...Anna Munoz Dr. Jones DISC 1313 December 4, 2015 Music and The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s All forms of Black music, from jazz to rock and roll, played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement. The songs were sung for multiple purposes and played a critical role in inspiring, activating, and giving voice to the people involved. The evolution of music during the early 1950’s and 1960’s in the Black freedom struggle reflects the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement itself. The progressive thought of the 1950s nurtured new ideas and cultures including the Civil Rights Movement and the fast spread of rock and roll. One such cultural revival occurred after the end of World War II during a time of change, prosperity and restoration. The “Puritan dicta” outlined by Baldwin represents the American ideology before the Second World War. As the first settlers of this nation, the Puritans set the mold for many common American ideologies. In the Puritan view white represented good and black represented evil, including Africans and their culture. After the war, Baldwin states that the former puritanical views of whites will be challenged. Musicians such as Elvis Presley were the first to issue this challenge to white society. Early rockers like Elvis would pave the way for social commentary in music that would add much fire to the Civil Rights Movement. To fully understand the explosion of popularity of Black music in the years following World War II, one must understand...
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...Define jazz in your words Jazz is a form of expression that does not confine itself to music and expands itself to influence beautiful art pieces––such as paintings, poems, novels and essays––that intellectuals represent themselves in. Is that truly what jazz is? Not really, as it is a culture that has more than one identity, as well as, more than one definition. Describe jazz Jazz culture consists of different types of art, but they have many elements in common. Jazz music is truly innovative; the whole existence of jazz defies traditional music structure and attempts to create art out of improvised pieces. Narrate your experience of jazz I do not have much experience with Jazz. The first time I was introduced to jazz music was in middle school, when a friend of mine kept bugging me to listen to a “cool music” he had found. At first, I was surprised by the musical composition. It was a chaotic and disorganized piece of music that felt somewhat soothing. In the music, there were different instruments that, at first sounded like they were attacking each other, but soon felt like they were...
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...Nastasia Tamarkin 10 April 2016 AP Language Jazz Part B: Essay Outline I Introduction a b c Jazz is not something to be considered an annoyance of threat. Jazz is continued to be looked up upon and appreciated by many regions around the world, such as New Orleans, Louisiana. How could a genre of music that bonds both African American and European history be considered a threat, or not needed? I believe that Jazz music should continue to flourish and continue to represent different cultures through sound. II Body d II Jazz is an expression of feelings, emotions, and a story of history. Although this is true, some would argue that it is purely an act of random, irritating chords and sounds. e Jazz has been a cure and an uplifting medicine for Americans during the Great Depression. It has so much meaning and combines cultures from all over the world. It is one of the only aspects in world culture that almost any country can connect and relate to. There is Jazz music relating to African Americans, Europeans, Latinos, and even Cubans! f People will argue that Jazz is just something to keep people busy, and that it is hyped up for what is really is. In reality, Jazz is not understood enough, and not fully understood for what it really is trying to represent. Not many people listen to Jazz and know that is a combination of different customs and traditions. Conclusion a While people find Jazz music to serve as a threat, and to be annoying,...
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...Harlem, that celebrated black traditions, the black voice, and black ways of life. Jazz and music Jazz was a new style of music created by African American musicians, featuring syncopated rhythms and improvisational solos It was so interesting because the improv aspect meant that no two performances could ever be the same Duke Ellington turned commercial radio into a place for music by performing jazz music from the Cotton Club, broadcasted to thousands of Americans Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday coined blues and jazz vocal solos Chick Webb (King of Swing) saved money as a paperboy to buy his drum set, and started playing professionally in Harlem at 11 years old, then later became the best-regarded band leader Louis Armstrong played jazz music on Broadway, a Creole Jazz Band, and at the Cotton Club. He played in many films and toured internationally. He was the man that made the most Americans begin to accept jazz into their culture II. Poetry Langston Hughes One of the most well known names of the Harlem Renaissance His writing reflected that black culture should be celebrated because is it just as valuable as white culture "I tried to write poems like the songs they sang on Seventh Street...(these songs) had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going." said Langston One of Langston most famous work was his essay entitled "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" This essay talks about no great poet ever being afraid of being himself even if he is african...
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...The interaction between Blues and Jazz can be discerned when the origins of both music are scrutinized. The development of one is hidden in the roots of one another and both use similar sound patterns for instance. In this paper the readers will be presented a brief history of Blues & Jazz within the similarities of the two. If we trace back to the history of Blues music, the impact of African-American tradition is seen quite apparently. Blues music evolved from the songs sung by West African griots, the southern Black American songs of sadness and despair, and more hopeful Christian spirituals. It originated in the rural Mississippi Delta region at the beginning of 20th century. Similarly, Jazz music emerged as a blend of African-American rituals; the features carried from West African Black folk music developed in the Americas, joined with European music of the late 18th and 19th centuries and turned out to be the minor voicing characteristics of the Blues. Jazz emerged in New Orleans and was characterized by strong but flexible rhythms. Blues had its most brilliant years in America by the end of WWI. The American troops brought the Blues home with them, which they learned from the Southern Whites who had been exposed to the blues. After WWII, Blues had a different experience by the well-known Blues musicians as B.B. King and Buddy Guy by “amplifying guitar” and “emphasized drums”; thus created intensified sounds in Blues, the collection of which later called...
