Banda music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Banda is a brass-based form of traditional Mexican music.

Bandas play a wide variety of songs, including rancheras, corridos, cumbias, and boleros. Bandas are more widely known for their rancheras, but they also play modern pop songs and cumbias.

La Banda el Recodo, Banda Jerez, El Coyote, and Julio Preciado are some of the most famous banda artists. Yolanda Pérez is one of the few prominent female banda artists.

[edit] History and origins

Established in the last late 1930s in Sinaloa, a state in northern Mexico, banda music exploded in popularity in the late 1990s throughout Mexico. Its roots come from the overlapping of Mexican music with German polka music. At the time, many German-Americans lived in southern Texas. This greatly influenced northern Mexican music. Immigrants from northern Mexico brought the music to the United States. Initially popular in the southwest United States, primarily in Texas, California and Arizona, banda has followed the movement of Mexican immigrants into the Midwest United States and the rest of the country.

Banda has also been widely popular in Zacatecas. Probably the most famous banda from Zacatecas is La Banda Jerez.

[edit] The sound of banda

A variety of brass instruments make up a typical banda. The most notable instrument is the tambora, which is a type of drum. The tambora is the loudest and lowest-pitched instrument in the banda, thus serving as a bass instrument providing the harmony. The tambora is played in a strong and embellished manner, which provides the drive for the rest of the band.The tambora is followed by the tarola which is a snare,other two drums, cow bells, and simbols.Trumpets, clarinets, trombones, tubas, and tortolitas are other instruments in a banda. Like an orchestra, a banda can be organized into different sections.

1. Bass: The lowest-pitched part is played by the tambora, accompanied by a tuba.
2. Harmony: Two Harmonias (small baritone horns), play chords using different rhythms depending on the style.
3. Tenor: Trombones play the lower-pitched part of the melody.
4. Alto: Trumpets play the higher-pitched part of the melody.
5. Soprano: Clarinets and sometimes saxophones play as "singing" instruments that may play with the voice.
6. Voice: Banda el Recodo and Banda Jerez consists of trios, but many bandas also consist of dual and solo singers.

Bandas usually have a strong percussion. Percussion is usually provided by a marching bass drum, a snare drum, and cymbals. The percussionists generally provide the accents and do not usually play all the time or keep a 'groove'. The groove is mostly provided by the tambora (or bass guitar in a few recordings) playing the downbeat, and the trumpets and other brass instruments playing sharp "chops" on the upbeat.

Bandas generally consist of about 15 members. The number of band members may very from 10 to 20 people. Bandas usually have a lead singer and a second voice, and occasionally a third voice. The voice often consists of a duet, but solo singers and trios are also common.

[edit] See also

• Music of Mexico
• Norteño (music)