Spanish music is diverse and expressive, from classical Gregorian chant albums to salsa dance floor fillers – there’s something out there for every taste and mood!
Music can be an effective way to expand vocabulary knowledge and hone listening skills, so this article will introduce some of the most popular Spanish musical genres with their associated instruments.
Flamenco
Flamenco is an expressive form of music and dance from southern Spain that draws upon various folk traditions. Originating within gitano culture, flamenco has since evolved into one of the pillars of Spanish musical heritage and culture as a whole.
Cante Jondo songs are among the oldest styles of Flamenco and are known for their emotional intensity, often dealing with themes like death, anguish and religious doubt. Other popular cante styles are carcelera, martinete, nana and saeta.
Modern Flamenco artists like Rosalia have gone beyond the boundaries of traditional Flamenco to incorporate rhythms from other musical genres into it – creating what is now known as Nuevo Flamenco; an amalgamation of traditional flamenco with other genres such as rumba, salsa, rock, and jazz music.
Jota
The Jota is the traditional dance of Aragon, a landlocked region in northern Spain. This dance involves hopping along with verses improvised for love or humor known as coplas; music accompaniment comes from guitars and cajon (wooden box drum). Clapping may also occur.
Classical composers such as Franz Liszt and Saint-Saens were greatly influenced by this musical genre, as well as popular musicians from Navarre and La Rioja. Additionally, Latin American culture also heavily draws from this style, which has now spread throughout North America.
Modern Spanish music often draws its inspiration from Anglo-American trends; nevertheless, its influence remains considerable both domestically and internationally. Many musicians have found success using both traditional and contemporary Spanish influences for pop music production.
Zarzuela
At the close of the 17th century, an extraordinary musical phenomenon burst onto Spain’s stage: Zarzuela was born, an innovative form of opera that combined spoken dialogue with vocalized passages – and soon after became a national cultural icon.
Zarzuela draws its influence from various genres, spanning Baroque-era opera verismo, English semi-opera and French operetta comique – with Spanish audiences worldwide appreciating its immense appeal. It remains popular today.
There are countless guidebooks on zarzuela; however, few provide an overall view. Temes 2014 stands out for providing an insightful account of 19th Century musical theater as well as an in-depth essay on its history; Alier, et al’s 1982 remains an excellent alphabetically organized guidebook in Spanish.
Classical Guitar
Spanish guitar music has evolved and flourished for centuries, transporting listeners back to Spain’s captivating landscapes and cultures through its timeless power and beauty. Classical guitarist Andres Segovia to flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia have all left an imprint upon this genre that continues to influence musicians worldwide.
Renaissance composers such as Luis de Narvaez and Alonso Mudarra helped popularize guitar as a solo instrument during the Renaissance period, leading to its rise as an instrumental solo piece. Francisco Tarrega brought about modern Spanish guitar music when he popularized Torres-style guitar music and added transcriptions of works by Beethoven, Bach, Haydn as well as Isaac Albeniz to its repertoire.
Classical guitarists tend to favor playing fingerstyle on nylon strings, creating a mellower sound and emphasizing intricate melodic lines and arpeggios. Additionally, this wider spacing between strings makes them perfect for chord voicings and harmonics.
Corrido
Corridos are narrative ballads depicting historical events or legendary characters from Mexican culture. While historically, corridos were written based on true events, more recently they have become more fictionalized or embellished – such as many modern corridos involving drug smuggling or betrayal stories – making this form of art an integral part of Mexican culture that allows marginalized communities an artistic outlet for expression.
Mexican and Mexican-American residents in the border region created this genre, honoring heroes such as Pancho Villa and Emilio Zapata while subverting American Western stereotypes of vaqueros as inferior cowboys by celebrating figures like Gregorio Cortez who killed Texas sheriffs for refusing to give him his land. Modern corridistas draw influence from hip hop and Spanglish music while their lyrics focus on violence, betrayal, courage, growing up poor with big dreams in barrio life.