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...Cause and Effect Essay Throughout history music has accompanied Humanity in many different forms and styles. From Medieval and Baroque to Classical and Romantic, the genres we’ve seen in the past are largely similar in their foundations, with variations in theme and style that appropriately reflected moods of the time period. The music of today however, known as the Modern period, is much unlike the others. The introduction of Jazz music in the early 20th Century has sculpted what we know music as today. As a style that has evolved over time, people aren’t able to pinpoint a specific moment where Jazz was first played. Although, most accept it was initially developed in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz music at its core is a unique combination of both European and African musical elements. It takes its “rhythm and feel” component from African music. Additionally, the component of harmony -- that is, the chords that accompany the melody of the tune (usually played on the piano) -- and various instruments, such as the saxophone, trumpet, and piano, are borrowed from European music. While Jazz initially only saw popularity in a small minority of communities throughout the American South, it soon grew far beyond those reaches, developing many alternate styles of its own as it was introduced to new corners of society. Some examples include: Swing, Ragtime, Bossa Nova, Blues and Bebop. Classic jazz and its alternates are the facilitators of the evolution of popular music. While rock...
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...this study argue against common belief in regards to American music being define through Aaron Copland's music. Although there are many sources used for this study the following represent the sources most critical for this study. Some of the sources that are more biographical in nature such as “Composer from the Brooklyn: An Autobiographical Sketch,” will allow this paper to shape the parameters of its argument by placing Copland in Paris and establishing the effects of him living and studying there. Copland said, “It was a fortunate time to be studying music in France. All the pent-up energies of the...
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...In like manner, music was just as important as all the educators during the Harlem Renaissance. It played an enormous role in encouraging the future, as well as giving music a new style. With that said, the Harlem Renaissance is known for being the place where music became more lively, spirited, and passionate. After all, artists put the entirety of their heart in their music. With that in mind, these artists wanted to leave a mark, they wanted people to know how they truly felt. “As Samuel Floyd points out, in his brilliant essay on the Harlem Renaissance, “The music of the black theater shows, the dance music of the cabarets, the blues, ragtime of the speakeasies and the rent parties, the spirituals, and the art songs of the recitals and...
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...Throughout the 1920’s jazz music was a defining aspect of American culture; it also had a huge effect on society.. People of the time saw either playing or listening to jazz as a way to feel free or even escape from their daily lives. With the social changes going on in the 20’s, like the parties and the way people behaved, jazz fit right in with the changing times. Many jazz enthusiasts will argue that you are born with a love of jazz (Jazz History: The Standards). Like Louis Armstrong once said, "if you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know" (Music with Ease > Jazz Quotes). In conjunction with the roaring twenties, jazz made it to the top and became widely known across the United States, and even some parts of Britain, making it a worldwide movement. It came very popular with people who wanted to get away from their normal lives and escape into the swing of jazz. Novelist F Scott...
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...emerged in the 1950s. Among many Beat Generation writers, most influential members were Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and Gary Snyder. All the writers have contributed to the literature society in their own different and unique way. Here in this essay, I will explore on unique characteristics or contributions that each writer has made on our literature society. Norman Mailer was a predominant writer in 1950s. He is mostly known as the writer of “White Negro”. He contributed on our literature by clarifying who Beat Generations are and how do we define them. In his essay The White Negro, he defined the Beatnik as young white people who like Jazz and swing music so much that they adopted black culture as their own. Beatniks adopted the African American vernacular language to differentiate themselves from the so-called “Mainstream”. The word they use is semantically flexible that words such as man, beat, cool, swing, with it, crazy, dig, flip, creep and hip can mean hundreds different things depending upon context to tone and rhythm. By further defining and exploring the meaning of Beat Generation, he allowed others to see what beat generation is truly about. Without his essay “The White Negro”, people would have interpreted Beat Generation merely as a group of drug addicted. Besides from Mailer, Allen Ginsberg has a huge impact on the Beat Generation. Allen Ginsberg, the visionary poet, inspired American counterculture with groundbreaking poem...
