The ''tonada'' is a folk music style of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and some countries of

Hispanic America The region known as Hispanic America (in Spanish called ''Hispanoamérica'' or ''América Hispana'') and historically as Spanish America (''América Española'') is the portion of the Americas comprising the Spanish-speaking countries of North, ...

(mainly

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, Bolivia and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

). In nowadays Spain, the traditional sung piece known as ''tonada'' is considered as having been originated in

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

and

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

, although ''tonada'' (from "tone") is a Spanish word which can mean anything sung, played or danced, musicological usage in Spanish and English is more specific.

Baroque Peru

The baroque tonada is distinct from the tono humano or

tonado The tono humano (secular song) was one of the main genres of 17th Century Spanish and Portuguese music. :The term ''tonadas'' is also used for ''tonos humanos'' in 17th Century musical literature but the 17th Century ''tonada'' is to be distinguish ...

, secular song, a main genre of 17th-century Spanish and Portuguese music. Examples of the baroque tonada are found in the Codex Martínez Compañón.

Argentina

The Argentine form of the tonada originates from Cuyo Region and is usually played by guitar group.

Chile

The modern rural Chilean folk ''tonada'' is typically a simple "monotonous" slow-moving song with a melancholy theme.Marianne Pickering, ''Chile: Where the Land Ends'', (Benchmark Books) 1996. "A tonada is usually a slow-moving song with a melancholy theme. Thirty years ago, the Nueva Cancion (nu-WEH-vah kan-see-OWN), or 'New Song,' movement was started by Chilean musicians and poets. The writers protested against the..."

Venezuela

In Venezuela the ''tonada'' tend to be presented as work songs that accompany various tasks such as milking, farming, herding, hunting, fishing, threshing, grinding corn, harvesting and rest of rural man. These songs, in addition to constituting a labor rite, symbolize the spirit of coexistence among those who perform common tasks. According to the Venezuelan musician, composer and musicologist Luis Felipe Ramón y Rivera, the tonadas are utilitarian songs that are characterized by their monodic system, in which harmony is clearly established by long notes of six, eight or more moderate times. that enclose the cadences. These songs are measurable and interspersed cries and jipíos according to the need of the work, depending on the milking or the drive. As for the scales to which these melodies are adjusted, they vary among themselves, according to the type of regional music. Thus, a song of the Táchira state to harvest coffee differs a lot from a llanero ridge for the drive. But, in general, all show an old character. The deceased Venezuelan singer-songwriter and musician Simón Díaz was the greatest exponent of this genre, who rescued and made known during his recording career.

References

{{Music in Spanish Chilean culture Latin American music