Lesson 2 The Foundational Rhythms of New Orleans
Essential Questions
How did Congo Square influence the rhythms heard in New Orleans and other popular music today?
What rhythms are the foundation of New Orleans music?
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Understand how historical events can impact music development and creation
- Identify, demonstrate, and understand the differences between the foundational rhythms of New Orleans music - Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and Son Clave Rhythms.
Materials Needed
- Computer or Tablet
- Media links (see below)
- Berklee PULSE Account
- Headphones
- Whiteboard
Media
- Videos
- Congo Square - Take Me to the River New Orleans (See Below)
- Congo Square Drum Circle
- Congo Square Dancers
- Rhythm Demonstrations
- The Foundational Rhythms of New Orleans (See Below)
- The Impact of Congo Square in Music Today (See Below)
- Rhythmic Notation
- Bamboula/Tresillo Rhythm (See Below)
- Son Clave Rhythm (3-2) (See Below)
- Habanera Rhythm (See Below)
- Cinquillo Rhythm (See Below)
- Worksheet - The Foundational Rhythms of New Orleans
- Additional Listening Exercises
Lesson 2: The Foundational Rhythms of New Orleans
- Explain to students that they will be watching videos of modern-day Congo Square.
- Play the video from Take Me to the River New Orleans about Congo Square.
- Play students the Congo Square Drum Circle and Congo Square Dancers videos.
- Ask students to reflect on the videos they watched:
- What did they observe about the location this drum circle took place in?
- What kind of instruments were played in these videos?
- What did they notice about the singing?
- How did the participants (musicians and dancers) interact with each other?
- Explain to students that what they observed in these videos is reminiscent of what occurred during the gatherings that took place in Congo Square. Congo Square’s influence can still be heard and felt in the music and traditions of New Orleans.
- Explain to students that they will be learning about the most prominent rhythms that were first played in Congo Square more than 300 years ago. Play students the video The Foundational Rhythms of New Orleans to introduce the predominant rhythms heard in New Orleans music.
- Tell students that the first rhythm they will learn about is the Bamboula rhythm. Originating in Africa, the Bamboula spread throughout the West Indies, South, and North America through the Transatlantic slave trade. The Bamboula was brought to New Orleans by enslaved Africans from the Caribbean, predominantly from Haiti and Cuba. The Bamboula rhythm is also known under a different name called the Tresillo rhythm.
- Tresillo is a Spanish word meaning triplet. This rhythmic pattern has three equal notes that are played within the same time span occupied by two notes.
- Then explain to students that like in most rhythms of African cultures, the Bamboula not only refers to a rhythm, but it also refers to a djembe-like drum which is made from a piece of bamboo that is covered with a calfskin or hide and a dance of the same name. The Bamboula rhythms gave birth to the distinct rhythm of New Orleans music, and it is an integral part of the fabric of New Orleans music and sound.
- Introduce the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm to students, so they can visualize and listen to the rhythm.
- Students should then clap along to the rhythm with the music player, emphasizing the syllables “Bam-Bou-La” as they clap along with the rhythms.
- Once students master clapping the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythmic pattern:
- Students will practice the rhythmic pattern at various tempos
- Students will then practice the rhythmic pattern on different instruments, including pitched and unpitched percussion or their individual instruments.
- Both the Bamboula and Tresillo rhythms can be thought of as variations of the Son Clave rhythm. Students will listen to the Son Clave and then they will clap along to the Son Clave rhythm.
Ask students what differences they heard between the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm and the Son Clave rhythm.
- Explain to students that another common rhythm is the Habanera rhythm. The Habanera rhythm is a form of syncopation that is used as a rhythmic pulse for many Latin and Jazz compositions, and it was a major influence on New Orleans musicians who traveled back and forth from New Orleans to Cuba. Early New Orleans musicians, like Jelly Roll Morton, described the Habanera rhythm as the “Spanish tinge.” The Habanera rhythm was a rhythmic staple of Ragtime and early jazz.
- Then explain to students that like the Bamboula and Tresillo rhythm, the Habanera is also a social dance that Cubans of African descent developed from European social dances. The dance became so popular that it traveled back across the Atlantic and became popular in Europe.
- Introduce the Habanera Rhythm to students so they can visualize and listen to the rhythm. Students should then clap along to the rhythm with the music player.
- Once students master clapping the Habanera rhythmic pattern:
- Students will practice the rhythmic pattern at various tempos
- Students will then practice the rhythmic pattern on different instruments, including pitched and unpitched percussion or their individual instruments
- Ask students what differences they heard between the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm and the Habanera rhythm.
- The Habanera rhythm is similar to the Bamboula and Tresillo rhythms, adding a backbeat to the dotted eighth and sixteenth note pattern.
- Play students the video The Impact of Congo Square in Music Today.
- Distribute Worksheet 1 - The Foundational Rhythms of New Orleans. Explain to students that they’ll be listening to music to hear how these rhythms remain a present part of music today. Students will fill in the worksheet for steps 17 - 21 below.
- Students will listen to Dave Bartholomew’s "Country Boy". While listening to this song, ask your students to:
- Identify which rhythm they heard used during this tune (Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and/or Son Clave)
- Identify what instrument the rhythmic pattern played on. Did the instrument play the rhythmic pattern for the entire song?
