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I am not a music scholar and my posts about music styles are not meant as an educational post. I don’t analyze, I just listen and enjoy. I just want to share things I have found, at times, some that others may not have thought of. If they start a conversation among forum members, all the better. With that in mind, here is link to a Mexican Tourist site, It is from their culture/music section.
When I think Mexican music, I think La Bamba, The Mexican Hat Dance, the women with their gorgeous colorful flowing skirts and men in their suits standing tall and tapping their feet on table tops. So much fun and color.
Below is a link from Mexican Tourism. This link is to their page on Culture/Music
Here is a link to a Youtube video I just watched.
Performed by Sones de Mexico Ensemble
I love the mix of these instruments.
Enjoy
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It's worth learning a little about this music, considering many fiddlers like to try to play some of the music they enjoy listening to.
"La Rabia" is a 'Son Calantano'.
The son calentano is an instrumental form of music from the Tierra Caliente region, Mexico. It has meters in 3/4 and 6/8, an ornamented use of violin and back beats on guitar and tamborita. It is usually played by conjunto calentano ensembles and is traditionally performed with dancers. (Wikipedia)
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I should add that I LOVE a lot of trad Mexican & Central American music, but in some videos I've run across, fiddlers can be a bit harsh sounding with the bow. I realize there's probably a push to try to play loud at dances & festivities, unfortunately it seems to translate into excessive bow pressure.
I hope this doesn't dissuade folks from trying the music on your fiddle, viola, or cello. If you can vary your bow pressure & speed to keep it from feeling heavy - you won't have trouble making this music sound GREAT!
Here, a 'Son Calantano' play-along (with notation & slow version) for "Coyuca de Catalan" is a fabulous example of how light this music can feel (from Tonatiuh Barreras).
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Most trad Mexican tunes to play on the fiddle will be a 'son'.
Excerpts from Wikipedia:
Son mexicano is a style of Mexican folk music and dance that encompasses various regional genres, all of which are called son.
While son has developed into different regional styles over the centuries, including Son Jarocho [Veracruz], Son Huasteco [La Huasteca], Son Jaliscience [Western Mexico] (which later morphed into Mariachi)...
Son music most likely originated in Veracruz...
One more type of 'son' - Son Calentano (Tierra Caliente) - see post #2.
Sesquialtera, the combination of 3/4 and 6/8 meter, predominates. Some, like the famous song La Bamba, are in the simpler, yet still syncopated, 2/4 meter. Sones are typically diatonic; while some songs are in the minor or harmonic minor scales, the major scale is most common. Many violinists and vocalists will harmonize melodies in thirds or sixths. Most chord progressions use only three chords: I or i, IV or iv, and V or V7, though ii, III, VI, or ♭VII chords may feature in some songs.
You might recognize a few famous 'Son Jarocho' tunes - "La Bamba", "El Coco" and "La Bruja" (the witch)!
A famous 'Son Huasteco' is "Cielito Lindo".
The last 'son' I found is Son Istmeño (Oaxaca) - my favorite is "La Llorna"!
Mexican music certainly isn't all Mariachi, but here's a quick little bit about it's history (there are other videos that go more into depth).
Related threads:
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Sorry about skipping around, but I would caution against pre-conceived ideas of 'Mariachi' music.
Mariachi bands play MANY kinds of music, traditionally different regional styles, but they have also evolved with the times - influenced by other trends.
Mariachi music and musicians became more professional with more formal training starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s, principally due to the success of a major mariachi by the name of Mariachi Vargas. Their appearance in many films, backing many singing stars, and their hiring of formal musicians prompted other mariachis to do the same. The group also expanded, adding trumpets, violins and even a classical guitar to become a kind of orchestra, keeping the traditional son/mariachi base while integrating new musical ideas and styles.
Many of the traditional sounds of Cocula were lost as mariachi groups incorporated other musical styles that were popular on the radio. New influences have come into the tradition from the Mexican American community in the United States. (Wikipedia)
...I still hear traditional influences!
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Yeah, I consider mariachi to be a type of ensemble, not a genre of music. Mariachi Vargas even has a few Mexican orchestral pieces (arranged for mariachi band) in its repertoire.
Speaking of musica norteña: when I was in college in the Los Angeles area, I had a Dutch friend whose hometown was near the German border, and he mentioned that the norteña music he heard while channel-surfing the radio sounded extremely familiar. If not for the Spanish lyrics, he would have thought he was back in his hometown.
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Genres is used rather loosely in Genre section. There are many definitions and opinions of what is a genre. That is one reason "World Music Styles" was added to this forum room name. Covers pretty much everything form.
Just a general comment so members know they don't need to be concerned with if a form of music they want to discuss is considered a genre or not.
🐭
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Woo Hoo!
Found the Karina Zepeda YT Channel!
She's a "Mariachi Teacher" who specializes in Violin!
Quite a few EXCELLENT music tutorials from Karina! You can contact her for help with a particular song or to learn more of this type of music. 🤗
Bohemio de Afición - violin tutorial.
I'm trying to stay open-minded about whether (or not) Mariachi music is a 'style', or 'genre', because I keep finding more info where it's called a 'genre'... not sure if it's just the general public that considers it a genre, or if the musicians do, too(?) ...maybe I'll ask Karina.
Save The Music Foundation - A Brief History of Mariachi Music
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So, I'm really liking the type of tutorials Karina Zepeda does! These are NOT step-by-step, start-to-finish - but straight to the most important bits!
For reference: Silverio - Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. Of course, I'm going to have to learn some of the trumpet/horn parts on the fiddle, too. 🤣
Think I'll have more energy for this when Spring finally rolls around.
I do LOVE Pasodoble!!! Shared some other info in the Pasodoble! Thread (Spanish Music Styles).
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I really want to learn España Cañí - it's a Spanish pasodoble that's also popular as Mariachi. GREAT for practicing bowing near the frog & collé for spiccato!
I think it's important to encourage the strings to vibrate wherever possible - especially for lively, festive music. I've spent quite a bit of time (this past year) focusing on keeping my fingers & bow from deadening the strings.
I was thinking a Baroque bow would be great, except I'm seeing an almost equal amount of long bow strokes used in Mariachi music. It's a toss up between my Arcus bow (which produces wonderful rich tones, but I have to take care - it really wants to bounce) & my Fiddlerman Noir bow (has a stiffer stick, doesn't try to bounce, is a great extention of my hand/arm, but tone isn't as rich).
...going to have to come back to this, can't spend as much time as I'd like right now.
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Back up in post #9, I mentioned...
I'm trying to stay open-minded about whether (or not) Mariachi music is a 'style', or 'genre', because I keep finding more info where it's called a 'genre'... not sure if it's just the general public that considers it a genre, or if the musicians do, too(?) ...maybe I'll ask Karina.
Well, almost forgot I DID ASK!
AND, I should've checked my YT notifications, because she promptly answered...
YES, Mariachi music is considered a 'genre'!
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