Music 10

Quarter II
Afro-Latin American and
Popular Music
Lesson 1 - Music of Africa
 Music has always been an important part in the daily
life of the African, primarily performed during rituals in
the monumental parts of their lives (birth, marriage,
death, war, initiation, and funerals.
 Singing, dancing, hand clapping, and the beating of
drums are essential to many ceremonies : birth, death,
initiation, marriage and funerals.
 Important to religious expression and political events.
 It has great influences on global music ( contemporary
American, Latin American, and European styles).
 African music is one of the most influential styles of
music in the world. It has greatly influenced the music
of Contemporary America, Latin America and European
music. Its highly energetic and rhythmically challenging
beats are quite universal. Jazz, Gospel and Spiritual,
and Rhythm and Blues (RnB) are genres of music that
have deep roots to African music.
 The music of Africa is the product of the diverse history,
topography, and unique musical heritage of more than
50 countries. It is the result of the fusion of traditional
and European influences which was a result of the
colonization of Europe to most of the continent until the
19th Century.
TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF AFRICA
 African traditional music is largely functional in nature,
used primarily in ceremonial rites, such as birth,
death, marriage, succession, worship, and spirit
invocations.
 Others are work related or social in nature, while many
traditional societies view their music as entertainment.
Some Types of African Music
1. Afrobeat – It is a term used to describe the fusion of
West African with Black American music.
2. Apala (Akpala) - It is a musical genre from Nigeria in
the Yoruba tribal style to wake up the worshippers
after fasting during the Muslim holy feast of Ramadan.
3. Axe - It is a popular musical genre from Salvador,
Bahia, and Brazil. It fuses the Afro-Caribbean styles of
marcha, reggae, and calypso.
4. Jit - It is a hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean
dance music played on drums with guitar
accompaniment influenced by mbira-based guitar
styles.
5. Jive - It is a popular form of South African music featuring a
lively and uninhibited variation of the jitterbug, a form of
swing dance.
6. Juju - It is a popular music style from Nigeria that relies on
the traditional Yoruba rhythms. A drum kit, keyboard, pedal
steel guitar, and accordion are used along with the traditional
dun-dun (talking drum or squeeze drum).
7. Kwassa Kwassa – It is a music style that begun in Zaire in
the late 1980s popularized by Kanda Bongo Man. In this
dance style, the hips move back and forth while the arms
move following the hips.
8. Marabi – It is a South African three-chord township music of
the 1930s-1960s which evolved into African Jazz. It is
characterized by simple chords in varying vamping patterns
and repetitive harmony over an extended period.
VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC
1. Maracatu – It is the combination of strong rhythms of African
percussion instruments and Portuguese melodies. This form of music
is being paraded along the streets by up to 100 participants.
2. Blues – It is one of the most widely performed musical forms of the
late 19th century. The melodies of blues are expressive and soulful.
The slaves and their descendants used to sing these as they work in
the fields.
3. Soul – It is a popular music genre of the 1950s and 1960s which
originated in the African-American community throughout the United
States. It combines elements of African-American gospel music,
rhythm and blues, and often jazz.
4. Spiritual – It originated in the Unites States and created by African-
American slaves. It is also known as “Negro Spiritual”. It became a
means of imparting Christian values and a way of venting their
hardships as slaves.
5. Call and Response – It is likened to a question-and-answer sequence
in human communication. The slaves used to sing these songs while
simultaneously doing all their tasks in a day.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF AFRICA
 African music includes all the major instrumental genres of
western music, including strings, winds, and percussion,
along with a tremendous variety of specific African musical
instruments for solo or ensemble playing.
Classification of Traditional African Instruments
1. Idiophones
2. Membranophones
3. Lamellaphones
4. Chordophones
5. Aerophones
1. Idiophones
➢ Sound is produced by the body of the instrument
vibrating.
2. Membranophones
➢ Sound is produced by the vibration of a tightly
stretched membrane.
3. Lamellaphone
➢ Sound is produced by the vibration of tongues of
metal, wood or other material.
4. Chordophones
➢ Sound is produced by the vibration of a string or
strings that are stretched between fixed points.
5. Aerophones
➢ Sound is produced through the vibration of air.