- Describe if the rhythm was played fast or slow. How did that impact the overall feeling of the song?
- If time allows, have students clap along with the rhythm of the song.
- Note: Dave Bartholomew’s "Country Boy" uses the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm during the saxophone riff. The use of this rhythm on his 1949 record helped make the pattern one of the most over-used rhythmic patterns in 1950s Rock n’Roll.
- Students will then listen to Georges Bizet’s "Carmen". While listening to this song, ask your students to:
- Identify which rhythm they heard used during this tune (Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and/or Son Clave)
- Identify what instrument the rhythmic pattern played on. Did the instrument play the rhythmic pattern for the entire song?
- Describe if the rhythm was played fast or slow. How did that impact the overall feeling of the song?
- If time allows, have students clap along with the rhythm of the song.
- Note: Carmen prominently uses the Habanera rhythm.
- Students will then listen to Scott Joplin’s "Solace". While listening to this song, ask your students to:
- Identify which rhythm they heard used during this tune (Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and/or Son Clave)
- Identify what instrument the rhythmic pattern played on. Did the instrument play the rhythmic pattern for the entire song?
- Describe if the rhythm was played fast or slow. How did that impact the overall feeling of the song?
- If time allows, have students clap along with the rhythm of the song.
- Note: Solace prominently uses the Habanera rhythm.
- Then have your students listen to The Meters’s "Hey Pocky Way". While listening to this song, ask your students to:
- Identify which rhythm they heard used during this tune (Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and/or Son Clave)
- Identify what instrument the rhythmic pattern played on. Did the instrument play the rhythmic pattern for the entire song?
- Describe if the rhythm was played fast or slow. How did that impact the overall feeling of the song?
- If time allows, have students clap along with the rhythm of the song.
- Note: Hey Pocky Way prominently utilizes the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm in the drum part.
- Lastly, have your students listen to Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee’s "Despacito". While listening to this song, ask your students to:
- Identify which rhythm they heard used during this tune (Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and/or Son Clave)
- Identify what instrument the rhythmic pattern played on. Did the instrument play the rhythmic pattern for the entire song?
- Describe if the rhythm was played fast or slow. How did that impact the overall feeling of the song?
- If time allows, have students clap along with the rhythm of the song.
- Note: Despactio prominently uses the Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm throughout the song, including on the guitar and synth lines, as well as in the drum line in the chorus.
- Extension: If time is available or if you’d like to engage in deeper listening with your students, repeat this listening exercise with:
- Sidney Bechet’s "Under the Creole Moon" (Bamboula/Tresillo bass line, Cinquillo in drums)
- Jelly Roll Morton’s "New Orleans Blues" (Bamboula/Tresillo, Habanera, and Cinquillo rhythms)
- Rebirth Brass Band’s "Feel Like Funkin’ it Up" (Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm)
- Ed Sheeran’s "Shape of You" (Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm)
- The Chainsmokers’s "Don’t Let Me Down" (Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm)
- John Legend’s "All of Me" (Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm)
- Shabba Ranks’s "Dem Bow" (Bamboula/Tresillo rhythm)
Assessment/Extensions
Assessment
- Students are able to practice and perform all rhythmic patterns presented in the lesson.
- Students can identify all the rhythmic patterns in selected recordings.
Extensions
- Have students learn the Cinquillo rhythm and listen to how the Cinquillo rhythm shows up in different musical genres, including jazz and pop music.
- Connect this lesson to the Berklee PULSE Unit on the Clave Rhythm
- Review percussion notation in Berklee PULSE’s Study Room
Key Terms
- Bamboula Rhythm (also referred to as the Second Line Beat and Tresillo Rhythm) - A rhythm that derives from the structural core of sub-Saharan African music traditions. It is at the foundation of New Orleans African American musical styles including jazz, brass band music, and the music of Mardi Gras Indians. This rhythm is also prevalent in musical traditions found in many parts of the African Diaspora
- Cinquillo Rhythm - A rhythmic pattern that is common in Cuban contradanza and danzon music. The rhythm is an embellishment of the Tresillo rhythm and features a strong syncopated pattern.
- Habanera Rhythm - A Cuban form of syncopation used as the rhythmic pulse for some Latin and jazz pieces. It was a major influence on the musicians from New Orleans who traveled back and forth from New Orleans to Cuba, making their way into the culture and adding the “Spanish tinge” to the melting pot of New Orleans culture.
- Improvisation - The freedom to create music on the spot. Improvisation allows spontaneous expression and interaction between and among musicians during a performance.
- Son Clave Rhythm - A rhythmic pattern that is composed of a three-side and a two-side. The first measure features three beats, and the second measure features two beats. The rhythmic pattern originated in sub-Saharan African musical traditions and is commonly utilized in Cuban popular music. The 3 - 2 son clave rhythm will be discussed in this lesson plan.
- Tresillo Rhythm - Spanish for the word “triplet,” this rhythmic pattern has three equal notes that are played within the same time span occupied by two notes. When enslaved African people were brought to Cuba, they brought this rhythm with them based on the Bamboula rhythm.
