An Introduction to Caribbean Music

Caribbean music is one of the most interesting and diverse types of music that you can possibly listen to. To get a real introduction to Caribbean music, the first thing that you need to do is understand is that Caribbean music ranges through many different styles and genres. There isn't just a single genre of Caribbean music; rather there are many interesting types of music that encompass Caribbean music.

In many ways, the defining characteristic of Caribbean music is indeed diversity. In Caribbean music you might find traditional folk music, such as the Jamaican mento or you might find more contemporary sounds that you typically associate with Caribbean music such as reggae or salsa.

Caribbean music has a long and interesting history. The history of Caribbean music begins with tribal music from the Native Americans that first inhabited the Caribbean island. This music largely featured percussion instruments, much of which was developed by the Native Americans and sadly perished along with most of the Native Americans during the 17^th century. After that time, Caribbean music came out of the combination of the European settlers to the Caribbean as well as the African slaves that were brought along with the settlers.

Settlement communities which often attracted a large number of diverse people created a very lively culture of music.

Modern Caribbean music came to the forefront in the 20^th century and is largely due to mass media. Records and radio broadcasts helped create specific styles of music which was generally music that Caribbean islanders would dance to. As Cubans immigrated in large numbers to cities in the United States, large centers of Latin, West Indian and Caribbean music emerged.

Caribbean music can be divided into the three broad categories of folk music, classical music and commercial music. Caribbean folk music comes from the African musical roots of the Caribbean community and tends to feature percussion instruments and vocals that use a call and a response. These would include things like the Cuban rumba, the Puerto Rican bamba, as well as other styles.

The best known types of Caribbean music are, of course, the popular genres of Caribbean music of today. Most of these come from Cuba and they include music styles like the mambo, the con, the listera, and the chadracha. For the last half century, styles such as salsa have become very popular as well. Obviously, the most famous style of Caribbean music that has emerged has been reggae.

If you are looking for some new interesting music to learn about Caribbean music is definitely worth taking the time to explore.