Essay On Mariachi Music

Mariachi Music

Mariachi music is a widely admired genre in the world now, but just recently it has risen in popularity. The word “mariachi” either means “marriage” in French or is an indigenous word for a wooden stage used by musical group performances. Before European conquest, natives used rattles, drums, flutes, and conch horns for religious occasions. When the Spanish arrived, they brought along violins, guitars, harps, brass horns, woodwind instruments, and colonial dancing, which eventually blended with the music of the natives. With these new additions, indigenous peoples and mestizos began to play European instruments along with their own musical inventions. This new combination of the Old (Europe and Africa) and New Worlds gave rise to the

Each instrument plays its own role in displaying mariachi’s signature qualities. Six to eight traditional violins are typically used. Coca Indians from Jalisco, Mexico, contributed the vihuela, a bowed 5-string instrument. The vihuela is a little longer than a ukulele but is played with a thumb pick and strummed like one. It 's the harmonic, rhythmic basis of the band with its high-pitched sound. Standard guitars are also used to play rhythms alongside the vihuela. The guitarrón is the deep-sounding bass of the band and has been described as “the single most important element” of mariachi. A couple of trumpets, occasionally played with cup mutes, were added in the 1950s. When needed, accordions, organs, French horns, and flutes can be added.

These mariachi instruments can be heard at a variety of different occasions, ranging from weddings to funerals. Mariachi is also popular at dances, saint 's days/birthdays, baptisms, patriotic holidays, quinceañeras, and even Roman Catholic Mass. It seems that mariachi can be heard at nearly every pivotal moment in Mexico because people say it brings back memories and inspires them for the