A. Idiophones – Sound is produced by the body of the
instrument vibrating.
1. Agogo - It is a single bell or multiple bells and is
considered as the oldest samba instrument based on
West African Yoruba single or double bells. It has the
highest pitch of any of the bateria instruments.
2. Shekere – It is a type of gourd and shell megaphone from West
Africa, consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net
covering the gourd.
3. Slit/Log drum – It is a hollow percussion instrument.
Although known as a drum, it is not a true drum but is an
idiophone. It is usually carved or constructed from bamboo or
wood into a box with one or more slits in the top.
4. Atingting Kon (Slit Gong) – It is a hollowed cylinder of wood with a
narrow longitudinal opening or slit whose edges are struck to produce a
deep, sonorous tone. They are considered to be portraits of ancestors so that
when played, it is the voices of awakened ancestors which resonate from
their interior chamber.
5. Balafon – It is a kind of wooden xylophone or percussion idiophone which
plays melodic tunes. It has been played in the region since the 1300s. In the
16th century, it became a real art at the royal court of Sikasso/ Mali and
was flourishing under the reign of a generous king.
B. Membranophones – Sound is produced by the vibration of a
tightly stretched membrane.
1. Body percussion - It refers to African music using their bodies
as instruments. Their body can be used to produce sound by
clapping their hands, slapping their thighs, pounding their upper
arms or chests, or shuffling their feet. Wearing of rattles or bells
on their wrists, ankles, arms, and waists enhances their
emotional response.
2. Talking drum – It is used to send messages to
announce births, deaths, marriages, sporting
events, dances, initiations or war. It is believed
that the drums can carry direct messages to the
spirits after the death of a loved one.
3. Djembe - The West African djembe (pronounced zhem-
bay) is one of the best-known African drums. It is shaped
like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body
is carved from a hollowed trunk and is covered with goat
skin.
C. Lamellaphone – Sound is produced by the vibration of
tongues of metal, wood or other material.
1. Mbira (Kalimba/ Thumb Piano) – It is a set of plucked tines
or keys mounted on a sound board. It is being played by holding
the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the
thumbs. They used this instrument to drive away evil spirits
since it is believed that it was a vector of communication with
ancestors and spirits.
2. Array Mbira – It is a hand-crafted instrument with a unique
harp or bell-like sound. It is a popular traditional instrument of
the Shona people in Zimbabwe. It is a radical redesign of the
African Mbira and it consists of up to 150 metal tines attached to
a wooden board, comprising up to five octaves.
D. Chordophones – Sound is produced by the vibration of a
string or strings that are stretched between fixed points.
1. Musical Bow - The Musical bow is the ancestor of all string
instruments. It is the oldest and one of the most widely used
string instruments of Africa. It consists of a single string attached
to each end of a curved stick, similar to a bow and arrow.
2. Zeze - The Zeze is an African fiddle played with
a bow, a small wooden stick, or plucked with the
fingers. It has one or two strings made of steel or
bicycle brake wire. It is from Sub-Saharan Africa.
E. Aerophones – Sound is produced through the vibration of air.
1. Fulani – It is a type of flute which is widely used throughout
Africa and either vertical or side-blown. They are usually
fashioned from a single tube closed at one end and blown like a
bottle.
2. Kudu Horn – It is made from the horn of the
kudu antelope. Its sound releases a mellow and
warm sound that adds a unique African accent to
their music.
Lesson 2 – Music of Latin America
 The music of Africa is truly cultural and traditional in nature.
Significantly, the passage of time has not vanished the unique
characteristics and elements that the Africans value in their
music.
 Music is an integral part of the Africans’ being because their
music is highly associated with almost everything that they
do, be it in work, in religion, in special gatherings and other
celebrations.
 It can be well said that African Music connects people thus
making the community folks more united, and more
supportive toward each other.
 Their music has reached different parts of the globe as
Africans who migrated to Latin America and other countries
brought their music with them.
INFLUENCES ON LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC
1.Indigenous Latin-American Music – The natives
were found to be using local drum and percussion
instruments. The indigenous music of Latin
America was largely functional in nature, being
used for religious worships and ceremonies.
2.Native American/ Indian Music - The ethnic and
cultural groups of the principal Native Americans
share many similar yet distinctive music elements.
