For music lovers, here are 10 curiosities from the musical world, listed by UOL’s “Curious Guide”:
1. The Department of Press and Propaganda (DIP) imposed censorship on Brazilian cultural production since 1937. Only in 1940 were 370 lyrics of popular songs banned for having references considered negative.
2. The Canarinhos de Petropolis is the oldest boys’ choir in Brazil. The first performance took place on August 15, 1942. The main repertoire is sacred music.
3. The term “discotheque” was invented by filmmaker Roger Vadim in the late 1940s. Vadim began calling the small Parisian nightclubs that couldn’t afford to play live music “discothèque.” The nickname caught on, and 30 years later, “discoteca” also became a type of dance, responsible for energizing John Travolta’s Saturdays in the film “Saturday Night Fever” (1977).
4. Psychologists from Caledonian University in Scotland announced on March 30, 2005, that listening to favorite music can alleviate pain. The doctors reached this conclusion after conducting a study where a group was invited to keep their hand in a basin of cold water for as long as possible. Those who listened to their favorite song could endure the cold for five times longer than those in silence.
5. In 1930, the caricaturist J. Carlos wrote the lyrics to the samba “Este Mulato Vai Ser Meu.” It began like this: “Na Grota Funda/na virada da montanha/só se conta uma façanha/do mulato da Raimunda.” Lamartine Babo did not like it and asked the song’s author, Ary Barroso, for permission to change the lyrics. It became: “No Rancho Fundo/bem pra lá do fim do mundo/onde a dor e a saudade/contam coisas da cidade.” The song was renamed “No Rancho Fundo” and caused a rift between J. Carlos and Ary Barroso.
6. The baton of conductor Isaac Karabitschevsky is French, made of worked metal. It weighs 150 grams. It belonged to Carlos Gomes. He has had it since the late 1960s, and it has already accounted for over 5,000 hours of concerts.
7. The song “Disparada,” performed by Jair Rodrigues in 1966, innovated by using a donkey’s jawbone as a percussion instrument.
8. The “cha-cha-cha” was born in the American city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A huge success in the 1950s, the dance was invented by choreographer Fred Kelly, along with Cuban percussionist Tito Puente – who created the rhythm. Fred Kelly was the older brother of Gene Kelly, the actor and dancer renowned for the film “Singin’ in the Rain.”
9. Samba singer Bezerra da Silva ran away from home at the age of 15. As he didn’t have money to travel from Pernambuco to Rio de Janeiro, he hid on a ship.
10. Playing a musical instrument can increase a person’s IQ by up to 5 points.