Author: musicalitywrld

Adam’s worldwide travels continue virtually as Communications Manager here at Musical U. He runs our social media, promoting our new articles each week on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Adam reaches out to other music educators and amazing musicians, bringing us fascinating guest posts and interviews.

Music was always a part of our household. My father is an incredibly talented singer, saxophonist, guitarist and pianist, and made sure that I and my siblings had an appreciation for music at a very young age. Some of my earliest memories are dancing in the front room of our home as my dad played his guitar.

After first picking up the guitar, I joined the school band as a trumpet player. Throughout high school, I was very involved in music, playing in the jazz band, marching band, and concert ensemble for all four years.

When I finally graduated, I had this dream of moving to California to “make it big” with my heavy metal band.

Thankfully, we discovered some serious complications with our interpersonal relationships before making that big move! So, after a year of going to community college and working as a carpenter, I decided to make the big move and apply to Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio.

Looking back, I had no business going to that school! (How did I make the audition!?) All of my classmates had been studying privately for many years, while I was, at best, an amateur. So… it was a very steep learning curve and I had to work very hard to compete, let alone graduate!

Finally, by my senior year, I had built myself up enough to make it into our elite Symphonic Band (albeit, as the last chair trumpet player). Some of my colleagues had spent all four years in that ensemble, but shared in celebrating the progress that I had made over my time in the trumpet studio. I am still immensely proud of that accomplishment as it represented thousands of hours of hard work.

After graduation, my next step was to serve my country through music… but more on that a little later.

Today, I find great joy in teaching my children to love and appreciate music. They are finally getting old enough to start playing the piano, and I look forward to when their hands are strong enough to be able to make a proper power chord so I can teach them about heavy metal music!

My first instrument was the guitar. Looking back, I can honestly say that I wanted to be exactly like my father. My parents caught on after I snuck into Dad’s guitar case and dropped all his picks into the sound hole as I played.

There was nothing but support for my music career in our house. To this day, I can’t believe they allowed it. My parents even accompanied me to my first ever gig at a bar – when I was only 14 years old! I couldn’t drive to the gig, but they stayed until our set was over at 2 AM just to make sure that I got into the music scene back at home.

As I got a little older, music became an outlet for me. I was never the “popular” kid in our small community, but when I put on a guitar and began to sing, I was in my own world. Writing music became an obsession, and I carried a small notebook to write lyric ideas to the many riffs I recorded on a small cassette recorder at home.

Writing and performing helped me develop a very independent identity that helped set me apart from my peers. Independence and self-reliance have been great traits as I have gotten older and moved on to other careers.

I love the energy of the electric guitar. A power chord pumped through a high-gain amplifier is one of the world’s most amazing sounds!

While I have been classically trained, there is something about heavy metal music that has always appealed to me! Heavy metal covers all ranges of human emotion, and the lyrical content explores some of the darkest feelings in the human experience.

On top of it all, the fans of that genre are just incredible… waiting hours to hear a band play and voraciously consuming all the music that we would produce.

It was a sobering moment to hear hundreds of fans singing the lyrics to a song I wrote – and even louder than the PA system.

As I grew musically, I only appreciated heavy music even more. Once my ear had fully developed, it became apparent to me this music shared many of the same characteristics that I had studied through the likes of Mahler, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky.

I may have written a heavy metal tune based on the Tristan chord at one point… Ok… I stole that idea from Wagner. But, many musicians have said that all great artists steal ideas. So, I feel validated in that.

Of course, the fact that I met my wife while playing a metal gig certainly helps as well!

After graduating college with a music education degree, I decided that I would put off teaching for a couple of years and enlisted in the Army. There were many reasons for this, but I did feel a sense of duty to serve as so many people I knew from home had done service during the time period after 9/11. And I felt that the best way I could do that was to join the Army Band.

My first job after Basic Training was as the Division Bugler for the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In case you were wondering, Airborne means we jump from airplanes. So, I am an Airborne Trumpet Player with over 50 jumps from military aircraft under my belt!

At this time, the surge in Iraq was in full effect and our Division had over 15,000 paratroopers serving in the war zone.

