Music of Guam
Encyclopedia
The music of Guam
encompasses the works of many Chamorro popular musicians, including KACY, Flora Baza Quan, Daniel De Leon Guerrero, singer-songwriter
J. D. Crutch, who is on the local Napu Records and who released a best-selling local album with Guinaifen Manglo. The state song of Guam is "Guam Hymn" by Ramon Sablan, adopted in 1919. Flora Baza Quan is especially notable throughout the territory, and is known as the "Queen of Chamorro Music".
Modern music from Guam includes elements of American
, Spanish, Filipino and Polynesian music. The Spanish and Mexicans contributed a kind of song called serenetas to the culture of Guam.
's Fine Arts Department, Guam Symphony Society, Guam Choristers, Cantate, and the Gregorian Institute of Guam. The Guam Symphony Society was founded in 1967, and hosts concerts like the Symphony Seaside Concert and the Musikan Famagu'on for children. The two major local record label
s are Napu Records and Sell Star Records.
, a hollow gourd
stringed instrument, and the nose flute
. Kantan singing is also popular. It is a kind of work song
, begun by one person teasing another in verse form, and then continuing through a group one individual in turn.
Chamorro chant
s and Kantan Chamorrita
(Chamorrita singing), a kind of Chamorro poetry, are also important elements of Guamanian music. Kantan Chamorrita is a kind of improvised poetry with a call and response
format that is documented back to 1602 and remains a vital part of Chamorro culture. In Kantan Chamorrita, individuals and groups trade witty remarks at each other as part of a debate. These songs are "ancient folk songs, arranged in quatrains of two octosyllabic couplets, which, according to some writers, are composed on a single melody, the variations depending on the individual style of performance. The distinctive features are spontaneous improvisation and a dialogue performance between two or more people, depending on the occasion and function".
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
encompasses the works of many Chamorro popular musicians, including KACY, Flora Baza Quan, Daniel De Leon Guerrero, singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
J. D. Crutch, who is on the local Napu Records and who released a best-selling local album with Guinaifen Manglo. The state song of Guam is "Guam Hymn" by Ramon Sablan, adopted in 1919. Flora Baza Quan is especially notable throughout the territory, and is known as the "Queen of Chamorro Music".
Modern music from Guam includes elements of American
Music of the Americas
The Music of the Americas concert series has been presented by Americas Society since 1965 and seeks to showcase a wide range of artists and music from across the western hemisphere. In 2009, the series was renamed the MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series...
, Spanish, Filipino and Polynesian music. The Spanish and Mexicans contributed a kind of song called serenetas to the culture of Guam.
Music venues and institutions
Music institutions in Guam include the University of GuamUniversity of Guam
University of Guam is a four-year land-grant institution, located in the village of Mangilao on the island of Guam in the Western Pacific Ocean...
's Fine Arts Department, Guam Symphony Society, Guam Choristers, Cantate, and the Gregorian Institute of Guam. The Guam Symphony Society was founded in 1967, and hosts concerts like the Symphony Seaside Concert and the Musikan Famagu'on for children. The two major local record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s are Napu Records and Sell Star Records.
Chamorro music
Traditional Chamorro instruments include the belembaotuyanBelembaotuyan
-Sources:* Guampedia, Guam's Online Encyclopedia...
, a hollow gourd
Gourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
stringed instrument, and the nose flute
Nose flute
The nose flute is a popular musical instrument played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim countries. Other versions are found in Africa, China, and India.- Hawaii :In the North Pacific, in the Hawaiian islands the nose flute was a common courting instrument...
. Kantan singing is also popular. It is a kind of work song
Work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....
, begun by one person teasing another in verse form, and then continuing through a group one individual in turn.
Chamorro chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
s and Kantan Chamorrita
Kantan Chamorrita
Kantan Chamorrita is an ancient style of improvised rhyming "debate" indigenous to the Chamoru natives of the Mariana Islands, comparable to modern-day "battle rapping" or poetry slams.-External links:**...
(Chamorrita singing), a kind of Chamorro poetry, are also important elements of Guamanian music. Kantan Chamorrita is a kind of improvised poetry with a call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
format that is documented back to 1602 and remains a vital part of Chamorro culture. In Kantan Chamorrita, individuals and groups trade witty remarks at each other as part of a debate. These songs are "ancient folk songs, arranged in quatrains of two octosyllabic couplets, which, according to some writers, are composed on a single melody, the variations depending on the individual style of performance. The distinctive features are spontaneous improvisation and a dialogue performance between two or more people, depending on the occasion and function".
External links
- Jesse and Ruby, From Guam with Love - Guam Singers, Songwriters and Composers, Guam Cultural Icons
- KUAM - radio station specializing in local musicians