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African american contributions to music essay
African american impact on jazz
The impact of rhythm and blues on african american culture
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Objectives
This research paper aims at exposing and making awareness of the meaning of rhythm and blues as a type of music. It also aims at creating a clear and deeper understanding of this type of music, the nature, the style and the vocals involved. It may be very relevant to those who aims at soaring in this art but lacks understanding of what it entails. It will also be informative to those who like this kind of music, but lacks deeper understanding of the music. The research will be through research from books, journals and websites.
Introduction
Rhythm and Blues mostly abbreviated to (R&B) and RnB refers to a popular music genre which originated in mid 1940s (Erlewine, 1997). The genre combines jazz, gospel, and blues influences. Rhythm and blues originally described recordings which were marketed to urban African Americans by record companies. Robert Palmer an American writer and producer defined rhythm and blues as music produced by the Americas and for Americans (Cahoon, 2013). According to another writer Lawrence Cohn, rhythm and blues consists of all music except the classical and religious music. Rhythm and blues can therefore be defined as a style of music which combines blues and jazz, it is characterized by a strong backbeat and repeated variations on syncopated instrumental phases. It was developed by African Americans. (Guralnick, 1999) .
History
Due to the World War impacts such as unemployment, there was migration of people from rural poor areas to the cities, the migration led to more people settling in urban areas especially the young people. In 1950s the long dominance of swing music was fading while people were still interested and looking for dance music. Due to the prominent of the saxophone, electric ...
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...tions. The sections are namely, the rhythm section which comprises of a drum set, bass, piano, sometimes organ and piano together and the guitar and the horn section consists of trumpets, saxophones, sometimes trombones and the emphasis on horns is one of the way it stands out from White Rock Music. (Handyside, 2006)
Conclusion
Today, the rhythm and blues style of music is so popular in the music industry especially to people who are in love or in a relationship as most R and B music today emphasizes on love with some special love lyrics. Today, the music is mostly liked by the young people. With most of the radio stations uniquely playing R & B music the popularity is even expected to soar higher.
Artists who plays R & B music today have been so popular among them; Mariah Carey, Jeniffer Lopez, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, James Brown among others
As the United States entered the 1920's it was not as unified as one might think. Not one, but two societies existed. The Black society, whose ancestors had been oppressed throughout the ages, and the White society, the oppressors of these men and women. After emancipation the Whites no longer needed the Blacks, but were forced to live with them. The Blacks despised the Whites, but even so they became more like them in every way. Even though these two races had grown so similar over the past century and a half, they were still greatly diversified. One aspect of this great diversity was the difference in music trends. The White society was still in love with the European classical music. The Blacks on the other hand had created something all their own. Jazz, Blues, and Ragtime originated in New Orleans in the 19th century, but by the 1920's it had become famous throughout America. The Whites tried to suppress the Blacks with new laws, but the power of this strengthened race was too great. The Negro music of the 20th century had a huge affect ...
The pioneers of the blues normally used guitars to play their music. Blues music is currently accompanied by both traditional instruments and pre-designed digital sounds unlike in the past. This has be...
Along with the blues, R&B has soul in which is shown to express the artist deep feelings and emotions. The genre truly transmits as much emotion within the music. For example, another group that includes the blues in their song is the Black street, “No Diggity”. As well as the famous legend Erykah Badu in which you can feel her feelings and her emotions throughout all of her music.
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
According to Albert Murray, the African-American musical tradition is “fundamentally stoical yet affirmative in spirit” (Star 3). Through the medium of the blues, African-Americans expressed a resilience of spirit which refused to be crippled by either poverty or racism. It is through music that the energies and dexterities of black American life are sounded and expressed (39). For the black culture in this country, the music of Basie or Ellington expressed a “wideawake, forward-tending” rhythm that one can not only dance to but live by (Star 39).
