This study of Mariachi considers the genre's folk origins, its development and essence, the teaching style, song styles, the modern virtuosos, and the role of innovation. The revisionist, perfectionist, and constructionist aesthetics are compared. Appendixes include proposals for notation, song lyrics, and Web resources. Nevin is a classical composer. A companion CD, featuring Mariachi music, can be ordered separately. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
"The voice is the most important instrument in Mexican Ranchera (Mariachi) music because the bulk of its repertoire is sung. However, no book on vocal care and production, voice history, diction, technique, graded song lists, and warm-ups for Mariachi singers has been available until now. Dr. Juanita Ulloa has designed The Mariachi Voice to create a bridge between the voice and Mariachi fields, and to extend the reach of training and advocacy for Mariachi vocal training to academic programs, voice studios, and individual singers. Her Operachi style evolved out of her own training, touring, recording, and training of others as a specialist in Mexican and Latin American song. In The Mariachi Voice, Dr. Ulloa shares vocal technique and pedagogy, introducing the female Mariachi fach. She highlights important differences in training the female voice for healthy Ranchera singing while still honoring the style and introduces Mexican Spanish Lyric Diction with International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Professor John Nix of University of Texas, San Antonio contributes an article on vocal production and care. Readers will develop cultural sensitivity towards this almost 200-year-old tradition. The Ranchera vocal history chapter explores the crossover classical vocal training of ranchera singer-actors in charro movie musicals, many tracing back to legendary Mexico City based voice teacher José Pierson. It is a wake-up call to raising the standards and accessibility of vocal training. The Mariachi Voice is sure to enrich those who take pride in sharing these songs and their singers as important symbols of Mexico's identity worldwide"--
In Intoxicated Identities, Tim Mitchell provides a novel and well-grounded framework for understanding subjective drinking experiences from the Aztecs to the present day in areas as diverse as Chiapas, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Texas and California. Power drinking plays a crucial role in Mexican religion, politics, fine arts and ritual spousal abuse. Mexico ranks number one in deaths from cirrhosis, and Mexican Americans are twice as likely to be arrested for drunken driving as blacks or whites. With methods and concepts derived from an extraordinary range of disciplines, Mitchell explains how Mexican culture reinforces heavy drinking. He analyzes supply (nationalistic marketing strategies) but emphasizes demand (psychocultural motivations unique to Mexico). He chronicles the joys and sorrows of a borrachera, or drinking binge, and explores this altered state of consciousness on its own terms, not from any temperance or anti-alcohol perspective.
The sustainability of music and other intangible expressions of culture has been high on the agenda of scholars, governments and NGOs in recent years. However, there is a striking lack of systematic research into what exactly affects sustainability across music cultures. By analyzing case studies of nine highly diverse music cultures against a single framework that identifies key factors in music sustainability, Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures offers an understanding of both the challenges and the dynamics of music sustainability in the contemporary global environment, and breathes new life into the previously discredited realm of comparative musicology, from an emphatically non-Eurocentric perspective. Situated within the expanding field of applied ethnomusicology, this book confirms some commonly held beliefs, challenges others, and reveals sometimes surprising insights into the dynamics of music cultures. By examining, comparing and contrasting highly diverse contexts from thriving to 'in urgent need of safeguarding, ' Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures analyzes sustainability across five carefully defined domains. The book identifies pathways to strategies and tools that may empower communities to sustain and revitalize their music heritage on their terms. In this way, this book contributes to greater scholarly insight, new (sub)disciplinary approaches, and pathways to improved practical outcomes for the long-term sustainability of music cultures. As such it will be an essential resource for ethnomusicologists, as well as scholars and activists outside of music, with an interest in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
This definitive two-volume encyclopedia of Latin music spans 5 centuries and 25 countries, showcasing musicians from Celia Cruz to Plácido Domingo and describing dozens of rhythms and essential themes. Eight years in the making, Latin Music: Musicians, Genres, and Themes is the definitive work on the topic, providing an unparalleled resource for students and scholars of music, Latino culture, Hispanic civilization, popular culture, and Latin American countries. Comprising work from nearly 50 contributors from Spain, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, this two-volume work showcases how Latin music—regardless of its specific form or cultural origins—is the passionate expression of a people in constant dialogue with the world. The entries in this expansive encyclopedia range over topics as diverse as musical instruments, record cover art, festivals and celebrations, the institution of slavery, feminism, and patriotism. The music, traditions, and history of more than two dozen countries—such as Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Spain, and Venezuela—are detailed, allowing readers to see past common stereotypes and appreciate the many different forms of this broadly defined art form.
