What Instruments Are Used in Bossa Nova Music?
Bossa nova music has complex harmonies but with a softer sound than the Samba form from which it emerged. The instruments used to achieve this sound are varied with the purest sound coming from the classical Spanish guitar.
The key instruments used in bossa nova music are the guitar, voice and piano. The guitar used is a nylon-strung classical guitar. It has six strings and is also called the Spanish guitar. The performer uses his or her fingers rather than a pick.
The purest form of the bossa nova is guitar and vocals. Joao Gilberto took the sounds of the tamborim from the samba, and mimicked the notes and rhythms with the guitar and the hand of the player.
After the guitar and the voices, the piano is sometimes used in bossa nova music. It does not, however, ever overshadow the primary guitar and vocals. The piano was helpful in helping the jazz and bossa nova styles of music influence one another.
As the style evolved, sometimes drums and other percussion instruments were added, as well as an orchestra. This was done in Dusty Springfield’s recording of “The Look of Love” and the extra instruments did not distract from the bossa nova feel of the song.
History of the Bossa Nova
The bossa nova style came from the samba. Samba music came from south central Africa in what is now Angola. Samba is a Quimbundo word with several meanings. It refers to prayer, crying, or dancing.
There were certain rhythms, songs, and dances that were a part of the African religions. When the slaves were brought to Brazil, these rituals came with them. Since it was illegal to practice their religion, they disguised it in singing and dancing. As the authorities found out about this, the sacred rhythms were camouflaged in various forms of music. When slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888, the samba spread to Rio de Janeiro, then to Brazil and the rest of the world.
The bossa nova came from the samba and emerged from the affluent beach neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s. This is in contrast to the slums and shanty towns where the samba originated. It has more complex harmonies and a softer sound. It influenced jazz styles making them “cooler.” Its creation is usually credited to Johnny Alf and Joao Gilberto and one of the first songs was “Bim Bom.”
The spread of the bossa nova was helped by the film Black Orpheus in 1959, and by American jazz musicians who visited Brazil. Jazz performers of the bossa nova include Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Probably the most popular recording of a bossa nova style song was the Getz/Gilbert recording “The Girl from Ipanema” in 1963.
Bossa Nova Musical Structure
Bossa nova is a folk genre, which has rhythm at its core that is based on samba. It has all the rhythms and the feelings of the African slave communities where the samba originated. It emphasizes the second beat and utilizes syncopation from one bar to the next. The feel of the rhythms in bossa nova are like swaying side to side, as opposed to jazz, which is more swinging front to back.
Vocals in bossa nova are not brassy or operatic, but rather nasal and more subtle. The song structure of popular songs is two verses, followed by a bridge, and one additional verse. Bossa nova has two verses and often does not have a bridge. Early bossa nova songs were less than two minutes long and sometimes had one verse that was repeated. When bossa nova started, it included themes of the easy life of the middle and upper classes of Brazil. After 1964, it often had political themes, and emphasized the peoples’ struggles.