Gospel Music Research Paper

"Gospel is first and foremost a direct descendent of spirituals. What Thomas Dorsey and his friends kept as the defining attributes of gospel music - the call-and-response format, ample room for improvisation, rhythm, frequent use of the flatted seventh and third in melodies - remain true even today. The elements introduced by later musical forms, such as close harmonies, a sense of professionalism , showmanship, the regular use of an AAB rhyming scheme, and a pronounce beat all endure, but are tacked on the spine of the original spirituals, which are for the most part irrevocably linked to their African forebears". (People Get Ready! A New History of Black Gospel Music, Robert Darden, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004) Four queries commonly asked regarding gospel music are "What is it?", "When did it start?", "How did it evolve?" and "What are the various gospel styles?" Here may be a compilation that tries to answer these queries looking back at the history of musical style,

African roots, African Yankee slavery, gospel music's evolution, seminal figures of the gospel musical genre, and at last a précis of gospel music designs up to the current day. …show more content…
Like different types of Christian music, the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of Gospel music varies consistent with culture and social context. Gospel music consists and performed for several functions, together with aesthetic pleasure, non-secular or ceremonial functions, and as a diversion product for the marketplace. However, the foremost common themes of most Gospel music is praise, worship or because of God, Christ, or the Holy