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I was just wondering...are there specific schools or methods for cante? Basically, is it like classical or contemporary where specific forms of vocal training exist? Or is it something that is traditonally untrained?
Why should something that is untrained be better than a structurized approach. You didnt said that, but this assumption is always in the air.
At least for someone who wants to learn something its not very helpful to say theres no method. Maybe its traditionally untrained, however as far as I know the training is as hard as a bare-knuckle fight. You know, AAIYAYIIYOOs surprisingly dont come out of you one day by accident
Ps: Theres always a "but": IF you have a voice like me, all the training will not help too much
One time I was hanging out with a Cuban percussionist, and I was in love with Cuban music and wanted to learn how to play the conga and the bongos. So we were hanging outside of a Spanish restaurant, and he had a water glass and a fork and was showing me a somewhat complicated beat. I think it was the beat known as campanas, but I'm not sure. Anyway, he kept playing it over and over, and an unconscious part of me realized that it was a pattern, but I just couldn't get it. And finally he just shook his head and told me I wasn't cut out to be a percussionist! I think this is an example of folk teaching methods!
In another conversation, I asked him what "Montao" meant. I was playing in a group with another Cuban percussionist (they're all over, aren't they?) and occasionally he would stop playing, shake his head, make a little upside down "V" symbol, and say "montao". You didn't really have to be a brain surgeon to realize that it was bad, but what exactly did it mean?
He explained, "Montao means you're riding the beat [montado is how we we would say it if we're not from Cuba]. It means you're messing up. In Cuba, if you're in a group, you mess up, they say "es montao", and they stop the whole thing. If you mess up again, they stop the whole thing, and say "es montao". If you mess up again, they kick you out of the group!"
I have a friend who is a singer and he was trained at a school and later by a specific teacher/mentor. He looked and went to this school because he was touched by the way the original singer who the school was named after and who's tradition it fallows sang.
In his case, he was taught many palos. The school was different because of the way these palos were interpreted. Ofcourse, they are better known for some palos than others.
The one thing I'm not too sure about is how distint the schools are from one another, aside of what I explained above. Maybe Kate or someone else here can give us more insight.
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