Small Thing Big Idea
Kyra Gaunt: How the jump rope got its rhythm
Kyra Gaunt: Cómo encontró su ritmo la soga de saltar
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Vamos, vamos, chica, vamos, vamos por la montaña rusa... El hip-hop debe mucho a las reinas del salto de doble soga. La etnomusicóloga Kyra Gaunt nos lleva en un recorrido por la fascinante historia de la soga de saltar.
Kyra Gaunt - Ethnomusicologist
A member of the inaugural TED Fellows class, Dr. Kyra Gaunt is an ethnomusicologist, singer-songwriter, and a social media researcher on faculty at University at Albany, SUNY. Full bio
A member of the inaugural TED Fellows class, Dr. Kyra Gaunt is an ethnomusicologist, singer-songwriter, and a social media researcher on faculty at University at Albany, SUNY. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
If you do it right, it should sound like:
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Si lo haces bien, debe sonar así:
00:14
TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat,
TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat.
TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat.
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TIC-tat, TIC-tat, TIC-tat,
TIC-tat, TIC-tat, TIC-tat.
TIC-tat, TIC-tat, TIC-tat.
00:18
If you do it wrong, it sounds like:
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Si lo haces mal, suena así:
00:20
Tick-TAT, tick-TAT, tick-TAT.
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tic-TAT, tic-TAT, tic-TAT.
00:21
[Small thing. Big idea.]
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[Cosa pequeña. Idea grande.]
00:25
[Kyra Gaunt on
the Jump Rope]
the Jump Rope]
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[Kyra Gaunt habla de la soga de saltar]
00:28
The jump rope is such a simple object.
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La soga de saltar es un objeto muy simple.
00:31
It can be made out of rope,
a clothesline, twine.
a clothesline, twine.
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Puede ser de cuerda,
de hilo de tender, del cordel.
de hilo de tender, del cordel.
00:34
It has, like, a twirl on it. (Laughs)
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Está como... torcida.
00:37
I'm not sure how to describe that.
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No sé cómo describirla.
00:38
What's important
is that it has a certain weight,
is that it has a certain weight,
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Lo importante es que sea de cierto peso
00:41
and that they have
that kind of whip sound.
that kind of whip sound.
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y que haga ese sonido como de látigo.
00:44
It's not clear what the origin
of the jump rope is.
of the jump rope is.
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No está claro cuál es el origen
de la soga de saltar.
de la soga de saltar.
00:48
There's some evidence
that it began in ancient Egypt, Phoenicia,
that it began in ancient Egypt, Phoenicia,
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Hay evidencia de que se originó
en el Antiguo Egipto, o en Fenicia,
en el Antiguo Egipto, o en Fenicia,
00:52
and then it most likely traveled
to North America with Dutch settlers.
to North America with Dutch settlers.
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y que luego probablemente viajó
a Norteamérica con los colonos holandeses.
a Norteamérica con los colonos holandeses.
00:56
The rope became a big thing
when women's clothes became more fitted
when women's clothes became more fitted
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La soga se hizo popular
cuando la ropa femenina
se hizo más ajustada
se hizo más ajustada
01:01
and the pantaloon came into being.
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y nació el pantalón,
01:03
And so, girls were able to jump rope
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así que las chicas podían saltar
01:06
because their skirts
wouldn't catch the ropes.
wouldn't catch the ropes.
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porque sus faldas
no se enredaban en las sogas.
no se enredaban en las sogas.
01:09
Governesses used it
to train their wards to jump rope.
to train their wards to jump rope.
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Las institutrices la usaban
para entrenar a los niños
a saltar la soga.
a saltar la soga.
01:13
Even formerly enslaved African children
in the antebellum South
in the antebellum South
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Hasta los niños africanos
previamente esclavizados
en el Sur prebélico
en el Sur prebélico
01:16
jumped rope, too.
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saltaban la soga también.