It was my job to perform “Taps” at military funerals all around the United States to honor our fallen warriors. Quite a sobering duty, but it gave me incredible perspective on life and I am proud to have been able to honor the fallen through music. One of the coolest moments of this time was getting to perform at a NASCAR race for Memorial Day 2007. 200,000 people in person and another 5 million watching on television. I still get tingles watching this video:

In 2009, I was finally called overseas and served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. Our job was to bring a little bit of home to our service members and help take their mind off the war, if only for a little bit. In Afghanistan, I discovered my love of country music. We formed a small country band and would fly in Blackhawk Helicopters to some of the most remote regions of the country to perform.

When we weren’t playing music, we had a training mission, teaching the Afghanistan National Army Band how to perform military music. While western melodies and harmony were difficult for the Afghan musicians, I was truly amazed to hear them play their native instruments. Even after a decade of Taliban brutality, their music survived in the people’s hearts and was passed down through rote teaching.

And, in case you were wondering, nearly all Afghan music is in Phrygian mode.

After five years of service, I left the Army Band, but continue to look fondly upon those days as I moved on into other adventures!

Enjoy the art of music in your life. Most of us will never make a living at music, but having music as a part of your life enhances it in ways that few other things can. Love music for what it does for you, and expect to be challenged.

You may have dreams of becoming the next superstar. Go for it!! But know that you have never “failed” as long as you love your art and stay true to yourself.

I am at a point in my life where I don’t get much time to practice music, let alone perform. But, I am still a musician. While some people are able to say that they “used” to play football or baseball, you never cease being a musician. The art stays with you and will be there again whenever you want to pick it back up!

I am very happy to be the communications manager here at Musical U. As communications manager, I handle our social media pages and relationships between other music educators throughout the digital ecosphere.

The primary thing that I do is post all of the content that is published to our Facebook Page, Twitter profile, and YouTube Channel. So, anytime that you see our articles posted to social media, that is my work. I also reply to any comments and direct messages that we receive on these platforms. It is always great to talk directly with our amazing audience!

My other job is to do outreach to other great musicians that have online programs similar to ours. We believe in being collaborative and working with our fellow musicians, rather than treating everyone else as a competitor. I know that this sense of community has helped us develop strong relationships with others in the industry and hope that our members feel this same sense of community.

I love the mission of Musical U. Music has been such a blessing in my life, and I wouldn’t be the person that I am had I not picked up that guitar so many years ago. Helping spread the passion of playing music to people all over the world is a very rewarding job that I am grateful to have. I like to think that we are not just helping people learn music, but helping them achieve a fuller, more complete life!

Music means that much to all of us on this team, and I hope that we are able to portray this passion to all of you who come to us to learn more about musicality.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my wonderful colleagues here at Musical U. This team is such a pleasure to work with and I couldn’t be happier here. It doesn’t feel like a job most days and I look forward to every time we get to meet!

 

The post Meet the Team: Adam Liette appeared first on Musical U.

Last time we talked with Gregg, he shared new paradigms for learning, competence, and talent. This time we asked him about how to actually acquire talent, the smart way to practice, the neuroscience behind repetition in learning music, and the secret to effective music learning.

This is a very complex answer. So, let me explain it like this: developing high-efficiency skill development or learning is like developing instrumental skills. It takes a lot of time, repetition, and mistakes, and you usually need to get coaching to do it well. A few figure out how this process works, and can coach themselves. However, even the “independent” learners may have someone walking them through this learning process; someone to teach them to teach themselves.

These students make radically better progress than their peers week-to-week. It is this very few we call “talented”. By putting these things to work early on, we can begin to develop and refine skill development the same way one develops instrumental skill, and we participate in “acquiring talent”. It’s pretty cool.

Beyond the basic ability to operate the instrument, there are many psychological factors that get in the way of learning, and you have to understand this to coach yourself, or a student, through it. If you’re curious about it, the free material on my website can give you plenty of information on the subject.

Since we are talking about music, let’s use the repetition process as an example. We know we need to repeat small bits of music to be able to play a piece fully.

Here is a diagram I use to explain how the repetition process should work:

This should occur for every repetition. How often your practice time looks like this is directly correlated with how good you will get. Now, how rarely do you think practice looks like this?

Probably about as rare as the occurrence of “talented” individuals.

