Tradition and Innovation in Brazilian Popular Music: Keyboard Percussion Instruments in Choro by Mark James Duggan A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Mark James Duggan 2011 Tradition and Innovation in Brazilian Popular Music: Keyboard Percussion Instruments in Choro Mark James Duggan Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2011 Abstract The use of keyboard percussion instruments in choro, one of the earliest forms of Brazilian popular music, is a relatively recent phenomenon and its expansion into university music programs and relocation from small clubs and private homes to concert halls has changed the way that choro is learned and performed. For many Brazilians, this kind of innovation in a “traditional” genre represents a challenge to their notion of a Brazilian cultural identity. This study examines the dynamic relationship that Brazilians have with representations of their culture, especially in the area of popular music, through an in depth discussion of the use of keyboard percussion instruments within the genre of choro. I discuss the implications of using keyboard percussion in choro with a detailed description of its contemporary practice and a critical examination of the sociological and academic issues that surround choro historically and as practiced today. This includes an historical overview of choro and organology of keyboard percussion instruments in Brazil. I discuss multiple perspectives on the genre including a ii consideration of choro as part of the “world music” movement and choro’s ambiguous relationship to jazz. Through an examination of the typical instrumentation and performance conventions used in choro, I address the meanings and implications of the adaptation of those practices and of the various instrumental roles found in choro to keyboard percussion instruments. Solutions to problems relating to instrumental adaptation are offered, with particular attention to issues of notation, improvisation, rhythmic approach and the role of the cavaquinho. I also discuss the significance of rhythmic feel and suingue (swing) in relation to the concept of brasilidade (brazilianness) as informed by and expressed through Brazilian popular music. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor at the University of Toronto, Dr. Russell Hartenberger, as well as my committee members Dr. John Brownell and Dr. Jeff Packman for their invaluable assistance and advice during the research and organization of the information contained in this document. I would also like to thank the many musicians who gave freely of their time, expertise and opinions to make this study as comprehensive as it is. Many thanks to all the interviewees, Denilson Bianchine Alves, Luis Marcos Caldana, Beto Caldas, Arthur Dutra, André Juarez, Ugo Marotta, Hélvio Mendes, Hendrik Meurkens, Jota Moraes, Cláudia Oliveira, Daniela Rennó, Fernando Rocha, Ney Rosauro, Jorge Sacramento, Rogério Souza, Marilene Trotta, Ricardo Valverde, and Wellington Cláudio Vidal. Others who gave more informal, but no less valuable, assistance to this project include Luizinho 7 Cordas (Luiz Araújo Amorim), Márcio Bahia, André Becker, John Boudler, Toninho Ferragutti, Marcelo Fortuna, Frank Herzberg, Hamilton de Holanda, Alan Hetherington, Guinga (Carlos Escobar), Arthur Lipner, Sílvia Morais, Joatan Nascimento, Fabio Oliveira, Pinduca (Luis D’Anunciação), Jovino Santos Neto, Amoy Ribas, Gordon Sheard, Priscilla Torelli and Amanda Wagner. I would like to give special thanks to Prof. Cláudia Oliveira and to the other members (past and present) of the Amazonian percussion group TACAP: Ricardo Aquino, Cláudio Costa, Magno Moraes, Luis Baleiro and Joelson Silva, for their advice on the subject of choro and the percussion community in Brazil, and for their friendship and assistance. I would also like to thank my wife, Susan Lee, for her assistance with the videography and editing of the accompanying DVD as well as for her patience and loving support during my research period and the writing of this document. iv Table of Contents Table of Contents Acknowledgments...............................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents.................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures..................................................................................................................................... viii List of Audio Examples.................................................................................................................... xiii List of Video Examples.....................................................................................................................xiv List of Appendices ..............................................................................................................................xv Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 : Ideas and Issues in Contemporary Choro ........................................................... 10 1.1 Objectivity and Witness................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Choro as “World Music”................................................................................................................... 15 1.3 Culture Change and Refashioning Identity: Is the phrase “culture change” a redundancy?................................................................................................................................................... 19 1.4 Social Context of Choro.................................................................................................................... 24 1.5 Choro and Jazz .................................................................................................................................... 28 1.6 Multicultural Music or Multimusical Culture?......................................................................... 32 Chapter 2 : Histories......................................................................................................................... 40 2.1 The Roots of Choro............................................................................................................................ 40 2.2 The Musical Antecedents of Choro .............................................................................................. 45 2.3 Development of the Style................................................................................................................ 56 2.4 Keyboard Percussion in Brazil...................................................................................................... 67 2.5 Choro Keyboard Percussion Musicians...................................................................................... 70 Chapter 3 : Performance Practices .............................................................................................. 82 3.1 Typical Choro Instrumentation .................................................................................................... 82 3.2 Musical Elements............................................................................................................................... 86 3.3 Stylistic Traits..................................................................................................................................... 88 3.4 Contemporary Choro........................................................................................................................ 98 v Chapter 4 : Interpretation ............................................................................................................101 4.1 “Suingue” and the Brazilian Rhythmic Approach.................................................................101 4.2 Improvisation in Choro: old school and new .........................................................................110 4.3 Roles of the Baixaria and Countermelody...............................................................................113 Chapter 5 : Adaptation and Analysis.........................................................................................118 5.1 Introduction to the Keyboard Percussion Instruments .....................................................119 5.2 Arranging Choro Works for Keyboard Percussion Ensemble..........................................120 5.3 Analysis...............................................................................................................................................133 5.3.1 “Na Glória”..................................................................................................................................................... 133 5.3.2 “Doce de Coco”............................................................................................................................................. 136 5.3.3 “Enigma”......................................................................................................................................................... 145 5.4 Choro on a Solo Keyboard Percussion Instrument ..............................................................148 5.4.1 “Cheio de Dedos” 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