01:17
In the 1950s, in Harlem,
Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,
Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,
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Durante los años 50, en Harlem,
Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,
Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,
01:22
you could see on the sidewalk,
lots of girls playing with ropes.
lots of girls playing with ropes.
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se podía ver a muchas chicas
jugando con sogas en la vereda.
jugando con sogas en la vereda.
01:27
Sometimes they would take two ropes
and turn them as a single rope together,
and turn them as a single rope together,
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A veces usaban dos sogas
y las giraban juntas al unísono,
y las giraban juntas al unísono,
01:30
but you could separate them and turn
them in like an eggbeater on each other.
them in like an eggbeater on each other.
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pero las podían separar
y hacerlas girar una sobre otra,
y hacerlas girar una sobre otra,
como hace una batidora.
01:34
The skipping rope
was like a steady timeline --
was like a steady timeline --
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La soga de saltar marcaba el tiempo
a intervalos regulares...
a intervalos regulares...
01:37
tick, tick, tick, tick --
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tic, tic, tic, tic...
01:38
upon which you can add rhymes
and rhythms and chants.
and rhythms and chants.
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sobre el cual se podían añadir
rimas y ritmos y cantos.
rimas y ritmos y cantos.
01:42
Those ropes created a space
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Esas sogas generaron un espacio
01:44
where we were able
to contribute to something
to contribute to something
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en donde podíamos contribuir a algo
01:47
that was far greater
than the neighborhood.
than the neighborhood.
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mucho más grande que el barrio.
01:49
Double Dutch jump rope remains
a powerful symbol of culture and identity
a powerful symbol of culture and identity
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El salto de doble soga sigue siendo
un símbolo potente de cultura e identidad
01:53
for black women.
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para las afroestadounidenses.
01:54
Back from the 1950s to the 1970s,
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Entre los años 50 y los 70,
01:56
girls weren't supposed to play sports.
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las chicas no debían hacer deportes.
01:58
Boys played baseball,
basketball and football,
basketball and football,
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Los chicos jugaban béisbol,
básquetbol y fútbol americano,
básquetbol y fútbol americano,
02:01
and girls weren't allowed.
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y las chicas no podían jugar.
02:03
A lot has changed, but in that era,
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Mucho ha cambiado, pero en esa época,
02:05
girls would rule the playground.
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las chicas dominaban el patio de recreo.
02:07
They'd make sure
that boys weren't a part of that.
that boys weren't a part of that.
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Se aseguraban de que los chicos
no fueran parte de eso.
no fueran parte de eso.
02:10
It's their space, it's a girl-power space.
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El espacio era de ellas; un espacio
de poder para las chicas,
de poder para las chicas,
02:12
It's where they get to shine.
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donde ellas podían brillar.
02:14
But I also think it's for boys,
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Pero creo que también lo era para chicos
porque escuchaban los cantos,
porque escuchaban los cantos,
02:16
because boys overheard those,
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02:17
which is why, I think,
so many hip-hop artists
so many hip-hop artists
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y por eso, yo creo,
tantos artistas de hip-hop samplearon
tantos artistas de hip-hop samplearon
02:19
sampled from things that they heard
in black girls' game songs.
in black girls' game songs.
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a partir cosas que escuchaban en
los cantos de chicas afroestadounidenses.
los cantos de chicas afroestadounidenses.
02:23
(Chanting) ... cold, thick shake,
act like you know how to flip,
act like you know how to flip,
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(Cantando) ... cuarto de libra, papas,
muéstranos cómo giras.
muéstranos cómo giras.
02:26
Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder,
french fries, ice cold, thick shake,
french fries, ice cold, thick shake,
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Cuarto de libra, papas,
muéstranos cómo saltas.
muéstranos cómo saltas.
02:29
act like you know how to jump.
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La canción "Country Grammar"
de Nelly ganó un Grammy
de Nelly ganó un Grammy
02:30
Why "Country Grammar" by Nelly
became a Grammy Award-winning single
became a Grammy Award-winning single
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02:34
was because people already knew
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porque la gente ya conocía eso de...