All types of music require musicians. In the H.R (Harlem Renaissance), there were many who contributed to this new style of music known as jazz. These musicians all have their own style and form. Each of these styles has in some way influenced the evolution of jazz. Louis “Sachmo” Armstrong is recognized as the most famous trumpet player of this time. His “hot bop” style was heard in places like the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre. Everyone from all over the country would come to see him. Armstrong recorded such works as I’m in the Mood for Love, and You Rascal you (http://library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/music.html). Another famous person during this era was Coleman Hawkins, a saxophone player. Hawkins is recognized as the first great saxophonists of Jazz. His most famous work was a piece named Body and Soul (http://library.thinkquest.org…). Hawkins has also recorded with artists such as Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Other people such as Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, and “Dizzie” Gillespie have also made many contributions to the development of Jazz.
Also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, the American people felt that they deserved to have some fun in order to forget the emotional toll and social scars left from the war. The Jazz Age was appropriately named due to the illegal activities and good times, which included music, parties, and flapper girls. Jazz was a new style of music that originated out of the New Orleans area, where one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time – Louis Armstrong – began his career. The energy of jazz was a very new and almost uncomfortable style for the very traditional, rigid family of the 1920s. Young people in particular seemed to enjoy this new music the most, as it made them feel carefree. The energy of jazz was symbolic of the era’s trans...
Jazz became popular during the 1920s and was developed from Blues and Ragtime. The 1920s was nicknamed The Roaring Twenties or the Jazz age because it was a time where many traditonal moral standards were not followed and people indulged in new danicng and dressing styles. Jazz is still important to us today but according to Nielsen‘s 2014 Year-End Report, jazz is continuing to fall out of favor with American listeners and has tied with classical music as the least-consumed music in the U.S., after children’s
Jazz music prospered in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Jazz was created by African Americans to represent pain and suffering and also represented the adversity that racial tension brought. (Scholastic) African American performers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker came to be recognized for their ability to overcome “race relati...
Sonny’s Blues is a story all about music and what it represents in the lives of different people. It varys from the positive view of Sonny to the negative views of Isabel and her parents. However, the narrator of the story switches from being negative to positive as he becomes more educated. These views cover how many people view music and how it differently impacts
The Roots of Blues Music Blues is a very important type of music. Most music that you hear today has some form of blues in it. If it wasn't for the blues there wouldn't be any rock and roll, country, rap, pop, or jazz . Blues is also important for African American culture. African Americans were also the people who started the blues.
The music of the Harlem Renaissance - including jazz, swing, and big band - was an inherent expression of the joyous revolt from the confinement of racial prejudice experienced by African Americans. Jazz became extremely popular in Harlem in the 1920s. Historians agree that the musical genre of jazz was most i...
Various authors have varyingly explored the origins of the blues, as a genre, possibly because of its influence in modern-day music world. In fact, the blues significantly influence today’s music scene and it is common to find other music genres borrowing from the blues in terms of style, tunes, as well as other features. Nevertheless, the blues have emerged as a widespread genre since its inception in the United States in the early 19th century. It is believed to belong to the popular (commonly referred to as pop music) style of music. In addition, it is associated with African-American culture. This paper looks into the work of two authors (R. Palmer and W. Barlow) by comparing and contrasting their views about the origin of the blues as
After 1949 the evolution of R&B began. In the 1950’s rhythm and blues somewhat developed into Rock and Roll. Little Richard, along with others, was one of the pioneers of R&B, he became one of the recording artist for RCA records. Working with talented but unknown R&B musician...
Rock and Roll has good rhythm to it and a backbeat which sounds different from other earlier genres of music. It also has the blues influence which I like. Earlier genres of music in my opinion didn’t have the same type of rhythm, speed, syncopation or the strong back beat, the riffs and the hooks that rock & roll has. I also like the vocal ranges that some of the rock & roll musicians have and their ability to make them sound so unique. From the early 60’s and on, the music in general just sounded a lot better. Rock and roll during these times also became more rhythmically better.