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Brazilian Choro |
American Ragtime |
Origins |
European rhythms (polka, tango, schottische, waltz – especially the polka) blended with West African rhythms (especially Lundu) |
European rhythms (march, quadrille, and waltz – especially the march) blended with West African rhythms. |
Time signature |
2/4 |
2/4 (sometimes 4/4) |
Structural Form |
Typically three 16-bar themes in rondo
A B A C A |
Typically four 16-bar themes
A B A C D |
Syncopation |
Double: syncopated beat in both melody (right hand in the piano) and bass (left hand in the piano) |
Single: syncopated beat in the melody, steady beat in the bass. |
Roots from the African influence |
Lundu, an African rhythm present in Brazil since 1830, presumably from its roots in Angola/Zaire |
Presumably from Afro-Caribbean rhythms and its roots from Yoruba (today’s Nigeria, Togo, Benin) and Dahomean (today’s Republic of Benin) tribes |
Lyrics |
Mostly instrumental, just a few lyrics |
Mostly instrumental |
Cradle |
State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - City of Rio de Janeiro |
State of Missouri, USA – Cities of Sedalia and St. Louis |
Main composer |
Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934). |
Scott Joplin (1868-1917). |
Date of appearance |
1870’s, when flutist Joaquim Callado formed an ensemble called “Choro Carioca” |
Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 |
Social connotations at the time |
Vulgar, low class, improper music, played in the streets, saloons and brothels. Disreputable genre of music. |
Low class, improper music played in saloons, cabarets, honky-tonks and brothels.
Disreputable genre of music. |
What did it influence? |
Choro is the forefather of samba, bossa nova and many other Brazilian styles. Brazilian classical composers such as Villa Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri, Francisco Mignone and Oswaldo Lacerda composed their own interpretations of Choros. |
Ragtime is the forefather of jazz music and blues.
Classical composers, such as Brahms, Stravinsky, Debussy and others wrote their own interpretations of piano Ragtime. |
