Creolization in Music - Dutch

         In chapter 3 of "Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean", there were a few 

examples of creolization. I will focus on two. The first being the emergence of string bands. 

This music style came to the Caribbean in the 19th century from Europe. According to the 

book "Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean", these bands originally played 

European dance music at the parties of upper classes and enslaved workers "often played in 

these ensembles.". Because of their involvement, in the Caribbean the popularity grew and 

adopted the local musical styles while still using some of the European instruments. This 

combination makes for unique sounds, depending on the Caribbean island you go to. Some 

instruments you would find in the string band, particularly in St. Maarten are a banjo, guitar, 

accordion, marimba, tambora drum and güiro. You can see here where these bands get their 

name from; most of the instruments used are stringed, or chordophones. Enslaved workers in 

the Caribbean were obviously not as privileged as Europeans and so would have to make their 

own instruments from whatever material was at hand. In the Dutch Caribbean island of St. 

Maarten, string bands provided music at parties, dances or at official public events. Below is a 

photo of the famous string band group, Tanny & The Boys. 

Photo of the group taken from http://houseofnehesipublish.com/sxm/tanny-the-boys/

    Here is a video of Tanny & The Boys performing "Play My Saxophone". I really enjoyed 

this song because I could hear the influences taken from calypso and merengue music. When I 

first heard this, I could just imagine walking off of a cruise ship to St. Maarten and being 

greeted with this and ready to chill by the beach. The polyrhythm in this song is also 

incredible. I listened multiple times just so that I could try to hear the different instruments 

playing because they all came together so beautifully.


        Another example of creolization in the Dutch-Caribbean, is the Antillean waltz. Waltz 

music is a style of classical music often written in 3/4 time and is often accompanied with 

ballroom dancing. In Curaçao, the parties of the elite would often have waltzes which were 

played with a ka'i òrgel. This instrument offered some syncopation to the waltzes and thus 

helped to birth the Antillean waltz. Here is a photo of one below. 

Photo of ka'i òrgel being played in Curacao. Taken from http://jeannette.ditzschrijft.nl/?tag=kai-orgel

    Wim Statius Muller was a composer and pianist and was known as the Chopin of Curaçao, 

whom was one of his idols. Muller often created Caribbean influenced waltzes with European 

structure but African flairs to connect to his homeland. Here is a video below of Christian 

Kuyvenhoven playing one of Muller's waltzes. I chose this video because I liked the melody 

of this waltz in particular. It is fast and very lighthearted. A lot of the European waltzes that I 

listened to were strong and emotional in a sense so I really grew a fondness for the Antillean 

waltz.


References

Christiaan Kuyvenhoven. (2021, June 16). W. Statius Muller - Avila Beach, Waltz Op.4/2 | Summer vibes with the Chopin from Curaçao! [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYYjpCd4KZE

Gangelhoff, C., & LeGrand, C. (2019). Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean (1st ed.). Sound Caribbean. https://online.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9789769624900/epubcfi/6/2[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3DTour_deForce_epub_8.16.19-1]!/4[Tour_deForce_epub_8.16.19-1]/2[_idContainer000]/2%4050:3

Profile of Tanny & The Boys string band. (2002). House of Nehesi Publishers. http://houseofnehesipublish.com/sxm/tanny-the-boys/

Steven J Magras. (2015, October 23). Tanny and the Boys St Maarten String Band Music [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXTGQdVHP-o

Van Ditzhuijzen, J., & Wolfert, S. (2018, September 7). 2019: Year of the Ka’i Organ. ditzschrift.nl. http://jeannette.ditzschrijft.nl/?tag=kai-orgel



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