For instance, what if every college music student entering a program had to take a course called “The Art and Science of Learning Music”, in which they are taught the skills of efficient practicing, and the repetitive, varied, reflective way learning works over time?

In the same vein, I do something called Practice Coaching by Skype for eight-week sessions. These are essentially one-on-one lessons on developing highly skilled practice habits, and they’re open to students of all levels. We address everything from how to start practicing more to how to train your brain to improve the way you practice. Here is a before-and-after from a pre-college student at the top music education college in America:

Here is a student before the eight weeks, not bad…

…And at her first prize-winning performance, eight weeks later!

Be curious about your practice, and your regimen will take care of itself.

This question has as complex an answer as, “How do I get good at the violin”, but here are a few quick tips:

If you want to practice 30 minutes more per day, don’t jump in whole hog with the full half hour. Start with 5-10 minutes and stop without guilt. Then, after two weeks, increase the time a little every week or two until you hit your desired practice time.

Making a little tweak, like recognizing we need to build a habit pattern for getting started, can be a game changer.

During that short practice time, be extremely focused on improving one or a few small things, over and over, constantly adjusting. Your teacher should be able to walk you through this. You will notice improvement in certain areas in the first week, and that will create more motivation.

There is far too much to answer here, but I have a free 34-page PDF with in-depth answers to developing practice regimens students and teachers. The section on “Habit Pattern Development” goes into some detail about building practice.

Everything we do or think is actually groups of neurons (brain cells) communicating with other neurons.

So, the first thing we have to do to learn a new skill is build a neural network. That is, we create connections between neurons.

During this process, the neo-cortex of the brain is lit up like a Christmas tree. We are in a state of confusion, trying to figure out where the network should be built. As we push through this initial confusion (an integral part of learning, not an indication of lack of ability), areas of the brain drop out of the action, and the skill becomes represented by a very small area. Researchers call this a process efficiency change. You have just built a connection in your brain that was not there before (i.e., you have learned the basics of a new skill!).

Neurons communicate by sending electrochemical impulses (called action potentials) down a tube called an axon, across a gap called a synapse into another neuron. The axons in this newly formed network are uninsulated, and the action potential leaks out and travels slowly.

Attached to axons are cells called oligodendrocytes that produce an insulating substance called myelin. So, each time you do a repetition of, say, a short melody, if fires off an action potential that triggers the production of a little bit of myelin which insulates the axon so that the signal can stay strong and travel faster.

So is there anything you would like to be able to do stronger and faster on your instrument?

If you practice it even a little bit incorrectly, you are myelinating the wrong axons. Do you see why slowly and accurately works, and why the method many use – trying to play fast – does not work?

It takes a lot of wraps of myelin over a long period of time to get super fast and accurate. Therefore, working on something and getting it right once does not work. This process of myelination needs thousands of repetitions in the developmental stage. And no matter how talented they seem, students are in the developmental stage for years.

There is a lot more to this from cognitive psychology such as varied repetition and interleaving, as well.

Any good music teacher already knows much of what I’ve talked about here. What is new are the terms and concepts from cognitive and behavioral neuroscience and psychology, and how they fit together as part of a larger model. This information is powerful.

My advice for teachers: be curious and learn how to read the research. Be suspicious and don’t accept any idea without investigating it. I wrote a blog post for teachers about this.

Understand, like you want your students to understand as they progress, that it will never occur as quickly as you would like and that it will take experimentation and some failure, returning to old “failed” ideas, and small victories. The good news: if it is done right, there will be a steady improvement along the way that is always satisfying.

I’ve done everything from one-hour presentations to 10-day residencies at both the college and pre-college levels, including educating teachers of all academic subjects and coaches, based on my findings.

We do private practice consultations in which teachers can observe as we break down student practice methods, as well as refine and strengthen them. There may be days of workshops on how to use visualization to eliminate performance anxiety, large overview lectures for the community, and advice for professional development for academics.

I’ve developed a unique eight-week cycle of hourlong coaching sessions by Skype between lessons I call Practice Coaching. It is like rocket fuel for getting to a new level in one’s playing. More info can be found at Feel The Blearn.

