We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Culture

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Compás Music?

Mary McMahon
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 9,464
Share

Compás music is a musical genre that is native to Haiti. It is also known as kompá, kompás, compás direct or kompá dirèk. This style of music, which is known for its driving beat and adaptability, is closely associated with Haiti, and it is often featured at Haitian festivals and events. Some annual festivals, either in Haiti or elsewhere, feature compás music and other aspects of Haitian culture. Compás music is also available in recorded form from record stores that specialize in world music.

Credited to Nemours Jean-Baptiste

The development of this genre of music is credited to Nemours Jean-Baptiste, a Haitian jazz artist who was inspired by the musical stylings of the Dominican Republic. Jean-Baptiste incorporated traditional Haitian sounds and rhythms into a lively musical style that incorporated a lot of brass and easily recognized rhythms. Compás music typically is accompanied by singing in the Haitian Creole language. Like jazz, this type of music pays homage to the African roots of Haitian culture, but compás music takes those roots in a whole new direction.

A Diverse Building Block

Jean-Baptiste introduced compás music to the world with a 1957 album by his group, Ensemble Nemours Jean-Baptiste, and the genre quickly took off thanks to the popularity of the song De P'ti Piti Kalbass. Compás enjoyed a heyday in the 1960s and 1970s with an assortment of talented musicians expanding it to create their own sound. Jean-Baptiste believed that compás music was almost like a building block; it could be taken in any direction under the right hands, making the genre quite diverse. Some traditionalists criticized the introduction of compás music because it involved a lot of synthesizers and electronic instruments, which was a marked departure from traditional Haitian music. The genre is considered to have made traditional Haitian music more prominent, however, by introducing the sounds of Haiti to a wider audience as the music spread to other countries.

Compás and Dancing

One of the most distinctive characteristics of compás music is the driving beat, a trait that is common to many styles of Caribbean music. Many people consider compás music to be easy and fun to dance to, incorporating musical traditions such as Merengue that propel dancers around the floor with lively, active beats. A visitor might hear the notes of compás music in a community of Haitian immigrants anywhere in the world, and where there is compás, dancers usually are not far behind.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGeek researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
By anon1004654 — On Mar 23, 2021

To enlighten readers, there is no merengue influence in compas. Instead, compas is a modern meringue, the main music of Haiti, born in the 1800s. The same music reached the Eastern part of the country in 1820. Haitian call it meringue in French and Dominican called it merengue in Spanish. Hope you can make some corrections.

Thanks. Jean

By anon9690 — On Mar 11, 2008

Rather than "beat", the Spanish word "Compas" means "measure", the time space between two bars on the musical stave. A better translation might be, "to beat time", the actions of a music director while leading music to set the speed at which the music is to be played, with the appropriate downward hand gesture (downbeat) to mark the beginning of a new measure.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-comps-music.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.