1. Princess Therese
German oom-pah music comes from Bavaria, and is played by wind bands which include clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba and accordion. The tuba plays on the beat – the ‘oom’ and clarinet, accordion or trombone play the ‘pah’. If the music is in three time it becomes oom pah pah. These bands play several types of dance music, or rhythms: Polkas, Schottishes, Waltzes and Ländler. In September to October every year there is a huge beer festival in Munich (Oktoberfest), with lots of oom-pah bands.
2. Song for Sabahat
Turkish folk music often uses a note in between two of the notes on the piano, which we call a quarter tone. It can also be in odd time signatures like 5, 7 and 9 beats in a bar. The instrumentation can consist of Saz (a kind of lute), Duduk (double reed), Sipsi (single reed like a clarinet), Kaval and Ney (end blown flutes), Darbuka and Daf (percussion) and violin. The inspiration for this tune came from Sabahat Akkiraz, a well known Turkish female singer.
3. Mongezi
During the 1920s to 60s in the townships of South Africa, musicians fused African melody with jazz improvisation creating Township Jazz. Music was very important to the people and accompanied all aspects of life, from herding cattle to just walking home. Some of the leading musicians and composers of this style are Abdullah Ibrahim, Mongezi Feza and Chris McGregor. The bands featured piano, bass, drums, percussion, saxes, trumpets and whistles. This piece has a very groovy swing rhythm, and should be played with panache!
4. ¡Bien Hecho!
A Mexican Mariachi band usually has trumpets, violins, and several different types of guitar. The music can be in several rhythms, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 or 6/8 and is originally a folk music, but developed into a more urban style as the musicians moved into big cities. It is the best known style of music from Mexico, and was made really popular there through its use in films of the 1930s and 40s. This piece is in the style of a Canción Ranchera and has a strong waltz like feel.
5. Marching Down St. Claude
New Orleans has a very rich musical heritage mainly based on African singing styles and European hymn tunes. At the start of the twentieth century many benevolent societies were formed as the first form of insurance for poor black people. They would pay in a small amount each week, and in turn their funerals were taken care of, and they were helped when sick. These societies would march and play during the funeral processions and at Mardi Gras. This tune is a dirge, which is a beautiful, slow, sad song at the start of a funeral procession.
6. Puerta Del Sol
Paso Doble is a Spanish dance and music form typically played at bull-fights and town fiestas (parties). It is a bold and decisive style and originally comes from military marches of the 19th century. The Paso Doble dance is a couple dance where the man plays the bull fighter and the woman his cape. Spanish town bands are usually wind bands with flutes, clarinets, saxophones, brass and percussion.
7. East Broadway and Jefferson
Klezmer is Jewish music from Eastern Europe and is characterised by expressive melodies, usually in minor keys, set against a strongly rhythmic accompaniment. When Jewish immigrants went to New York in the early twentieth century they continued playing and writing klezmer music. This piece is a freylekhs (pronounced ‘fray-lacks’, a Yiddish word meaning joyful or happy), which is a fast dance piece. It should be played very energetically.
8.Jugando con el Son
Son originated in Cuba throughout the twentieth century, and comes from the fusion of African and Spanish music. It is the root of Salsa, and a typical early Son group would consist of guitar, três, bongos, claves, maracas, voices, and soon after, trumpet. Later on, congas and piano were introduced, and finally two more trumpets, to create a “conjunto”. The African influence gave the rhythm, based around the clave pattern, and the call and response structure. The Spanish influence gave the guitars and harmony. The melody comes from both roots.
9. Rainy Season
This piece in based on an Indian scale (raag) called Gaud Malhar. Indian music is very melody based, and the different raags create different moods in the listener. According to the legend, Malhar is so powerful that when sung, rain falls from the sky. Some typical note movements in Gaud Malhar are 4 sliding down to 3, flat 7 sliding to 5, and going up 4, 5, 6, natural 7, 8.
10. Anikulapo kini tuntun
Afrobeat is a fusion of Jazz, Funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian High-life and traditional West African chants and rhythm. It was invented in the 1970s by Nigerian Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Tony Allen, who was the drummer in Fela’s band. Afrobeat bands tend to be quite large, with guitars, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards, horns and vocals. Drums, bass, guitar and percussion create a continuous groove, with other parts layering up to create a long crescendo. There is a lot of call and response between the vocals and the horn section, and many horn solos.
11. August in Guča
Guča is a small town in Serbia famous for its trumpet festival every August, when 600,000 people descend upon this 2000 person town. It is probably the wildest music festival anywhere, with dozens of brass bands playing for hours on end, lots of dancing (and drinking). The players are very virtuosic but are mainly self taught. Traditionally Serbian brass band music is played at weddings and other parties, both to accompany the bride and groom to the ceremony, and for the dancing later on.
12. Sinuoso
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil there is a great tradition of brass players playing Chorinhos. Choros and Chorinhos are an early twentieth century music which has influences of African and European classical music. The rhythm is like Samba, and the melodies are very sophisticated, often changing key from section to section, which lots of counterpoint from the backing instruments.