Another thing I do is called a Practiclass – a masterclass for practicing. We take those few sections that never seem to be playable during performance and lessons, and fix them in 30 minutes or less. While we do this, I teach the audience the relevant neurological and psychological areas at work, and how they can use this knowledge in their teaching and practice.

Here is me doing one at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (this student is pretty advanced, but it works with all levels):

I also employed the Practiclass method while working with a pianist on Beethoven at the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts:

Both of these followed a detailed lecture to the group of teachers and students present. The feedback for these classes has been overwhelmingly positive, with young students and professors alike praising the lectures.

Practice Smarter, Not Harder

With the way our brains are wired, it’s important that we recognize that there’s a right way and a wrong way to practice. Shortcuts may save you time in the moment, but will prove to impede your musical progress further down the road!

And remember: this thing we call “talent” is really just a cocktail of hard work, self-reflection, planning, and good practice habits. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from mastering that difficult piece of music if you’re willing to practice, the right way.

 

 

The post Effective Practice: Lessons from Neuroscience and Psychology, with Gregg Goodhart appeared first on Musical U.

Because it focuses on the expressive and creative skills of musicianship (rather than the theory or instrument skills) the Kodály approach is very closely related to the world of musical ear training.

In fact, it could arguably be seen as an approach to ear training, since it is primarily your musical ear which Kodály develops.

We’ll learn more about what Kodály can do for you, but let’s first look into the man behind the method.

The Life of Zoltan Kodály

Born in Kecskemét, Hungary in 1882, Zoltan Kodály showed musical aptitude from an early age, composing for his school orchestra in his childhood.

After completing a Ph.D. with a thesis entitled “The Strophic Structure of Hungarian Folk-Songs”, Kodály began traveling extensively, accumulating music knowledge through his trips to the Hungarian countryside and his stint in Paris, where he studied with French composer Charles Widor and discovered the music of Claude Debussy. By this point, he was becoming a prolific composer, collaborating with Béla Bartók with whom he created a collection of Hungarian folk songs.

Upon his return to Budapest, he became a professor of music theory and composition at Liszt Academy. His big musical break came in 1923, when he was commissioned to compose a piece to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the union of the two cities Buda and Pest. The resulting piece, “Psalmus Hungaricus”, catapulted him to national-treasure status, as well as giving him international recognition.

He went on to write two operas, “Háry János” and “The Spinning Room”, which also became internationally popular. His body of work was a distinctive blend of classical, late romantic, impressionistic, and modernist – rooted in the folk traditions of Hungarian music.

Kodály continued to teach at the Liszt Academy for the majority of his remaining life, and after retiring as a professor, returned to the academy as a director in 1945.

Philosophy of the Kodály Method

Growing up with political disquiet in his country, Kodály sought out a way to preserve Hungarian culture, and found the answer in music.

Having been exposed to many styles of music education, Kodály found problems with the existing methods, especially taking issue with the fact that music education started so late in most schools. One story goes that in 1925, Kodály, overhearing schoolchildren singing, was so appalled that he set out to overhaul Hungary’s music education system.

He began writing articles and essays to raise awareness of the low quality of Hungary’s music education system. He believed the solution was better-trained teachers, an improved curriculum, and more class time devoted to music in general.

Not without drawing the ire of fellow music educators, Kodály dedicated himself to the project of music education reform, creating a new curriculum and new teaching methods.

Kodály was a firm believer in the importance of heritage and culture in one’s music education; he asserted that there was no better music than that of a child’s culture to teach children basic musical literacy. To this end, the system he developed integrated the singing of folk songs in the pupils’ mother tongue.

Finally, in 1945, Kodály’s work was applied in the ways he hoped it would; the new Hungarian government started to implement his ideas in public schools. This was soon followed by the opening of Hungary’s first music primary school.

This school was so successful that over a hundred more schools like it opened in Hungary in the following decade.

It didn’t stop there; the ideas of these music schools were presented at a conference of the International Society for Music Educators (I.S.M.E.), held in Vienna. Another conference held in 1964 in Budapest allowed other music educators to see Kodály’s work first-hand, leading to a steep increase in interest and to the widespread adoption of Kodály’s principles by his fellow educators.