Songs had a wide range of volume levels. Songs
celebrate themes like harvest, planting season or
other important events or occasions of the year.
3. Afro-Latin American Music - The African influence on
Latin American music is most pronounced in its rich and
varied rhythmic patterns produced by drums and various
percussion instruments.
4. Euro-Latin American Music - The different regions of
Latin America adopted various characteristics from their
European colonizers. Melodies of the Renaissance period
were used in Southern Chile and the Colombian Pacific
coasts.
5. Mixed American Music - The result of the massive
infusion of African culture also brought about the
introduction of other music and dance forms such as the
Afro-Cuban rumba, Jamaican reggae, Colombian cumbia,
and the Brazilian samba.
Popular Latin American Music
1. Samba - It is a dance form of African origin around 1838 which
evolved into an African-Brazilian invention in the working class
and slum districts of Rio de Janeiro. Its lively rhythm was meant
to be executed for singing, dancing, and parading in the carnival.
2. Son – It is a fusion of the popular music or canciones (songs) of
Spain and the African rumba rhythms of Bantu origin. Originating
in Cuba, it is usually played with the guitar, contrabass, bongos,
maracas, and claves. Its most important legacy is its influence on
present-day Latin American music, particularly as the forerunner
of the salsa.
3. Salsa – It is a social dance with marked influences from Cuba and
Puerto Rico that started in New York in the mid 1970s. Its style
contains elements from the swing dance and hustle as well as the
complex Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dance forms of pachanga
and guaguanco.
Musical Instruments of Latin-America
 The varied cultures developed in Latin America gave
rise to different types of wind and percussion
instruments. As some instruments were considered
holy and music was supposed to glorify the gods,
mistakes in playing these instruments were considered
offensive and insulting to them.
1.Aztec and Mayan Instruments
2.Incan Instruments
3.Andean Instruments
4.Mariachi
Aztec and Mayan Instruments
 These are the instruments that were played during the Aztec
Empire (c. 1345-1521 CE) and Mayan Civilization (1800 BC –
AD 950). Aztec and Mayan people are people who lived in
Southern Mexico and Northern Central America Central.
1. Tlapitzalli – It is a flute variety from the Aztec culture made of
clay with decorations of abstract designs or images of their
deities.
2. Teponaztli – It is a Mexican slit drum hollowed
out and carved from a piece of hardwood with
designs representing human figures or animals to
be used for both religious and recreational
purposes.
3. Conch – It is a wind instrument made from
a seashell usually of a large sea snail. It is
prepared by cutting a hole in its spine near
the apex, and then blown into as if it were a
trumpet.
4. Rasp – It is a hand percussion instrument
whose sound is produced by scraping a group
of notched sticks with another stick, creating
a series of rattling effects.
5. Huehueti – It is a Mexican upright tubular drum used
by the Aztecs and other ancient civilizations. It is made
of wood opened at the bottom and standing on three legs
cut from the base, with its stretched skin beaten by the
hand or a wooden mallet.
Incan Instruments
These are instruments that were being
played during the civilization of Inca
between c. 1400 and 1533 CE in Pre-
Columbian America, which was centered in
what is now Peru. The Incas built one of the
largest, most tightly controlled empires the
world has ever known.
1. Ocarina - It is an ancient vessel flute made of clay or
ceramic with four to 12 finger holes and a mouthpiece
that projected from the body.
2. Zampoñas (Panpipes) – These are ancient instruments
tuned to different scalar varieties, played by blowing
across the tubetop.
Andean Instruments
These are the instruments that were being
played during the Andean Civilization (c.
3000 BCE – 1537). This civilization is
considered indigenous and not derived from
other civilizations mainly because they came
from the river valleys of the coastal desserts
of Peru.
1. Siku - It is a side-blown cane flute that is played all year
round.
2. Tarkas - These are vertical duct flutes with a mouthpiece
similar to that of a recorder, used during the rainy season.
3. Quenas – These are vertical cane flutes with an end-
notched made from fragile bamboo. They are used during the
dry season.
Mariachi
 It is an extremely popular band in Mexico whose original ensemble
consisted of violins, guitars, harp, and an enormous guitarron. Mariachi
music is extremely passionate and romantic with their blended harmonies
and characterized by catchy rhythms.
