The genesis of Brazilian music and the African claves

Brazilian music, as we know and define today, would not exist without the African roots that live in the heart of Brazil. From the dreadfulness of slavery and colonial suffering, Brazilians descended from enslaved Africans mixed their ancestral drumming with European harmonies and melodies, adding touches of indigenous influence to this alchemy. The course “The genesis of Brazilian Music and the African Claves”, lectured by percussionist and drummer Carlos Cesar Motta, will explore the African rhythmic influences that Brazilian music carries in itself, since its beginnings. Starting from the concept of “claves” or, as some musicologists prefer to call, “guidelines” (timelines), Carlos Cesar will also present the fundamental concepts for the rhythmic understanding of samba, its origin and formation, its structure, successive transformations and derivations, from the African terreiros to the modern jazz stages.