| Music of the Anglophone Caribbean | ||||
| Genres | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional music | ||||
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Themusic of the Bahamas is associated primarily withJunkanoo, a celebration which occurs onBoxing Day and again onNew Year's Day.Parades and other celebrations mark the ceremony. Groups likeThe Baha Men,Ronnie Butler, Kirkland Bodie and Twindem have gained massive popularity in Japan, the United States and other places. Other popular Bahamian artists include Stileet and Stevie S.
Calypso is a style ofAfro-Caribbean music which originated inTrinidad and Tobago. This form of music has spread through many parts of the Caribbean, includingthe Bahamas.
Soca is a form of dance music which originated from many calypso music inTrinidad and Tobago. It originally combined the melodic lilting sound of calypso with insistent percussion (which is often electronic in recent music) and local chutney music. Soca music has evolved in the last 20 years primarily by musicians from various Anglophone Caribbean countries including Trinidad, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, United States Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and Belize.
The wordJunkanoo is said to be derived from aGhanaian leader,John Connu, or from theQujo supreme deity (Canno) and ancestral spirits (jannanin). The junkanoo is still practiced inNorth Carolina and remnants still exist inBelize. It is most well known, though, fromNassau andFreeport. Since the 1950s the influence ofAmerican culture has increased, mainly through TV and radio broadcasts fromFlorida stations, and otherCaribbean styles have made inroads:calypso,reggae andsoca, fromJamaica,Cuba,Trinidad, and other islands.Tourism has also had an impact, bringing in Japanese, European and North Americans with their attendant forms of cultural expression. In this milieu more traditional Bahamas performers such asJoseph Spence, have still enjoyed successful careers playing junkanoo, Christianhymns and theant'ems of the localsponge fishermen, which include "Sloop John B", later made famous byThe Beach Boys.
In 1973, the year the Bahamas achieved independence from the United Kingdom, black professionals of the middle and upper classes began to dominate junkanoo celebrations. Costuming and competitions became more complex and commonplace, and soon became a tourist draw.
Aside from being a type of drum,goombay is also apercussion music made famous byAlphonso 'Blind Blake' Higgs, who played to tourists arriving atNassau International Airport for several years.Rake-and-scrape music is a unique type of instrumental music made by bending a saw and scraping with a small object, most typically ascrewdriver; it is used to accompany dances derived from European forms likepolka andwaltz. Rake-and-scrape's popularity has been declining in recent years, but performers likeLassie Do and the Boys continue to keep the tradition alive. Christianrhyming spirituals and theant'ems ofsponge fishermen are now mostly dead traditions, decimated by the arrival of pop music, a 1930s sponge blight and other causes.
E. Clement Bethel's master's thesis on traditional Bahamian music was adapted for the stage by his daughter,Nicolette Bethel andPhilip A. Burrows.Music of The Bahamas was first performed at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe in 1991, and was revived in 2002 for fresh Bahamian audiences. A recording of that show is available for sale fromRingplay Productions.
Rake and scrape music is played traditionally withconcertinas, Goombay drums, and ahandsaw. Rake and scrape is believed to have originated on the island of Cat Island but evidence suggest that it was emerging in many places simultaneously. The earliest reference to usage of the accordion by Bahamians is in 1886 in an Article in the Nassau Guardian. The term rake and scrape became the norm in 1969 by Charles Carter although he claims the people of Cat Island were already calling it that when he visited the Island.[1][2]
Membranophones: The Goombay drum is the main rhythmic component in rake-n-scrape. It is also referred to a goatskin drum, as the skin of a goat was stretched over a wooden barrel. It is decorated by simple or complex geometric designs in bright colors. The drum is always heated over fire to retain its tone. In 1971, when manufacturers started shipping products in metal barrels, Bahamians switched the drum to metal, slightly changing the tone of the drum.[3]
Idiophones: The main component that makes Rake-N-Scrape unique is the use of the Carpenter's Saw. This instrument is scraped with a nail or butter knife. Bent against the body of the player and flexed, various timbral effects are obtained.[4] In more modern music, the saw is replaced with maracas or a guiro.[5]
Aerophones: The accordion is the component that adds the round form which enables dancers to dance the ring dance. This is of European descent. In more modern bands, it is replaced by an electric guitar or electronic keyboard.[6]