The Creation of the Kodály Method

The Kodály method as we know it today was not technically developed directly by Zoltan Kodály himself. Rather, it was a system that evolved organically in music schools in Hungary under Kodály’s instruction and guidance.

Kodály’s friends, colleagues, and students helped develop this method by picking out techniques found to be the most interactive and engaging to create a method that focused on the expressive and creative skills of musicianship (rather than the theory or instrument skills). Many of these techniques were adapted from existing methods, altered to fit the context of Hungary. The resulting method relied quite heavily on exercises and games, and integrated the Hungarian cultural aspects.

With its folk foundation and its creative integration of movable “do” solfege, sounded-out rhythms, hand signals, and collaborative exercises, the Kodály method can be adapted to suit children’s music education worldwide, and nicely complements more traditional and orthodox approaches to music education. And more and more adults are discovering the great benefits of Kodály.

The Central Principles of Kodály

1. Music should be taught from a young age. Kodály believed that music was among, if not the most important subject to teach in schools.
2. Music should be taught in a logical and sequential manner.
3. There should be a pleasure in learning music; learning should not be torturous.
4. The voice is the most accessible, universal instrument.
5. The musical material is taught in the context of the mother-tongue folk song.

Kodály for Children

The original method that Kodály pioneered was created with children’s development in mind. With the method, young children unconsciously learn the basic musical elements: solfa, rhythm, hand signs, memory development, singing, and more. Because the music education is already rooted in the culture they are immersed in, learning can occur both in the classroom and at home, with family. Early Kodály music education for children has countless benefits.

…and for Adults!

The Kodály method is not just for children!  Since training starts with simple steps and segues into more complex exercises as a knowledge base is created, adult musicians on every level will also find the method useful. The concepts of rhythm, relative pitch, and improvisation taught in the system are universal.

Similarities and differences with the Orff Approach

You may be acquainted with Orff Schulwerk, another music education approach developed by composer Carl Orff in the mid-20th century. Some characteristics of Kodály may remind you of the Orff Approach, but the two methods are distinct.

Similar Philosophies…

Both Kodály and Orff believed that discovering the innate pleasure and beauty of music should be a central tenet of musical education, and that music education should be social, and ideally, rooted in students’ heritage and culture.

As a result, both approaches use an element of “play” in their pedagogy. Additionally, the two philosophies can be said to have a shared motto: “Experience first, intellectualize second”, meaning that students unconsciously absorb musical knowledge through the interactive exercises. Only then are they asked to put pen to paper and articulate the principles behind the music.

…Different Strategies

Where the Kodály method uses existing music as its basis, Orff is largely improvisational. Kodály is vocally-oriented with goals of sight-reading and sight-singing, whereas Orff uses body instrumentation and simple percussive instruments with an emphasis on rhythmic development and improvisation.

It can be said that Kodály is more grounded in theory and geared towards ear training than Orff; this is seen in the way that it teaches musical notation from the beginning, whereas Orff delays this until students make sufficient progress.

Generally speaking, the Kodály method is more structured and sequential, whereas the Orff Approach is less systematic and more free-form. Each have their advantages, but the Kodály method is arguably more useful in honing a musician’s inner ear. This further comparison discusses their shared ideology while contrasting the teaching styles of each one.

How Kodály compares to traditional music education

Obvious differences include the one-on-one teacher-student relationship in traditional music lessons versus the group activities of the Kodály method.

While individual attention is valuable in music education, group learning allows for more avenues in creativity and collaboration.

Regarding lesson content itself, traditional music education focuses on teaching a specific skill set for a specific instrument, whereas the Kodály method starts with one’s own voice as the original instrument, and slowly expands its teachings to apply to any instrument.

What Principles Does Kodály Involve?

This method places an emphasis on intuitive, interactive learning. To that end, the techniques used engage the student as much as possible, integrating body movement, singing, and group exercises.

1. Movable “Do” Solfa

Solfa (aka solfège) is a system for relative pitch ear training (i.e. recognising and following the pitch of notes) which assigns a spoken syllable to each note in the scale.

Musicians who haven’t studied solfa often think of it as “the do-re-mi system”, and while this hints at its nature, it actually vastly understates its power and versatility.

The key advantage is that by learning the musical role and distinctive sound of each note in the scale, it becomes easy to identify (and sing) notes simply by recognising where they fit in the musical context.