02:37
"We're going down down baby
your street in a Range Rover ... "
your street in a Range Rover ... "
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"Vamos, vamos chica, por tu calle
en un Range Rover..."
en un Range Rover..."
02:40
That's the beginning of "Down down, baby,
down down the roller coaster,
down down the roller coaster,
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Ese es el comienzo de "Vamos, vamos
chica, vamos, vamos por la montaña rusa,
chica, vamos, vamos por la montaña rusa,
02:44
sweet, sweet baby, I'll never let you go."
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dulce, dulce chica, nunca te suelto".
02:46
All people who grew up
in any black urban community
in any black urban community
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Todos los que crecieron
en una comunidad afroestadounidense urbana
02:49
would know that music.
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conocerán esa música.
02:51
And so, it was a ready-made hit.
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Y entonces fue un éxito de inmediato.
02:54
The Double Dutch rope playing
helped maintain these songs
helped maintain these songs
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El juego de salto de doble soga
ayudó a preservar estas canciones
ayudó a preservar estas canciones
02:58
and helped maintain the chants
and the gestures that go along with it,
and the gestures that go along with it,
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y ayudó a preservar los cantos
y gestos que lo acompañan,
y gestos que lo acompañan,
03:02
which is very natural
to what I call "kinetic orality" --
to what I call "kinetic orality" --
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algo muy natural, a lo que yo llamo
"la oralidad cinética"...
"la oralidad cinética"...
03:06
word of mouth and word of body.
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es decir, el boca a boca y boca a cuerpo.
03:09
It's the thing that gets
passed down over generations.
passed down over generations.
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Es eso que se transmite por generaciones.
03:12
In some ways, the rope
is the thing that helps carry it.
is the thing that helps carry it.
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En cierta forma, la soga
es lo que ayuda a transmitirlo.
es lo que ayuda a transmitirlo.
03:15
You need some object
to carry memory through.
to carry memory through.
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Necesitamos algún objeto
para transmitir la memoria.
para transmitir la memoria.
03:18
So, a jump rope, you can use it
for all different kinds of things.
for all different kinds of things.
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Entonces se puede usar una soga
para muchas cosas diferentes.
para muchas cosas diferentes.
03:22
It crosses cultures.
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La soga atraviesa culturas.
03:24
And I think it lasted
because people need to move.
because people need to move.
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Y creo que perduró en el tiempo
porque la gente necesita moverse.
porque la gente necesita moverse.
03:28
And I think sometimes the simplest objects
can make the most creative uses.
can make the most creative uses.
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Creo que a veces los objetos
más sencillos pueden tener
más sencillos pueden tener
los usos más creativos.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kyra Gaunt - EthnomusicologistA member of the inaugural TED Fellows class, Dr. Kyra Gaunt is an ethnomusicologist, singer-songwriter, and a social media researcher on faculty at University at Albany, SUNY.
Why you should listen
Kyra Gaunt's book, The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop, published by NYU Press, won of the 2007 Alan Merriam Book Prize awarded by The Society for Ethnomusicology, which contributed to the emergence of black girlhood studies and hip-hop feminism. It also inspired a work by fellow TED Fellow Camille A. Brown, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play, which was nominated for a 2016 Bessie Award for Outstanding Production.
Gaunt's articles have appeared in Musical Quarterly, The Journal for Popular Music Studies and Parcours anthropologiques, and she has contributed chapters to I Was Born to Use Mics: Listening to Nas’ Illmatic and The Hip-hop & Obama Reader, among other publications.
Gaunt's scholarship has been funded by The Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities and is a nationally- and internationally-recognized speaker. She also is a certified expert witness in federal and state cases on the unintended consequences of social media. She also continues to perform and record as a classically-trained, jazz vocalist and R&B singer-songwriter. Her original compositions are available on the CD Be the True Revolution available on iTunes and CDBaby.
Kyra Gaunt | Speaker | TED.com