VOCAL AND DANCE FORMS OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC
1. Cumbia – It is a popular African courtship dance with European
and African instrumentation and characteristics, originating in
Panama and Colombia. It contains varying rhythmic meters.
2. Tango – It is a foremost Argentinian and Uruguayan urban
popular song and dance and remains a 20th century
nationalistic Argentinian piece of music that is most expressive.
3. Cha Cha – It is a ballroom dance originated in Cuba in 1953 that
was derived from the mambo. The Cuban Cha Cha is considered
more sensual because it contains polyrhythmic patterns.
4. Rumba - It is a popular recreational dance with Afro-Cuban
origin. It is normally used as a ballroom dance where a couple
would be in an embrace though slightly apart, with the rocking
of the hips to a fast-fast-slow sequence.
5. Bossa nova – It is the slower and gentler version of the Cuban Samba,
originated in the 1950s. It is the Portuguese term for “new trend”. This genre
integrates melody, harmony and rhythm into swaying feel and mostly sung
in a nasal manner. Antonio Carlos Jobim is the foremost international figure
of Bossa nova while Sitti Navarro is his Filipino counterpart.
6. Reggae - It is an urban popular music and dance style that originated in
Jamaica in the mid1960s. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint
between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. Bob
Marley is the best-known proponent of reggae who hails from Jamaica.
7. Foxtrot – It is a 20th century social dance that originated after 1910 in
the USA. This dance had no fixed step pattern, instead borrowing from other
dance forms and having a simple forward/backward sequence.
8. Paso Doble - It is a theatrical Spanish dance used by the Spaniards in
bullfights which means “double step”. The dance is arrogant and dignified
where the dancer takes strong steps forward with the heels accompanied by
artistic hand movements, foot stomping, sharp and quick.
Lesson 3 - Jazz
 One of the most influential musical genres of all genres in the
world.
 Saxophone is the main instrument used in this genre.
 It is one of the hardest genres to play because of the features. It
is also considered a sexy music.
 The arrival of the Jazz Music was an offshoot of the music of
African slaves who migrated to America.
 As music is considered a therapeutic outlet for human feelings,
the Africans used music to recall their nostalgic past in their
home country as well as to speak out their sentiments on their
desperate condition at that time.
 Since then, these gloomy beginnings have evolved into several
more upbeat jazz forms which the world has adopted and
incorporated into other contemporary styles.
What is Jazz Music?
 Jazz Music is an American music developed especially from
ragtime and blues which originated in the African-American
Community.

Characteristics of Jazz Music

1.Syncopated rhythms (making part of music off-beat)
▪ Jazz musicians like to emphasize the notes that they play on
the “upbeats”. Syncopation may be affected by affecting
normally weak beats in a measure, by resting on a normal
accented beat, or by tying over a note to the next measure
2.Polyphonic (producing many sounds simultaneously)
3.Improvisation (creative activity of immediate musical
composition)
▪ distortion of pitch and timbre (often utilize complex sounds)
Different Forms of Jazz:
1.Ragtime
 An American popular musical style mainly for piano, originating in
the Afro-American communities in St. Louis and New Orleans. Its
style was said to be a variation of the “marching mode”, where the
effect is generated by an internally syncopated melodic line pitted
against a rhythmically straightforward bass line. Foremost exponents
of ragtime were Jelly Roll Morton who was an American ragtime and
early jazz pianist and who composed Frog I More Rag. Scott Joplin
composed the popular Maple Leaf Rag, Solace, and The Entertainer.
Joplin is also known as the “King of Ragtime.”
2.Big Band
 Refers to a large ensemble form originating in the United States in the
mid 1920’s closely associated with the Swing Era with jazz elements
relying heavily on percussion, wind, rhythm section, and brass
instruments with a lyrical string section to accompany a lyrical
melody.
3.Bebop
A musical style of modern jazz which is characterized by a
fast tempo, instrumental virtuosity, and improvisation
that emerged during World War II. The speed of the
harmony, melody, and rhythm resulted in a heavy
performance where the instrumental sound became more
tense and free.
