MEET

Mark

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We learn about Extempo from Trinidad and Tobago, with our partner Mark Howell-Paul (   / @markhowellpaulagain  .

Today we go to WAR. Well, we go to “Calypso War,” which takes us to the Caribbean and into the thick of a poetic battle. In a Calypso War, two “Calypsonians” improvise songs in competition against each other to be most clever and entertaining, usually while taking verbal jabs at one another. The form, most common in the calypso hotbed of Trinidad and Tobago, is also known as “EXTEMPO” because of the improvisational (extemporaneous) nature of the art. Caribbean extempo is particularly bawdy, so if you go searching for extempo online, be prepared to come across many a double entendre.

meet our teachers

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Regions

This music is from Trinidad and Tobago. Learn more about Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region by clicking the button below.

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