This course covers Traditional Music for the GCSE Music syllabus. Traditional music is passed down between generations. Some musicians fuse these styles with other elements to create musical hybrids.
Included in this course is an in-depth study of "Smooth", "Love of My Life" and "Migra" by Santana.
Traditional music is, as the name suggests, music that has passed down between generations. Geography and culture are factors too. Music has strong ties to particular places and people.
Modern music can sometimes build on, or borrow from, traditional music. Consider an album like Paul Simon's Graceland or the music of Mumford and Sons. These artists work with elements of the past. They alter them to produce music of the present.
An appreciation of any music involves understanding the language of music. Blues music may have 'Lip Trills', but may not often use 'Congas'. These Flashcards help you to remember the terminology of traditional music.
Carlos Santana is a guitarist who first rose to fame in the 1960s. His music is based on a fusion of Latin American and African beats - the music of the Caribbean - fused with American rock guitar. Santana - his band - released Supernatural in 1999.
Smooth is a track from Supernatural. The sound can be described as a mix of Bossa Nova, Merengue and Cha-Cha elements. Smooth was a collaboration between Santana and Matchbox 20. Smooth spent 30 weeks in the US top ten.
Migra is a political song taken from Supernatural. The song relates to the US department of Immigration. The lyrics propose an end to hostility and a new dawn of harmony across the Americas, North and South.
Love of My Life is also taken from Supernatural. The song relates to the death of Carlos Santana's father. The melody is based on a classical piece from Brahms- Symphony No 3 in F Major.
This is a quiz designed to help you revise what we have covered in this course on traditional music. There are questions on Santana's Supernatural as well as some of the other topics covered including Reggae and Blues music.