4.Jazz Rock
a music of the 1960’s and 1970’s bands that inserted jazz
elements into rock music. Jazz rock is a mix of funk and
R&B which stands for “rhythm and blues”, where the
music used amplification and electronic effects, complex
time signatures, and extended instrumental compositions
with lengthy improvisations in the jazz style.
➢ Since the 1990s, jazz has been characterized by a pluralism
in which no one style dominates, but rather a wide range of
styles and genres are popular. Individual performers often
play in a variety of styles, sometimes in the same
performance.
➢ Pianist Brad Mehldau and The Bad Plus have explored
contemporary rock music within the context of the traditional
jazz acoustic piano trio, recording instrumental jazz versions
of songs by rock musicians. The Bad Plus have also
incorporated elements of free jazz into their music. A firm
avant-garde or free jazz stance has been maintained by some
players, such as saxophonists Greg Osby and Charles Gayle,
while others, such as James Carter, have incorporated free
jazz elements into a more traditional framework.
Lesson 4 – Popular Music
 Popular music literally means “music of the populace”
which is similar to traditional folk music of the past.
 As it developed in the 20th century, pop music generally
consists of music for entertainment of large number of
people, whether on radio or in live performances.
 Scholars have classified music as "popular" based on
various factors, including whether a song or piece becomes
known to listeners mainly from hearing the music (in
contrast with classical music, in which many musicians
learn pieces from sheet music), its appeal to diverse
listeners, its treatment as a marketplace commodity in a
capitalist context, and other factors. Sales of 'recordings' or
sheet music are one measure.
1. BALLADS
➢ Ballads originated as an expressive folksong in narrative
verse dealing typically about love.
➢ The word is derived from both the medieval French
chanson balladee and ballade which refer to a dancing
song.
➢ It was used by poets and composers since the 18th
century until it became a slow popular love song in the
19th century. Today, it refers to a love song in a slightly
pop or rock style, with the following variations:
A. Blues Ballads
B. Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads
C. Pop and Rock Ballads
A. Blues Ballads - a fusion of Anglo-American and Afro-American
styles from the 19th century that deals with the anti-heroes
resisting authority. The form emphasizes the character of the
performer more than the narrative content and uses a banjo or a
guitar as accompaniment.
B. Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads - a blues style built from a single
verse of 16 bars ending on the dominant or half-cadence, followed
by a refrain/chorus part of 16 or 32 bars in AABA form. The B
section acts as the bridge, and the piece normally ends with a
brief coda.
C. Pop and Rock Ballads - an emotional love song with suggestions
of folk music. This style is sometimes applied to strophic (verse-
repeating) story-songs. Some enduring pop standard and jazz
ballads include “The Man I Love” (George Gershwin), “Always”
(Irving Berlin), and “In a Sentimental Mood” (Duke Ellington).
2. STANDARDS
➢ In music, the term “standard” is used to denote the most popular
and enduring songs from a particular genre or style. Its style is
mostly in a slow or moderate tempo with a relaxed mood. It features
highly singable melodies within the range and technical capacity of
listeners.
Among the foremost proponents of this style are the following:
1. Frank Sinatra. His genre was categorized as traditional pop and jazz.
He was a successful singer, actor, producer, director, and conductor.
His hit singles include “My Way” and “Strangers in the Night”.
2. Nat King Cole. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his
soothing baritone voice. His famous hits include “L-O-V-E” and
“Unforgettable”.
3. Matt Monroe was an English singer who became one of the most
popular entertainers in the international music scene during the
1960s. His hit singles include “Portrait of My Love” and “Born Free”.
3. ROCK AND ROLL
➢ Rock and Roll is the combination of Afro-American forms such as the
blues, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music with the Western swing and
country music.
➢ The lead instruments were the piano and saxophone and were
eventually replaced by modern instruments.
➢ This form came during the age when electric guitars were
supplemented by amplifiers and microphones to raise the volume. Its
name is derived from the motion of a ship on the ocean, “rock and roll.
➢ The greatest proponent of the rock and roll style was the legendary Elvis
Presley. His hit songs such as “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Blue Suede
Shoes” were complemented by his good looks and elaborate movements
that included hugging the microphone as he sang.
