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A form of folk music and dance of the Caribbean, calypso
developed in Trinidad, West Indies, where it is associated
particularly with the pre-lent celebration of carnival.
Before the carnival begins musicians try out their songs nightly
before audiences in the capital city, Port of Spain. The most
popular are used during the carnival.
Frequently improvised, the words of calypso songs are witty
and humorous and convey popular attitudes on social, political,
or economic problems. They usually concern topical or satirical
themes, and they are characterized technically by arbitrary
shifts in the accentuation of everyday English words. In Trinidad,
calypso music is generally sung to a guitar and maraca accompaniment
that establishes a complex rhythm with the singer incanting
a style based on the rhythms and drum sounds of native African
music.
Since about 1945, steel drums have also been used, often played
in bands. Steel drums came about when excess oil drum left
over from trade were in the island. Instead of disposing them,
the Islanders decide to recycle the drums as a poor man musical
instrument. The oil drums were pounded into shape and tuned
in different sizes, from bass to soprano, to create a percussion
instrument with a unique metallic harmonies, synonymous with
the Caribbean experience. The drums have been exported to
black communities throughout the world and are popular in
schools an an instrument that anyone can learn to play. The
classic calypso tune you will often hear at a show is Yellow
Bird.
The music is always in standard 4 beats to a bar, and is based
on about 50 standard calypso melodies. For the form of carnival
street dance called "jump dancing," rhythms
are provided most often by steel drums.
Calypso dance was also imported into the west and upgraded
to a ballroom dance which resembles the rumba, and
the music often is performed with conventional dance-band
instruments, far from the free and easy nature of true calyso.
By Noreen Mustapha
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