Esperanza Spalding – ‘Samba Em Preludio’

Esperanza Spalding – ‘Samba Em Preludio’ ‘Samba Em Preludio’ is the final track from the album ‘Esperanza’, released by Esperanza Spalding in 2008. Follow the score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysNrXVbK4Nk&list=PL1RN_p4ue jOJO0A9kj33Hjtbdj07pto0E&index=8 Esperanza Spalding is: a bass player (born in 1984)– she plays acoustic bass and electric bass guitar, and double bass. a singer songwriter, writing in English, Spanish and Portuguese. best known as a jazz musician – her influences include Latin jazz, Cuban jazz and jazz fusion.

Esperanza Spalding – ‘Samba Em Preludio’ Spalding’s version of ‘Samba Em Preludio’ mixes elements of jazz and Latin American music, especially samba – the national dance of Brazil. ‘Samba Em Preludio’ is a bossa nova song – a style of Brazilian music derived from the samba but slower and more subdued.

Esperanza Spalding – ‘Samba Em Preludio’ The music for ‘samba Em Preludio’ was composed by Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. Esperanza Spalding then took this music and added in her own jazz elements. You don’t need to speak Portuguese to tell that this is a sad piece of music. The B minor key and low vocal range tessitura) create a melancholy mood, and the long, drawn-out notes in verse 3 & 4 almost sound like crying. Lyrics are on page 154 of the Music Student Guide.

Esperanza Spalding – ‘Samba Em Preludio’ The song is in the following structure: Bars 1-3 Intro Bars 4-22 Verse 1 Bars 23-54 Verse 2 Bars 55-87 Guitar solo Bars 88-103 Verse 3 Bars 39-52 Verse 4 Bars 104-114 Coda

Structure - ‘Samba Em Preludio’ INTRO  bars 1-3 in Free tempo The piece opens with an ad lib rubato (improvised) solo on the bass guitar featuring chords, arpeggios and harmonics – a technique used to make the string vibrate to produce a high, ringing tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBvOE2gYP7g&list=RDXBvOE2gY P7g#t=96

Structure - ‘Samba Em Preludio’ VERSE 1 bars 4-22 – in Free Tempo Spalding sings the first two verses quietly, slowly and in free rhythm. She sings legato and in a low vocal range (or tessitura), accompanying herself on bass guitar. The melody is in B minor and is based on 7th chords in a descending sequence. The chords are broken – the notes are played one at a time, in a triplet rhythm. A 7th chord is a triad with a 7th note added – this gives quite a jazzy feel to the verses.

Structure - ‘Samba Em Preludio’ VERSE 2  bars 23-54 (Bossa Nova in tempo) An acoustic guitar now joins in. The melody changes and it has a steady tempo and a syncopated ‘off-beat’ rhythm, especially in the guitar part. GUITAR SOLO  bars 55-87 The guitarist then plays a solo over the bass guitar and gentle acoustic guitar chords. The two acoustic guitar lines use layering – when performed live it won’t sound quite the same as the album version.

Structure - ‘Samba Em Preludio’ VERSE 3 & Verse 4  bars 88-103 & 39-52 After the solo, verses 3 & 4 are repeated, while the bass guitar repeats the triplets from verses 1 & 2. OUTRO  bars 104-114 The last line of verse 4 is repeated 3 times – the piece then finishes with flourishes on both guitars.

Latin American and Jazz Elements Are Mixed Together There are loads of different elements and ideas in ‘Samba Em Preludio’ that are taken from both Latin American music and jazz. 1. RHYTHM & TEMPO Verses 1 & 2 have a free flowing rhythm, which is common in jazz. Verses 3 & 4 has a steady samba rhythm, which keeps the jazzy feel. 2. INSTRUMENTS Guitars are often used in Latin American music, especially the nylon- stringed guitar that can be heard in the piece. Bass guitars are used in both jazz and Latin American music. Both instruments have a solo section, a common feature of jazz. The piece opens with the bass improvising, a feature of jazz. The guitar solo uses tremolo picking and fast arpeggios – both Latin American guitar techniques.

Latin American and Jazz Elements Are Mixed Together 2. INSTRUMENTS Guitars are often used in Latin American music, especially the nylon- stringed guitar that can be heard in the piece. Bass guitars are used in both jazz and Latin American music. Both instruments have a solo section, a common feature of jazz. The piece opens with the bass improvising, a feature of jazz. The guitar solo uses tremolo picking and fast arpeggios – both Latin American guitar techniques.

Latin American and Jazz Elements Are Mixed Together 3. TEXTURE Bars 1-3 are use a monophonic texture Most of the rest of the song uses a homophonic texture (melody and accompaniment style) Bars 88-103 use a polyphonic texture where the two independent melody lines weave in and out of each other 4. HARMONY Spalding sometimes sings notes that clash with the underlying chords, creating dissonance. She also uses 7th, 9th & 11th chords. These are both common features of jazz.

GCSE Listening Test Question 15, page 20 Guitar solo A picked melody guitar part and a strummed chordal guitar can be heard at the same time together Any 2 of: Improvisation Fast rhythms Fast picking Fast broken chords Ornaments, e.g. trills Octave doubling Wide range of pitch/tessitura Wide range of dynamics

GCSE Listening Test Question 15, page 20 d) Any 2 of: Provide s a regular rhythm Plays root notes of chords Adds harmonic colour Maintains a samba rhythm Syncopated e) Any 2 of: Syncopation Improvisation Added chords Complex rhythms Instrumental solo Latin-American rhythm