➢ Presley’s style was the precursor of the British band known as The
Beatles, whose compositions further boosted rock and roll as the favorite
genre of the times. Examples of The Beatles’ songs in this genre are “I Saw
Her Standing There”, “Get Back” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
4. DISCO
➢ Another form of pop music known as “Disco” rose in 70s.
➢ This type of music pertained to rock music that was more
danceable, thus leading to the establishment of venues for
public dancing also called discos.
➢ The term originated from the French word discotheque which
means a library for phonograph records.
➢ The disco style had a soaring and reverberating sound
rhythmically controlled by a steady beat for ease of dancing
accompanied by strings, horns, electric guitars, and electric
pianos or synthesizers.
➢ Famous figures of the disco genre include ABBA, Donna
Summer (“The Queen of Disco”), The Bee Gees and Gloria
Gaynor, bringing us such hits as “Dancing Queen”, “Stayin’
Alive”, “Boogie Wonderland”, and “Hot Stuff”.
5. POP MUSIC
➢ Parallel with the disco era, other pop music superstars continued to
emerge. Among them were Diana Ross and the Supremes (“Stop in the
Name of Love”), Olivia Newton John (“Hopelessly Devoted to You”),
Elton John (“Skyline Pigeon”) and The Carpenters (“We’ve Only Just
Begun”).
➢ Pop superstars in more recent years were Celine Dion (“My Heart Will
Go On”), Whitney Houston (“I Will Always Love You”), Mariah Carey
(“Hero”), Beyonce (“Listen”), Lady Gaga (“Bad Romance”), and Bruno
Mars (“Just The Way You Are”) and many more.
➢ Today’s Pop Music Idols include music groups like Black Eyed Peas, My
Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boys, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus,
Souja Boy, Train, Maroon 5, One Direction including popular Kpop like
BTS, Blankpink and Astro; and solo performers include Adele, Taylor
Swift, Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ariana Grande, Justin
Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Nikki Minaj, Selena Gomez, Charlie
Puth, Jessie J and others.
Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop”
➢ Perhaps the most popular solo performer of all time is
Michael Joseph Jackson who was born on August 29, 1958
and died on June 25, 2009.
➢ He was an American recording artist, entertainer, singer-
songwriter, record producer, musical arranger, dancer,
choreographer, actor, businessman, and philanthropist.
➢ Jackson's 1982 album “Thriller” remains the world's best-
selling album of all time, and four of his other solo studio
albums are among the world's best-selling records: “Off the
Wall” (1979), “Bad” (1987), “Dangerous” (1991), and
“History” (1995)
6. HIP HOP AND RAP
➢ Hip hop is a stylized, highly rhythmic type of music
that usually includes portions of rhythmically
chanted words called rap.
➢ Rap is characterized by the artist speaking along
with an instrumental or synthesized beat.
➢ It has evolved into a subculture that encompasses
music like rapping, DJ’ing, scratching and
beatboxing. Among the early hip hop artists were LL
Cool J and Run D.M.C. While recent popular names
include Beastie Boys, Eminem and Kanye West.
Lesson 5 – Philippine Pop Music
 From theater tunes to rock and roll, pop, standards, hip hop, rap,
and contemporary ballads- whether in the West, in the
Philippines, or anywhere else in the world- these all provided a
rich and diverse musical background in the development of
Philippine contemporary music.
 The development of Philippine music was also influenced by the
history of the country- from its pre-Spanish roots, through the
Spanish and American periods, up to the present. It has since
evolved to have its own rich and distinct identity.
 The acronym OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music which is a
genre under Contemporary Philippine Music.
 It was originally used to refer to Philippine pop songs, particularly
ballads, such as those popular after the collapse of its
predecessor, the Manila Sound, in the late 1970s until the
present.
 OPM started in Manila where Tagalog and English are the
dominant languages for its texts. However, other ethno-
linguistic groups such as the Visayan, Bikol,
Kapampangan, and Ilocano also began to sing and record
their songs in their native dialects.
 Pop music in the Philippines started as an adaptation or
translation, if not complete imitation, of Western hits. It
started with Bobby Gonzales’ “Hahabol-habol” (Hot
Pursuit), a local version of the rock and roll songs of the
1950s, and Rico Puno’s “Luneta”, a local adaptation of “The
Way We Were”. This immediately clicked with the youth and
eventually gained wide acceptance even among the burgis
(bourgeois or elite) crowd.
