About Music In Guyana
Guyanese Music Overview
Guyana is considered a melting pot when it comes to the music present here. During the time that Guyana got their independence, this new nation remained musically connected with the larger Caribbean Afro-Guyanese, and Indo-Guyanese “folk” traditions associated with different celebrations. The music present in Guyana is very diverse due to the diverse population here. The different groups here all brought different traditions and music therefore each ethnic group enjoys a different kind of music and dance. The music here also encompasses a range of musical styles and genres that come from many different influences, including Africa. Due to these factors, Guyana has a varied and complex musical heritage that is also constantly evolving. While each group holds by its own religion, own culture, and language, and its own ideas and ways, it seemed that there was combining taking place in music The different styles and genres that are present come from different places and include Indian, Latino-Hispanic, European, African, Chinese, and Amerindian music. The Guyana music Festival was an event that was very influential on the Guyana music scene. While there are a lot of genres present here, the people here do not just play all these different genres, they make the music their own as well. They take these genres and styles of music and all their own things to it (such as lyrics) to fit into the genre. Guyanese music is just music that has been written, performed, and recorded by Guyanese people, and they have done basically every genre of music.
During most of the 20th century, there were complex relationships that existed in the urban music-making process. Not only did these festivals such as the British Guiana Music Festivals help this music spread, technology did as well. Technology such as the radio made new music present in different parts of Guyana. British Guiana also played a very important role in the music that is present in Guyana. In British Guiana, they had religious music, folk music of festivals and rites of passage, such as the up-tempo Chatini music of Matticore- the pre-marriage ritual similar to the Kwe Kwe ritual of Guyanese of African ancestry; neo-classical innovations such as Taan singing from the cane fields; and leisure music forms associated with maujing and rum shop music. These all have influence on the music in Guyana.
The Want for a National Sound
Guyana has not exerted an influence on popular music of the wider world the way places like Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago have. Even smaller Caribbean islands have had more of an influence on music than Guyana has. A lot of places had their own music and the Guyanese people needed to find an original sound. There is also no Guyanese equivalent to genres like reggae, dancehall, mambo, meringue, or bachata. This has caused people to feel that Guyana has a lack of music vitality. Guyana however, was rich in raw musical materials and had a lot of creative potential as most of the other parts of the Caribbean. They have also appeared to have had abounded in musical experimentations and attempts to create, label, and market new forms of music. None of these attempts at the creation of a national sound led to anything. Bhoom was an attempt at the creation of a national sound of Guyana. This was a musical exchange and efforts by Tom Charles to create a national sound for Guyana, however it never really stuck. The people in Guyana experimented a lot and they attempted to create, label, and market new, symbolically patent fusions drawing on local forms of music. Some names of the new blended local genres that these people tried to create were bjajee, shanto, bion beat, bhoom, Afro-Indie beat, blend beat, lopi, fish beat, masqui, kwefo, calamari, afrugu, banshikili, foga, along with some others. With these attempts, none of them led to a successful national beat and many of them faded away.
This photo shows Tom Charles.
Influences on Actual Music
In the age of civil rights, there were lots of struggles, such as youth power, black power, anti-war movements, free love, and popular music was an important vector of these ideas. There were also a lot of racial conflicts and violence present here. In 1972, a man named Ved Vakuk collected almost 900 songs from here and he described them as East Indian folk songs. They were then divided into three categories. 1. Traditional religious and festival songs, 2. “Protest” songs, and 3. Songs by women who were craving for children. The protest songs in particular showed African and Western influences on their structure and lyrics and they can be used to show examples of musical exchange that went on during this time.
Despite these songs that Vakuk categorized, there were actually said to be three categories of activities that music in Guyana was associated with. These are a)ceremonial b)moments of affirmation and c)public celebrations. The music here is used in many situations and events which helps to make it so important. Folk in particular was important because the population and promotion of this music was the outcome of cultural nationalism honed in resistance to colonialism.
Relations With Africa
The music present in Guyana encompases a lot of musical styles and genres that draw from various influences including Africa. During this time, slavery was happening therefore there were African slaves being brought to British Guiana. Africa music exchange took place during this slavery. It happened on the enslavement ships and it led to the diffusion of African musical instruments, rhythms, and dance patterns into the New World. These ships provided space for musical encounters, interaction, and exchange among the different groups of people. This exchange was very important, and it even contributed to some core characteristics of African musical expressiveness that is seen in British Guiana at the end of the 19th century.
Some of the things that got exchanged during this time were musical instruments such as aerophones, chordophones, membranophones, and idiophones. Also, things like polyrhythmic drumming patterns, syncopation, polyphony, vocal styles that were characterized by call and response, lyrics that emphasized praise and blame, and integration with dance and religion. While these changes were very popular with Africans, similar exchanges also took place with Indians. Musical interaction and exchange was also evident among Portuguese and Chinese immigrants that were here.
There was a popularity of contemporary African popular music such as soul, R&B, jazz, and rock and roll. There was the adapting of Guyanese folk music, especially the folk music associated with the African experience in Guyana and in Guyanese calypsos. This can be seen in King Fighter’s “He No Dead Yet.” Other African-derived folk expressions however, did not become as popular. Protest songs in particular showed African influences because of their structure and lyrics, and they are a good example of showing this musical exchange that took place during this time.
This photo shows a slave ship, where a lot of exchanges took place.
Other People and Songs
The 1952 Woodside Choir represented the apex of choral music in Guyana. They were an important ensemble in the influential urban-based, music community.
Other composers include: Composers Rev. Hawley Bryant, Rev. Cossou, Francis Percival Loncke, Patricia Loncke, Cecile Nobrega, William A. Pilgrim, R. C. G. Potter, Valerie Rodway, Betty Roe, and High Sam. All these people gave the new nation a rich collection of patriotic music and songs.
All the popular music ensembles during the 60s share a common characteristic, that being that they were adept at covering the popular music of the era and they all followed a performance pattern.
Indo-Guyanese bands include Cortyne’s Lonely Bulls; the Dil Bihar Orchestra.
