Rob: Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. And today we're going to talk
about…
Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer:
(Samba beat sounds)
Rob: …Brazilian music! Ah… the samba…! And I'm joined today by Grace, from
Brazil. Hi Grace.
Grace: Hi Rob. Can you sing well? Or do you usually sing, let's say, out of tune
like me?
Rob: Out of tune, so you mean singing or playing notes that are at the wrong
pitch. Yes, I definitely sing out of tune.
Grace: Well, that was the voice of the Brazilian recording artist Monica
Vasconcelos.
Rob: A recording artist – so that’s a singer or musician who creates and
releases music either through a record label or independently. She does
indeed have a very beautiful voice.
Grace: And she sings many types of music including samba, jazz and bossa nova.
Talking about bossa nova, Rob, I have a question for you.
Rob: OK.
Grace: One of the most famous bossa nova tunes is 'The Girl from Ipanema'. It
was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Do you
know the song, Rob?
Rob: I know it very well. Even Frank Sinatra recorded it, didn't he?
Grace: Yes. So when was the song 'The Girl from Ipanema' recorded
commercially for the first time? Was it…
a) in 1955
b) in 1962
c) or in 1969
Rob: OK, well, I know it's quite old so I'm going to go for 1962. You know, I've
always wanted to know more about the bossa nova. How different is it
from the famous Brazilian samba music?
6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2014
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Grace: Let's listen to the expert, Monica Vasconcelos. Which two words does she
use to compare these musical styles?
Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer:
Samba is very energetic and full of life… and bossa nova is… It's a little smoother; it's
more understated. Bossa is a combination of complex harmonies, coming from…
particularly Europe and this very cool bossa groove that comes from samba. In addition
to that, you have some particular themes: the sea, love… The bossa nova composers,
they were into beauty.
Rob: So smoother – that means calmer – and understated, meaning more
controlled, more discreet.
Grace: And it's easy to understand the themes of these songs…
Rob: Yes, she says the composers – the writers – of bossa nova were into
beauty – to be into something means to be interested in something. They
were interested in the beautiful things in life.
Grace: The lyrics – the words of the songs – were about boats sailing away, a
beautiful woman walking by the beach…
Rob: A beautiful view and beautiful lyrics. And bossa nova has a very special
kind of groove, meaning the feel and style of the music – and the bossa
nova groove is cool, funky and smooth! And what about rock and pop
music – do Brazilians like these music styles?
Grace: Yes, we do like rock and pop, but a common complaint is that our radio
stations play too many songs from Britain and America. Monica explains.
What phrase does she use to describe the effect of globalisation on local
music?
Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer:
You take a traditional rock rhythm… and then take a samba groove… The first example is
simpler, so what happens in the process of globalisation where you have rock and pop
coming into different markets all over the world… you have a flattening of the local
grooves which may be a bit more complex, so the simpler ideas end up taking over.
Rob: Monica talks about a flattening of the local grooves – a simplifying of
more complex local music that has happened as a result of rock and pop
influence coming in through globalisation.
Grace: I know you like travelling a lot, Rob. Would you like to go abroad and find
only the very same things you have here in Britain?
Rob: Absolutely not! No! Travelling is all about discovering, hearing local music,
discovering local foods – things that are different from things that are
back at home.
6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2014
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Grace: Well, now let's see how much you know about bossa nova. I asked when
the song 'The Girl from Ipanema' was recorded commercially for the first
time? The options were: 1955, 1962 and 1969.
Rob: And I had a guess and said 1962.
Grace: Oh you got it right, Rob! Yeah, you got it right! The first commercial
recording of 'The Girl from Ipanema' was by Brazilian singer Pery Ribeiro.
Rob: Well, I love talking about music and other cultures but our time is running
out.
Grace: So let's recall the words we heard today.
Rob: Yes, we heard:
out of tune
recording artist
smoother
understated
groove
to be into
lyrics
flattened
Grace: Thanks, Rob. And as we've been talking about music, shall we say
goodbye in the rhythm of samba?
Rob: OK, let's give it a try. Please join us again soon for 6 Minute English from
BBC Learning English.
Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer:
(Samba beat sounds)
Rob: You're doing it better than me!
Both: Bye