Here are the following artists in Philippine Pop
Music by decades:
 1960s-1970s - Nora Aunor, Pilita Corrales, Eddie
Peregrina, Victor Wood, Asin, APO Hiking Society,
and others were highly popular OPM singers.
 1970s - 1980s. Major commercial Philippine pop
music artists were Claire dela Fuente, Didith
Reyes, Rico Puno, Ryan Cayabyab, Basil Valdez,
Celeste Legaspi, Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera,
Freddie Aguilar, Imelda Papin, Eva Eugenio,
Nonoy Zuñiga and many more.
 1980s to 1990s. This is regarded as the “Golden Era of Philippine Ballads”.
Among the classics that emerged were those created by Ryan Cayabyab,
“Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika”; George Canseco, “Kastilyong Buhangin”;
Willie Cruz, “Bituing Walang Ningning”; Jose Mari Chan, “Please Be
Careful With My Heart”; and Gary Valenciano and Regine “Sana Maulit
Muli”.
 We also have Martin Nievera, Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez, Sharon
Cuneta, Vina Morales, Francis Magalona, Pops Fernandez, Janno Gibbs,
Ogie Alcasid, Joey Albert, Leah Navarro, ZsaZsa Padilla and many other
singers in this period.
 1990s to Present. The famous solo artists and bands included The
Eraserheads, Smokey Mountain, Donna Cruz, Ariel Rivera, Southborder,
Afterimage, Andrew E., Jaya, Rivermaya, and Parokya ni Edgar.
 More recently, OPM stars also included Yeng Constantino, Sarah
Geronimo, Aiza Seguerra, Eric Santos, Christian Bautista, Morissette
Amon, Darren Espanto, Acapellago and international singers Arnel Pineda,
and Charice Pempengco.
PHILIPPINE JAZZ
➢ Philippine musicians have also been inspired by jazz
music.
➢ Among them are jazz pianist and recording artist Boy
Katindig, who comes from the well-known clan of
musicians that includes jazz piano legend, Romy
Katindig and saxophonist, Eddie Katindig. The Katindig
family pioneered Latin jazz in Manila.
➢ Other notable Filipino jazz musicians include Lito
Molina, Angel Peña, Emil Mijares, and internationally
known jazz pianist, Bobby Enriquez.
PHILIPPINE ROCK
➢ The year 1973 saw the birth of Philippine or “Pinoy”
rock music which successfully merged the rock beat
with Filipino lyrics.
➢ This new sound was introduced by the legendary Juan
de la Cruz Band, with their song “Ang Himig Natin”.
➢ Continuing this legacy of Pinoy rock today are vocal
groups and bands that include River Maya, The Dawn,
True Faith, The Eraserheads, Wolfgang, Bamboo,
Parokya ni Edgar, Hale, Sandwich, SugarFree, Sponge
Cola and others.
PHILIPPINE ALTERNATIVE FOLK MUSIC
➢ The Philippines also saw the rise of alternative folk
music which was different from the traditional and
popular form. This new form combined ethnic
instrumentation with electronic accompaniment, while
presenting themes or issues of society and the
environment.
➢ Some of the Filipino composers who championed this
style were Joey Ayala, Grace Nono, and Edru Abraham.
➢ Among other Filipino composers whose styles ranged
from folk to semi-ethnic were Freddie Aguilar “Anak”,
Yoyoy Villame “Magellan”, and Florante “Ako’y Isang
Pinoy”.
PINOY RAP
➢ In the Philippines, rap was also made popular by such
composers and performers as Francis Magalona “Mga
Kababayan Ko”, “Watawat” and Andrew E “Humanap Ka ng
Pangit”.
➢ Francis Magalona is also known as Francis M., “Master
Rapper,” and “The Man from Manila.” He was a Filipino
rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, director, television host,
and photographer. He is often hailed as the “King of Pinoy
Rap” and is considered a legend in the Philippine music
community. Magalona was the first Filipino rapper to cross
over to the mainstream. He is also credited for having
pioneered the merging of rap with Pinoy rock, becoming a
significant influence on artists in that genre as well.