Chouval bwa
Encyclopedia
Chouval bwa is a Martinican traditional music
.
drum that players ride as though it were a horse.
s, chacha (a rattle
) and the bel-air, a bass version of the tanbour, bamboo flute and wax-paper/comb-type kazoo.
The tibwa (French petit bois, little wood) are played on a length of bamboo mounted on a stand to the tambour bèlè. Often a chacha (single-cylinder metal rattle) or two are added to the ensemble, but are considered extra. In practice more than one drummer may accompany a dance, but they take turns, playing for alternate dancers. There are often two tibwa players, playing simultaneously. The tibwa patterns are considered the basic rhythm of the dance. Call-and-response singing completes the ensemble. The lead singer chooses the sequence of dances through his or her selection of songs, each of which goes with a specific dance. All songs are in créole
and concern relations between the sexes, local gossip, and current politics.
The music originated among rural Martinicans. Since its development, chouval bwa has diversified into genres like zouk chouv
, which includes electric instrumentation and has been popularized by Claude Germany
, Tumpak, Dede Saint-Prix, and Pakatak.
Music of Martinique
The music of Martinique has a heritage which is intertwined with that of its sister island, Guadeloupe. Despite their small size, the islands have created a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century...
.
Origins
Belair or bèlè drumming is at the rhythmic heart of chouval bwa, the traditional roots music of Martinique; the belair itself is a huge tambourTambour
In classical architecture, a tambour is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration....
drum that players ride as though it were a horse.
Characteristics
The belair percussionist is typically the leader of the chouval bwa orchestra. Chouval bwa features a drummer on the tanbour drum and the ti bwa, a percussion instrument made out of a piece of bamboo laid horizontally and beaten with sticks; the most traditional ensembles also use accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
s, chacha (a rattle
Rattle (percussion)
A rattle is a percussion instrument. It consists of a hollow body filled with small uniform solid objects, like sand or nuts. Rhythmical shaking of this instrument produces repetitive, rather dry timbre noises. In some kinds of music, a rattle assumes the role of the metronome, as an alternative to...
) and the bel-air, a bass version of the tanbour, bamboo flute and wax-paper/comb-type kazoo.
The tibwa (French petit bois, little wood) are played on a length of bamboo mounted on a stand to the tambour bèlè. Often a chacha (single-cylinder metal rattle) or two are added to the ensemble, but are considered extra. In practice more than one drummer may accompany a dance, but they take turns, playing for alternate dancers. There are often two tibwa players, playing simultaneously. The tibwa patterns are considered the basic rhythm of the dance. Call-and-response singing completes the ensemble. The lead singer chooses the sequence of dances through his or her selection of songs, each of which goes with a specific dance. All songs are in créole
Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole is a creole language with a vocabulary based on French. It is spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary also include elements of Carib and African languages. Antillean Creole is related to Haitian Creole, but has a number of distinctive features; they are...
and concern relations between the sexes, local gossip, and current politics.
The music originated among rural Martinicans. Since its development, chouval bwa has diversified into genres like zouk chouv
Zouk chouv
Zouk chouv is a musical genre of Martinique and Guadeloupe.-Origin:Zouk chouv evolved from chouval bwa, adding electric zouk instrumentation...
, which includes electric instrumentation and has been popularized by Claude Germany
Claude Germany
Claude Germany is a French Antillean musician, known as a pioneer of zouk chouv, a sort of electric zouk.- References :...
, Tumpak, Dede Saint-Prix, and Pakatak.