By using solfège to teach the pitch side of musical listening and performance skills, the Kodály approach ensures that musicians have a natural and instinctive understanding of the notes they hear.

2. Hand Signs for Movable “Do” Solfa

The Kodály Method includes the use of hand signals during singing exercises to provide a visual aid for the solfa syllables. The height that the hand rests at while making each sign is related to the pitch, with “do” at waist level and “la” at eye level. The spatial distance between the hand signs of different pitches corresponds to the size of the interval.

This even further reinforces the power of the solfa system in ear training; the student associates each pitch not only with a memorable syllable, but also with a specific hand motion made at a specific level. The hand signs complement and strengthen solfa learning.

If you want to try it out yourself, the Mobile Musical School has a useful exercise for practicing singing with hand signs!

3. Rhythm

Rhythm is often a neglected area of ear training. Many students simply don’t know how to effectively develop their rhythm skills, or how to connect them to the rest of their music learning.

The Kodály approach provides a clear systematic way to think about and speak rhythms in music which very much complements the solfège system for pitch. Kodály exercises encourage the participants to aurally, visually, and physically engage with the rhythms they’re playing.

Note values are counted out loud with assigned syllables that actually sound like the rhythms they spell out. For example:

Kodály students learn to speak and sing rhythmic patterns using specific syllables, and so develop a framework for understanding rhythm by ear and performing it accurately.

4. Creativity

Although we often think about frameworks as limiting sets of rules, in fact they can provide a structure which gives you confidence to experiment.

This is the case with the solfège and rhythm systems in Kodály teaching: by having clear systematic ways to understand pitch and rhythm, the musician is empowered to be creative and confident in music.

An example would be improvising sung melodies, or changing the rhythm of a song in creative ways. These tasks can seem intimidating to a musician who has been taught in the classical tradition, but with the Kodály approach, musical tasks like these are simple and enjoyable.

5. Collaboration

At its heart, the Kodály approach is a very human and social one, involving plenty of musical collaboration. From the earliest lessons, students are encouraged to perform together and play or sing duets, rounds, and other musical forms which allow both collaboration and creative improvisation.

Examples would be students singing together and taking turns to improvise different melodies while the other sings an accompaniment, or playing clapping games where their rhythms interact and synchronise in fun ways.

How Can I Start Learning Kodály?

Though originally designed with young children in mind, the principles of Kodály are universal. Musical U has many free solfa resources. You’ll also enjoy these free Kodály-style rhythm and syncopation exercises.

There is a worldwide network of organizations that are promoting the Kodály method today. For more information about Kodály music learning and to find a class near you, visit:

•        The Organization of American Kodály Educators
•        The British Kodály Academy
•        The International Kodály Society

The Kodály method is for everyone; musicians of all levels and walks of life can find something in this spirited and hands-on approach to learning music.

The post What is the Kodály Method? appeared first on Musical U.

In our previous article, Open Your Ears to Traditional Latin Music, you learned about traditional Latin dances like salsa, tango, and samba, and the music that accompanies them. Latin pop music today brings a new spin to centuries of traditional music, adding in contemporary electronic dance music beats, synthesis, and a lively pop music sound.

Here’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, a late-nineties hit by the prince of Latin pop, Ricky Martin:

Global Influence

From New York to Mexico, Latin pop music exploded onto the scene in the 1990s, but its exciting dance rhythms and catchy hooks can be traced back to the smooth romantic ballads of forerunners like Julio Iglesias and Sergio Mendes. Latino millennials today can remember their abuelas swooning over the sexy Iglesias, who always made you feel as if he was personally addressing you when he spoke of sensual love and romance:

Earlier Latin love ballads incorporated the familiar musical sounds of the 1960s and 1970s, but added a unique Latin touch, with light Latin rhythms and percussion and Spanish lyrics that glorified eternal love and heartbreak. Some well-known artists are Julio Iglesias, Sergio Mendes, and Roberto Carlos.

Other more traditional singers, like Cuban legend Celia Cruz, attained almost god-like status during their lifetimes. Singer Jon Secada followed in his forerunners’ footsteps with pop ballads in the 1990s after working with legendary Cuban star Gloria Estefan, whose band Miami Sound Machine truly brought Latin pop into global popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.

