Gospel, Spirituals, Blues, and Rap: African American Music Introduction In the African American culture, we have several different genres of music. Each genre Has a special place in the history of the African American culture. Slaves used Spirituals as a way of communication later branched off into different genres. Negro Spirituals In the olden days, Slaves lived very difficult lives. They weren't entitled to many things, but they were given the rights to go to church and play music.…
holds for him. Your music is reminiscent of classic Rock and Pop, who were your influences? Arthur: “Well, It’s very wide. It wasn’t just influenced by classic Rock and Pop. I was influenced by Classical music, and Jazz, and Rhythm & Blues music--all kinds…
music industry. The blues that we know now used to be known as “race music.” (Rockin’ out textbook – page 30) This type of music was sung by mostly whites but in 1920, African American singers were introduced into the blues music. (Rockin’ out textbook – page 30) A lady named Mamie Smith was a woman that was well known for her singing during the blues music era. “Crazy Blues” sold 8,000 copies a week! (Rockin’ out textbook…
“Sonny’s Blues” “Music is a world within itself, it is a language we can all understand.” - Stevie Wonder James Baldwin avowed that “It is only in his music… that the negro in America has been able to tell his story,” and music of various kinds features prominently in “Sonny’s Blues.” The story’s title evidently promotes blues music, however the story itself strongly suggests the essence of jazz music. In the title, “Sonny’s Blues”, the blues are not only the genre of music that is mentioned…
in the late summer made the usual daily life seem blurry and utterly dream-like. For this reason, Charles knew she was gone but didn’t really believe it; the blank space (almost like a black hole, sucking in bad thoughts and memories to give him a kind of illusioned, pure nostalgia) where she used to be was bathed with white and a suggestive question mark. He had made the subconscious decision to was to clumsily fill the void with alcohol and cigarettes. On this afternoon, he was setting flame…
Jazz is a music genre which originated from African American society in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th century. Jazz music emphasizes improvisation along with the use of different musical instruments. Rock is also a music genre which originated in the United States in mid twentieth century. Rock music refers to rocking and rolling, reference to dancing and sex. Also it uses different types of recording techniques and unique instruments. Rock ushered in psychedelic rock era.…
have the blues? It can be described as a feeling of grief or loneliness and having internal despair. Having the blues can be temporary, just due to having a bad day. One can feel permanent blues due to emotional baggage from the past or outside forces causing stress to a person. Nevertheless, the feeling of blues was first expressed through various worksongs and spirituals sung by displaced Africans during the American slavery period. Black writers soon expressed the blues emotion through blues…
society of the time. These political statements are sometimes veiled in almost surrealistic statements, which seem to come out of left field at first listen. One such example is the line “The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken” from the song “Tombstone Blues”. At first this seems like a completely nonsensical line, but when you analyze the words it actually makes sense. The words yellow and chicken are also ways of saying cowardly or weak, so this could be a criticism of people, specifically…
civilization since its creation. As humans have progressed and evolved so has music. There has been a constant transformation in melodic styles, sounds, and the ways people perform. Rock ‘n Roll gets its origins from the early days of jazz, rhythm and blues, folk, country, and pop. It is a blend of all previous forms of music with its own twist and distinct individuality. Rock ‘n Roll divided generations of Americans, along with inspiring millions of others throughout the world it crafted a…
1. Give a brief definition of the following: a rhythm b. beat c. melody d. harmony a. rhythm: As an element of music, rhythm describe how is the song organized in patterns to create certain form of music. b. beat: It is the basic unit of time with which the rhythm of the song is measured, as a pulse. Also it can be used to refer the fundamental rhythmic organization. c. melody: It is the organization of notes of different pitches. d. harmony: It refers to the organization of chords used…