Banda music

Banda is a subgenre of regional Mexican music and type of ensemble in which wind (mostly brass) and percussion instruments are performed.

The history of banda music in Mexico dates from the middle of the 19th century with the arrival of piston brass instruments, when community musicians tried to imitate military bands. The first bandas were formed in Southern and Central Mexico. Many types of bandas exist in different territories and villages, playing traditional or modern music, organized privately or municipally.

Brass instruments in the state of Oaxaca of European origin that date back to the 1850s have been found. The repertoire of the bands of Morelos, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Michoacán covered gustos, sones, vinuetes, funeral pieces, marches, danzones, valses, corridos, paso dobles, polkas, rancheras, alabanzas, and foxes. Traditional bands that play Yucatecan Jarana are instrumented with clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet, trombone, timbales, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, and güiro.

Traditional Oaxacan bands use a mix of tuba, saxophones and clarinets, fewer trumpets and more tenor trombones, and the bass drum and cymbals are played separately.

One of the oldest bands recorded in history is the Banda de Tlayacapan of the state of Morelos, founded approximately in 1870 and being one of the first to play la danza del Chinelo.

Traditional Zacatecan tamborazo bands do not use tuba, the tambora taking the bass voice instead.

Brass bandas play a wide variety of song styles including rancheras, corridos, cumbias, charangas, ballads, boleros, salsas, bachatas, sones, chilenas, jarabes, mambos, danzones, tangos, sambas, bossa novas, pasodobles, marches, polkas, waltzes, mazurkas, chotís, and swing.

Perhaps the most popular song played by bandas is "El Sinaloense" ("The Sinaloan"), written by Severiano Briseño in 1944. "El Sinaloense" has been recorded by hundreds of bandas, in both lyrical and instrumental versions. The song has become so popular that many Sinaloans consider it their unofficial anthem.^[1]

Banda music in Mexico dates from the middle of the 19th century during the Second Mexican Empire with the arrival of piston metal instruments, when the communities tried to imitate the military bands. In each village of the different territories there are certain types of wind bands, whether traditional, private or municipal.

Banda music was established in the 1880s in the Mexican state of

Throughout the 20th century, brass banda music's mainstream popularity was traditionally confined to the state of Sinaloa. However, starting in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, it gained ground in the rest of Mexico's pacific states, as well as a number of central states. By the new millennium, however, brass banda started to become popular throughout the rest of Mexico, eventually becoming the most popular Regional Mexican subgenre for several years.

Despite banda being male-dominated, there are a number of female soloist banda singers such as

The 2010s wave of popularity of the tuba in southern California has been credited to its presence in banda music.^[6] As of 2017, El Salvador started having its own Banda music.

A standard

Like an orchestra, a banda can be organized into different sections.

• Bass: The lowest-pitched part is played by the sousaphone (referred to as a "tuba" in Mexico).
• Percussion: Tambora (a large bass drum) with a cymbal on top.
• Harmony: Two Armonias, "charchetas" or "saxores" in Mexico (
  E♭ alto horns
  ), play using different rhythms, depending on the style.
• Tenor:
  slide trombones
  play in the lower register.
• Alto: Trumpets play in the upper register.
• Soprano: Clarinets and sometimes saxophones play as "singing" instruments that may double the voice.
• Vocals: Banda el Recodo has two vocalists, while
  Banda Jerez
  has one. However, some bandas consist of as many as three vocalists.

Most banda arrangements feature three-part harmony and melodic sections which contrast the timbres of the clarinet, trumpet, and valve trombone or slide trombone sections.

Historically, bandas were village brass bands called on to entertain the town, and would play anything from opera overtures to big band jazz. This tradition continues today in many towns, especially during festivals and celebrations.

Bandas usually have a strong percussion. The percussionists generally provide the accents and do not usually play all the time or keep a 'groove'. Often the percussionists will enter only when the singer is not singing, such as in an instrumental chorus. The groove is mostly provided by the sousaphone (or bass guitar in a few recordings) playing the bass line, and the alto horns playing sharp upbeats. Typically when a banda plays a cumbia, the alto horn players switch to Latin percussion instruments such as

Bandas generally contain between 10 and 20 members. They usually have a lead singer and a second voice, and occasionally a third voice. The voice often consists of a duet, but solo singers and trios are also common.

Besides the typical instrumentation, banda music, as well as many other forms of

In the late 1970s, a new style of

• Tambora
• Saxophone
• Trumpet
• Snare drum
• Trombone
• Tenor horn
• Sousaphone

Tamborazo bands tend to focus more on instrumental sones, polkas, waltzes, marches, cumbias and mambos.

• Music of Mexico
• Regional Mexican music
• Grammy Award for Best Banda Album
• Latin Grammy Award for Best Banda Album
• Mariachi
• Grupera
• Norteño
• Tejano
• New Mexico music