Instruments

of Soca and
Calypso

Benjamin O. Flenyol

Chapter 1: Calypso

Calypso has started off in the 1700s as a form of contact, but has evolved into something new. In this
chapter, you will learn about the instruments used in Calypso, and other styles that branched off from
Calypso.

SECTION 1: H O R N S

Horns

Horns are an essential part of Calypso. Usually,

the horns would play a phrase that would harmonize with the the melody, or play as a melodic introduction to a song. The most common horns
used would be the trumpet, tuba, euphonium,
alto and tenor saxophone. There are other horns
that would be used but are uncommon, such as

the french horn, flute, and clarinet. Usually, the

woodwind instruments such as the flute, and
clarinet would usually be used in another form
of calypso called Quelbe. Also to include, horns
would also be used in Quelbe music, although it
is not as popular as the flute, or clarinet.

SECTION 2: S T R I NG S A N D PE R CUSSION

Strings and Percussion

Rising Stars, a steel drum orchestra in the U.S Virgin Islands.

The most common use of string and percussion
would be the electric bass, and the drum set.
These are not the limited choices however. For
strings, the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukulele, and violin. The most common type of calypso to find the ukulele would be in Quelbe,
alongside the flute and clarinet. The violin and

guitars would be used in a calypso band, as it

can fit well within it. Other common percussion
instruments would be the cowbell, bongos, and
the steel drums, also known as the steel pan. The
cowbells is usually used in Quelbe, but can be included in Calypso, and Soca. There are usually
steel drum orchestras for calypso.

CHAPTER 2: SOCA

Type to enter text

Soca is arguably the most popular form of music in the Caribbean. Basically a birth child of Calypso, it
has grown to be one of the most popular sounds in the Caribbean, promoting annual street festivals
called Carnival. In this chapter, you will learn about the instruments used in Soca, and popular Soca
artists.
4

SECTION 1: I N S T R U M E NT S

Instruments

Kerwin Dubois, Soca artist from Trinidad and Tobago.

Soca instruments are different compared to Calypso instruments. While Calypso bands have
the use of horns, Soca rarely uses horns. The instruments used in Soca are usually percussion instruments like the bongos, acoustic guitar, electric bass, and the drum set. It is uncommon to
have horns and other wind instruments, but not

prohibited. Usually, a rhythm section is mandatory compared to a horn section, but horns are
not limited. The most important section however,
is the voice section. Usually one lead singer, and
three to five back up singers, the lead singer will
sing the melody, while the back up singers
would sing the chorus.

SECTION 2: S I N G E R S

Singers

Machel Montano, the most known Soca artist in the Caribbean.

In this age, Soca music has become a wave of excitement amongst Caribbean people. It has transformed from a calypso band using more percussion over horns, to absolute no usage of horns,
and more imitated horn sounds from an electric
piano. Soca has transformed into a Caribbean version of pop music, adding more instrumental

background as well. Popular Soca bands and artists are Kes the Band, Bunji Garlin, Destra, Alison
Hinds, and Rupee. While Rihanna has Caribbean
decent, she is a pop artist, and has not released
any Calypso or Soca songs.