The Relationship Between Venezuelan Waltz and its Listener

Serenata Guayanes’ “Viajera del Rio” relates back to its genre’s original function through its instrumental usage and musical layout. Elements like the guitar’s constant intricate notes in a soft and loose triple meter form give the song a romantic feeling, while the structure of the music itself, using harmony within the slower tempo vocals, aids in creating the ambiance needed for a successful dance between the couple and the crowd among them. Along with having a few original diasporic African traits like using the music to tell a story and the overall effects of the employment of dance as a whole, waltz music uses a mixture of both sound and movement to bring their country together in their unique style of music.

Waltz music is a prominent musical genre in many countries around the world. Its purpose, along with having music that is calming and easy to listen to, is to create an environment that is personal for the man and woman that are dancing together [1]. Waltz is all about trusting your partner and making the two become one. In the country of Venezuela, the waltz is also considered as an extremely popular genre and dance technique [2]. Although similar to more European-styled music of the same category, also being used for more romantic dances between a couple, Venezuela’s own personal style, along with other South American traits, make songs like this feel more unique and unlike what can be heard in other areas of the world [3].

An important part of South American music is the utilization of any type of guitar-like instrument. The guitar, whether it may be an actual guitar, a mandolin, or in this particular song’s case, a cuatro, holds the song together and plays most of the melody that the listener hears and focuses on when they are interacting with the music at hand [4]. In Venezuela especially, even more modern composers will still use this instrument and its many counterparts in their songs today [5]. No matter if the song has a vocal layer or it is just instrumental, the stringed instrument is still an extremely important aspect to any and all waltz music. Looking back specifically at Venezuela, the country’s waltz music has its own distinct sound, but also does not really have any striking differences between music that was born in the country and other regional variations [6]. The guitar is the musical focus, sometimes playing both the melody and harmony in songs that do not feature any vocals. Its complex notes and the occasional elaborate solo give the song a soothing feeling that could even be compared to a lullaby because of how tranquil both the instruments and the singers always are.

If the song at hand does have lyrics to go along with the music that is being played, much also goes into how these meaningful words are performed for their listeners [7]. “Viajera del Rio” in particular has multiple musical elements styles to successfully and succinctly portray the group’s story. The song starts off as being monophonic, only having a soloist singer sweetly singing the lyrics, but by the middle of the song, more vocals are singing along to the lyrical love song, changing that layer of the piece into having more of a polyphonic sound with a two-part harmony. Waltz music is a genre of love and support for the other person. This means that any lyrical content that is in the song is essential for the dances (and even the audience that is watching) to hear. Even looking back at more traditional African tribal music styles, music’s main purpose is to tell a story and celebrate one of the many important events that always occur in their culture [8]. The lyrics also usually go with some sort of dance so it is imperative that the way that the singers that are performing are easy to hear and also pleasing to the ear in general for anyone that is just viewing their performance. Understanding that much of South America’s styles of music (no matter what country you maybe be looking at) is about some sort of social commentary, it makes sense that how the vocals are sung are just as important as the words that they are saying [9].

Many need to be reminded of how there has been much of an African influence in the world of not only Venezuelan music and dance, but also South American musicality as a whole. Many of these styles were originally based off of the fact that African people used both dance and music during their worshipping to keep their culture when they were taken away from their homeland during the times of slavery [10]. Through time and slight cultural changes, those worship routines turned into something much bigger. Waltz music is not only a relationship between just the two dancers up on stage, but also the performers and the crowd that they are in front of [11]. The only main difference between the South American style and its original West African roots is that it does not use any type of drums [12]. Most African dances are upbeat and high energy to get the people around them enthusiastic about the event that they are at, so songs like “Viajera del Rio” have essentially removed a huge part of the continent’s original African heritage [13]. The main goal of a successful South American waltz song is to slow the song down and make both the listener and dancer really feel the music and focus on interacting with their partner and the space between them instead of having quick, grandiose dance moves to just entertain the crowds around them.

Waltz music as a whole, although having completely different musical elements compared to many other South American genres, has a vital role to play when performed at more romantic events. The vocals are not the only important aspect of the entire song (since instruments like the guitar are also needed to tell the story too), but when they are, it means that part of the song is crucial for the listener to focus on and take in. The guitar that is used throughout the entire song is the backbone of the piece and keeps it going with its smooth and melodic musicality, sometimes even being more significant than the vocals in certain parts of it. Music is the aspect that is able to tell the dancer’s story in this extremely intimate, yet audience engaging dance style.

Works Cited

Boyce-Davies, Carole, and Boyce Davies, Carole Elizabeth, eds. Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora : Origins, Experiences, and Culture. ProQuest Ebook Central. 2008. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mcdaniel/detail.action?docID=305250.

Charry, Eric. “Senegal.” Oxford Music Online, January 20, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.25404.

Gradante, William. “Merengue.” Grove Music, July 10, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.18440.

Olsen, Dale A., and Daniel E. Sheehy, eds. “Venezuela.” Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 2 — South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Routledge (Publisher), 1998. 543–66. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Creference_article%7C1000223595.

Stone, Ruth M. “Liberia, Republic Of.” Oxford Music Online, January 20, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.16566.

“Venezuela: Tradition De La Mandoline.” 1998. 9–14. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cliner_notes%7C2256674.

Footnotes

[1] Olsen, Dale A., and Daniel E. Sheehy, eds. “Venezuela.” Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 2 — South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Routledge (Publisher), 1998. 543–66. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Creference_article%7C1000223595.

[2] Olsen, Dale A., and Daniel E. Sheehy, eds. “Venezuela.” Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 2 — South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Routledge (Publisher), 1998. 543–66. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Creference_article%7C1000223595.

[3] “Venezuela: Tradition De La Mandoline.” 1998. 9–14. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cliner_notes%7C2256674.

[4] “Venezuela: Tradition De La Mandoline.” 1998. 9–14. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cliner_notes%7C2256674.

[5] “Venezuela: Tradition De La Mandoline.” 1998. 9–14. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cliner_notes%7C2256674.

[6] “Venezuela: Tradition De La Mandoline.” 1998. 9–14. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cliner_notes%7C2256674.

[7] Boyce-Davies, Carole, and Boyce Davies, Carole Elizabeth, eds. Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora : Origins, Experiences, and Culture. ProQuest Ebook Central. 2008. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mcdaniel/detail.action?docID=305250.

[8]Stone, Ruth M. “Liberia, Republic Of.” Oxford Music Online, January 20, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.16566.

[9] Gradante, William. “Merengue.” Grove Music, July 10, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.18440.

[10] Boyce-Davies, Carole, and Boyce Davies, Carole Elizabeth, eds. Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora : Origins, Experiences, and Culture. ProQuest Ebook Central. 2008. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mcdaniel/detail.action?docID=305250.

[11] Olsen, Dale A., and Daniel E. Sheehy, eds. “Venezuela.” Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 2 — South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Routledge (Publisher), 1998. 543–66. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Creference_article%7C1000223595.

[12] Charry, Eric. “Senegal.” Oxford Music Online, January 20, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.25404.

[13] Charry, Eric. “Senegal.” Oxford Music Online, January 20, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.25404.