Brazilian Music

First off music is what has brought us here together as a group today, Its what triggers our emotions as well as helps communicate with others in various situations…. The country of Brazil occupies roughly half of south America, bordering the Atlantic ocean Brazilian music is a unique blend of European harmony and melody, African rhythms along with Native American culture. How they all came together to form the distinctive sound that is today known as “Brazilian” music is a long story. Here is the short version.

Some musical genres that originate from brazil are;
Bossa Nova Jazz - In the early 1960s, bossa nova rhythms became popular with jazz and pop musicians in the U.S. and Europe. Brazilians, too, have long had an affinity for jazz, and usually mix it around with plenty of local influences.
Capoeira - A style of martial arts developed by Brazilian slaves in the 1700s. Capoeira was developed surreptiously, with practitioners pretending that they were taking parts in dances, when in fact they were practicing their kicks and blows. Thus, there is also a whole style of capoeira music which goes along with the martial arts culture.
Choro - An improvisational instrumental style from the late 19th and early half of the 20th Century. Similar to New Orleans trad jazz, choro was closely connected with the early development of samba, and is typically played by a small ensemble -- over the years the instrumentation has expanded to include more instruments, such as clarinet and mandolin... Early stars of the genre include flautist Pixinguinha, mandolin player Jacob do Bandolim, and guitarist Garoto.
Forro - Upbeat, catchy dance music from the Northeast of Brazil. Usually features an accordion, and syncopated rhythms similar to samba. In some ways, forro is analagous to mariachi in Mexico, or cumbia music in Columbia: although a few artists (such as Luiz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro) are well-known, national stars, thousands of others have recorded for small, regional labels and much of forro is relatively informal and localized.
Frevo - An early popular Northeastern caranval style which features a march-like quality. Like choro, frevo is closely related to the samba, and has grown and adapted into a more modern sound. Frevo is most popular in Pernambuco state, especially in Recife. Some Brazilian instruments include (Pandeiro,Cavaco,and the birimbau) The pandeiro is a Brazilian relative of the common tambourine , a hand-held frame drum with a natural skin head and a series of bell-like cups embedded into the wooden frame. The major difference between the pandeiro and the standard tambourine is that the head of the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player to change the pitch and tone of the instrument. The cavaquinho is a small guitar-style instrument called a ukulele. Birimbau is a single string percussion instrument. These intruments all have a big part to play in the musical part of brazil.

In conclusion ive learned that by studying some of this history, we can understand that the African American culture had a vital importance to the construction of Brazilian music. As was common in almost all colonies around the world, the wealthy believed that only European music had worth. In this way, there was room for a new style of music only in the communities around the cities, where lived most of low-income people.