Recordings, performance and musicology in the universe of choro

Abstract

The urban music of Brazil became popular through the use of media and recordings, and the radio and the disc can be thought as important means of transmission of musical performances. The recording technology allowed the settlement of musical productions through recordings that became paradigms for reception and learning new musical styles. The changes in recording technologies helped to define the very perception of sound objects. The mechanical recordings became the main reference for musicians of several cities and states, and they started to play by imitating recording performances and not only through scores or live performances. In the case of Choro, the construction of accompaniment by guitars, cavaquinho and pandeiro was influenced both by the recordings and by the radio. The electric recording, that allowed the recording and the broadcasting of musical programs, was established when singers and instrumental soloists showed themselves accompanied by the Regional group. The stereophonic recording, that was developing during
the 1950s, enabled instruments to be recorded in a separate manner, which allowed a greater precision and musical clarity. The dialogic relation between performance style and technology offers subvention for the Musicology to approach Choro development from the changes in the context, enabling the comprehension of the relationship between the artist and the medium he is inserted.