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...Corey LaComb Professor Thomas ENC 1102 April 13, 2014 Music and Salvation Written by James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” revolves around Sonny, a drug addict Jazz enthusiast and his unnamed brother, the narrator, who teaches algebra in Harlem. While the brothers are at two very different stages in their life, they both are struggling to find salvation and “reinvent their brotherhood in spite of the otherwise bleak environment of drug use, violence, and disenfranchisement in which they live” (Duncan). Throughout the story Jazz music plays a major role. While the brothers have different feelings about Jazz music it is ultimately the music with helps the brothers to salvage their relationship and find the salvation that they have been looking for. At the beginning of “Sonny’s Blues” both brothers are trapped – both physically and emotionally. Sonny is literally imprisoned while in jail. He is also confined by his drug addiction, which is the reason he is in jail in the first place. The narrator, on the other hand, is not confined in jail or addicted to drugs. He has more physical freedom than does Sonny but yet he is still trapped. He is stuck inside of Harlem and he is trapped inside of the housing projects he lives. He became an algebra teacher to try to make a better life for his family and yet still he is trapped inside of these run down houses, the “rocks in the middle of a boiling sea” (Sonny’s Blues, pg. 7), and this bothers him. Emotionally, Sonny’s brother is trapped inside...
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...writings of our founding fathers that led to the changing of millions of Americans minds. To this day Dr. King is considered to be one of history’s greatest and most influential speakers. Dr. King was invited to speak at events unaffiliated with his passion for the Civil Rights Movement, my essay compares and contrast what many consider his greatest speech entitled “I Have A Dream” with “On the Importance of Jazz”. August of 1963, Dr. King gave a speech called “I Have A Dream”, which was very powerful and influential. King claims, “now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." (King). However, King hopes to keep equality through this nonviolent movement. He orders his fellow Negros to not have...
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...Example of Concert Review Essay [This was a paper written by an actual student in the Popular Music in America class. It is not offered as an award-winning review nor is it compositionally error-free. It did, however, receive an A for this assignment and is an example of the level of writing and analysis that is required to receive an A. Please do not, however, begin your paper in exactly the same way or attempt to copy “buzz words” or phrases. Write your own paper!] On February 17, 2005, the Jazz Ensemble at Tarleton State University had their first concert of the spring semester with special guest trumpeter, Daryl White. The jazz ensembles collectively performed thirteen pieces during the concert. “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Waltz for Debby” and “Ancient Memories” were three stylistically different pieces that allowed the audience to experience the various sounds of jazz music. Jazz music, like all music, tells a story and here are the stories of “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Waltz for Debby” and “Ancient Memories”. “Fly Me to the Moon”, written by Bart Howard and arranged by Sammy Nestico, is an upbeat standard sung most famously by Frank Sinatra. In the instrumental version of this song, a Latin-inspired sounding consonance set the romantic mood at the beginning of this song. A piano and saxophone then alternated the melody of the song as though they were dancing like two lovers flying to the moon. As the passion of the song heated up, the texture changed within...
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...Example of Concert Review Essay [This was a paper written by an actual student in the Popular Music in America class. It is not offered as an award-winning review nor is it compositionally error-free. It did, however, receive an A for this assignment and is an example of the level of writing and analysis that is required to receive an A. Please do not, however, begin your paper in exactly the same way or attempt to copy “buzz words” or phrases. Write your own paper!] On February 17, 2005, the Jazz Ensemble at Tarleton State University had their first concert of the spring semester with special guest trumpeter, Daryl White. The jazz ensembles collectively performed thirteen pieces during the concert. “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Waltz for Debby” and “Ancient Memories” were three stylistically different pieces that allowed the audience to experience the various sounds of jazz music. Jazz music, like all music, tells a story and here are the stories of “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Waltz for Debby” and “Ancient Memories”. “Fly Me to the Moon”, written by Bart Howard and arranged by Sammy Nestico, is an upbeat standard sung most famously by Frank Sinatra. In the instrumental version of this song, a Latin-inspired sounding consonance set the romantic mood at the beginning of this song. A piano and saxophone then alternated the melody of the song as though they were dancing like two lovers flying to the moon. As the passion of the song heated up, the texture changed within...
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...analyze, critique, and help us to understand the music of the Harlem Renaissance and the Pop Art periods. The social conditions that influenced the art and the characteristics of the artists’ style were in many ways similar; however, with advancing technology, they had differing struggles to overcome. The Harlem Renaissance was sparked by the Great Migration from 1919 – 1926 in which African Americans began moving to northern cities to find employment and a better way of life. The musicians of this era were very influential in renewing the culture and history of the United States. Jazz, race, and class divided Harlem and New York cities. Some historians have said the best way to understand the Harlem Renaissance is by understanding the music (http://historyoftheharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/index.html; www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/Harlem-Renaissance-1920s.html). With the roots of jazz coming from slave songs, it is truly an African-American invention. This newly formed music utilized the dissonant “blue” note. This modification to the to the standard major scale allowed the musician to play the note flat; usually the third, fifth, or seventh note of the scale. Music critic Sidney Finkelstein stated, “It expresses the hope and struggle for freedom, the vitality which enables a people to wrest joy out of misery and to assert the triumph of human beings over the obstacles that would grind them down.” ("MindEdge," 2014) Jazz was the sound of the 1920’s; with the Roaring Twenties...
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