Cultural Writing. Music. African Studies. Asian Studies. Book two of Musike. Edited by Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya. SOUNDS OF IDENTITY: THE MUSIC OF AFRO-ASIANS "concerns the survival of musical traditions among Africans who were displaced to Asia. Memories of the ancestral homeland seem to be embedded in these musical traditions. Music is also an important factor in identity formation of diasporas. Music, however, is not always limited to the diaspora and there are spillovers to the host societies"--from the Editor's Introduction. This volume features Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy on Sidi African music, Aisha Bilkhair Khalifa on Spirit Posession and its practices in Dubai, Lila Ingrams on African connections in Yemeni music, Galia Sabar & Shlomit Kanari on African Musicians in Israel and many more. SOUNDS OF IDENTITY is a compelling, thought provoking exploration of this fascinating musical "border" between cultures.
Titles in Dictionaries for the Modern Musician series offer both the novice and the advanced artist key information designed to convey the field of study and performance for a major instrument or instrument class, as well as the workings of musicians in areas from conducting to composing. Unlike other encyclopedic works, contributions to this series focus primarily on the knowledge required by the contemporary musical student or performer. Each dictionary covers topics from instrument parts to playing technique and major works to key figures. A must-have for any musician’s personal library! Trumpeters today perform a vast repertoire of musical material spanning 500 years, much of it in a variety of styles and even on a number of related instruments. In A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player, scholar and performer, Elisa Koehler has created a key reference work that addresses all of the instruments in the high brass family, providing ready answers to issues that trumpeters, conductors, and musicians commonly—and sometimes not so commonly—encounter. Drawing on a broad range of scholarly sources, A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player includes entries on historic instruments like the cornetto, keyed bugle, and slide trumpet; jazz trumpet techniques; mutes and accessories; and ancient ancestors of the trumpet and related non-Western instruments. In addition to its concise and detailed definitions, this work includes biographies of prominent performers, teachers, instrument makers, and composers of trumpet solo and ensemble literature often omitted from other musical references. Carefully labeled illustrations illuminate the inner workings of various valve mechanisms, allowing readers to visualize the more technical points of high brass instruments. Appendixes include a time line of trumpet history, a survey of valve mechanisms, a list of prominent excerpts from the orchestral and operatic repertoire, and an extensive bibliography. From quick definitions of confusing terms in a musical score to an in-depth overview of trumpet history, A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player is an ideal reference for students, professionals, and music lovers.
This comprehensive survey examines Latin American music, focusing on popular—as opposed to folk or art—music and containing more than 200 entries on the concepts and terminology, ensembles, and instruments that the genre comprises. The rich and soulful character of Latin American culture is expressed most vividly in the sounds and expressions of its musical heritage. While other scholars have attempted to define and interpret this body of work, no other resource has provided such a detailed view of the topic, covering everything from the mambo and unique music instruments to the biographies of famous Latino musicians. Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music delivers scholarly, authoritative, and accessible information on the subject, and is the only single-volume reference in English that is devoted to an encyclopedic study of the popular music in this genre. This comprehensive text—organized alphabetically—contains roughly 200 entries and includes a chronology, discussion of themes in Latin American music, and 37 biographical sidebars of significant musicians and performers. The depth and scope of the book's coverage will benefit music courses, as well as studies in Latin American history, multicultural perspectives, and popular culture.
Foundations of Mariachi Education: Materials, Methods, and Resources, the first book of its kind, is a comprehensive handbook on teaching mariachi in secondary school to music students of all levels. Beginning with how to start a mariachi program, each chapter addresses a specific topic in mariachi education, including choosing appropriate repertoire, preparing for performances, and teaching each mariachi instrument-including voice. Each instrument chapter includes practical advice on care of the instrument, tuning, posture, fingerings, technique, and the role of the instrument within the mariachi ensemble. With dozens of music exercises distributed throughout the chapters, this resource shows you how to build your students' technical skills using mariachi repertoire so your students truly shine onstage. You'll also learn how to develop a district-wide program and use mariachi to support literacy goals. Whether you have experience teaching mariachi music or not, this book will guide you through each step of starting or developing a program, from changing an instrument string to buying trajes for your students to executing mariachi m_nicos. This resource is a must-have for every music educator looking for ways to bring new energy to the music classroom.