Gloria Estefan

Born in Havana, Cuba, Gloria Estefan’s rise to worldwide fame mirrors the hopes and dreams of the Cuban exiles after Castro’s revolution left many fleeing their homeland because of political persecution. Many came to the United States hoping for freedom and a better life for their children and grandchildren.

Estefan’s journey from humble beginnings to pop diva showed that the United States was truly the land of opportunity. A bus accident severely injured Estefan’s back, preventing her from dancing to her own music, but the dance diva continued on. Estefan’s hit songs “Conga” and the “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” have become iconic in pop music. Her music often has playful lyrics accompanied by strong Latin rhythms and percussion. She paved the way for artists like Ricky Martin and Shakira, who took dance clubs by storm.

Selena

Another Latina, the talented Mexican-American singer simply known as Selena, had just begun to make waves in the United States when her life was cut tragically short by a former employee. Despite her early death, Selena had become a Latin icon with her albums Entre a Mi Mundo and Amor Prohibido. She is often credited for bringing Tejano music, a complex blend of Mexican traditional music found in southern Texas, to international fame.

Selena has posthumously sold tens of millions of albums, and her legacy is kept alive with the film Selena, showcasing the acting talents of Jennifer Lopez, a Latina music icon in her own right.

Heard Worldwide!

Latin pop music has been heard at the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Hollywood films, and television from the Americas to Europe to Africa to Asia. Contemporary Latino artists include Romeo Santos, Juan Gabriel, Enrique Iglesias, Nicky Jam, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Julión Alvarez y su Norteño Banda. Latin pop music today has spread into other genres like hip hop, R&B, and reggae, while still maintaining close ties to its traditional musical roots.

Musical Elements of Latin Pop Music

There are a few key musical elements that you will find in Latin pop music. While the genre spans artists from almost every corner of the world, Latin pop has several distinctive hallmarks that distinguish it from other popular musical styles.

Tradition

Latin pop music stems from the rich musical histories of the artists. Whether the music is derived from salsa, bossa nova, tango, or Tejano, strains of centuries of music passed down from generation to generation are recognizable in the genre.

Listen to Cuban-American rapper Pitbull’s “We are One (Ole Ola)”, which was the 2014 FIFA World Cup Song, and see if you can spot his influences:

Instrumentation

Latin pop music includes classic Latin percussion instruments like maracas, congas, and bongos. Other traditional instrumentation, for example, including a Mariachi band or Spanish guitar, helps give Latin pop music a distinct Latino flavor. Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around” glorifies percussion, with an incredible mix of syncopated Latin rhythms and percussion solos accompanied by a familiar disco beat.

Language

Even English-version Latin pop songs have a smattering of Spanglish (Spanish + English), Portuguese, or even African dialects. For example, Shakira’s famous song “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)”, performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, can be found in several languages, and was adapted from a traditional military song from Cameroon.

This global approach to music has helped make Latin pop music more than a provincial genre. Many of the most popular songs are sung in Spanish or Portuguese but still maintain international popularity.

Rhythm

Latin pop music often meshes traditional Latin rhythms with American pop and dance music. Gloria Estefan often incorporated a disco beat in her tunes and Colombian singer Shakira, whose father was Lebanese, adds in Arabic music to her hip-shaking Latin music. These rhythms are often syncopated with a steady beat, to keep people dancing.

Listening Practice

In Puerto Rican Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente” you can hear the many complex rhythms of the percussion following a catchy electronic dance beat in the NYC Remix version. The original “Suavemente” has a Dominican merengue beat.

Compare the traditional version to the NYC Remix version. While you listen, think of the following:

1. What are the differences in instrumentation?
2. What are the primary differences between the NYC Remix and the original version?
3. Why do you think an artist like Elvis Crespo would create an “Americanized” version?
4. How does the NYC Remix keep true to its Latin roots?

Elvis Crespo Suavemente (Original):

Elvis Crespo Suavemente (NYC Remix):

A Contemporary Celebration of the Past

Latin pop music has grown to become an international phenomenon, blending the rich traditions of Latin music with contemporary pop to create tunes that recall the past while embracing modernity.

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