music is part of everyone’s culture especially here in the Caribbean. Our culture is recognized worldwide for its music. The Caribbean has different genres of music such as calypso, reggae, dance hall, zouk and many others. Our music has roots in both African and European cultures. The drum rhythm comes from the African in...

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...13).
ISLAND LYRICS. "Rally Round The West Indies Lyrics." March 21, 2011. http://islandlyrics.com/lyrics-david_rudder-rally_round_the_west_indies.htm (accessed November 02, 2013).
Oecs Culture. "Caribbean Culture." 2013. http://www.oecsculture.com/caribbean-culture/ (accessed November 01, 2013).
Ray Allen, Lois Wilcken. "Island Sounds in the Global City: Caribbean Popular Music and Identity in New York." 1-6. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1988.
RexRuff. "The Bob Marley Influence and Legacy." 2013. http://www.bobmarley.com/life_and_legacy_legacy.php (accessed November 02, 2013).
Stanley-Niaah, Sonjah Nadine. "Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto." 1-17. Canada: University of Ottawa Press, 2010.
Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO). "Calypso History." August 05, 2011. http://www.tucott.com/index.php/calypso-history (accessed November 02, 2013).

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