...Contents The Blues – Traditions and Inspirations Origin 2 Musical Format Development Classification Influence References Origin Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States around the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll is characterized by specific chord progressions, of which the twelve-bar blues chord progression is the most common. The blue notes that, for expressive purposes are sung or played flattened or gradually bent (minor 3rd to major 3rd) in relation to the pitch of the major scale, are also an important part of the sound. The origin of the term of was most likely derived from mysticism involving blue indigo, which was used by many West African cultures in death and mourning ceremonies where all the mourner's garments would have been dyed blue to indicate suffering. Blues has evolved from the unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves imported from West Africa and rural blacks into a wide variety of styles and subgenres, with regional variations across the United States. The musical forms and styles that are now considered the "blues" as well as modern "country music" arose in the same regions during the 19th century in the southern United States. Recorded...
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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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...different, but they share many of the same roots. They share jazz, rhythm and blues, folk/gospel, and plain old blues. Where the music is different is when rock uses a little more blues influence while hip-hop uses soul influence. This leaves the question, “which is more influential?’’ and to get to that point, this paper will explain how both genres are influential in their own ways, and then he or she can compare the two so one can decide for his or herself. First, one should learn what rock and roll is, where it started, who influenced it, the controversies of it, and then all of that again but for hip-hop. So what exactly is “rock and roll”? Rock and roll (also known just as...
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...American Roots Music 1 American Roots Music 2 The expression "American roots music" may not be well-known to all, and involves some enlightenment. At the start of the 20th Century, the phrase "folk music" was used by scholars to explain music made by the whites of the European ancestry. As the century grew, the meaning of folk music expanded to include the song styles, particularly the blues of Southern blacks. Folk music was viewed as a window into the cultural life of these two groups. Folk songs communicated with people’s hopes, dreams, and sadness of their everyday lives. More and more music was made by other groups of Americans such as Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Cajuns (Louisiana)." The songs were sung on front porches where families would gather, in churches, in the fields and while rocking children to sleep. The melodies and words were passed down from parent to child. The songs and meanings were often changed to reflect change in times. Knowledge of folk songs and musicians grew, and popular musicians began to draw on folk music as an imaginative source as never before in the 1960s. "Folk music" became a form of popular music by singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, who helped pioneer the acoustic performing style that echoed the society based on folk musicians. Music writers, intellectuals...
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...Blues vs Country music According to Etta James in an interview with American Chronicle: "The Blues and country are first cousins ... What I look for in a song is for the story to be for real. I like a blood and guts kind of thing. That's what you find in the lyrics of country music." Blues and country music both developed in the 19th century in the Southern United States. They share a similar history. For this reason, they share many of the same musical and lyrical characteristics. Read more: How to Compare Blues & Country Music | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5888119_compare-blues-country-music.htInstructions 1. * 1 Learn the history behind blues and country music. They are both forms of American folk music influenced by earlier styles brought overseas. Blues music grew out of field hollers and chants sung by African slaves. Irish and Scottish balladeers borrowed the guitar and banjo of blues and thus created "country". According to Reebee Garofalo in "Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA", "Terms like country and blues are only used to separate the same kind of music made by blacks and whites ... designations like race and hillbilly intentionally separated artists along racial lines and conveyed the impression that their music came from mutually exclusive sources." Country is an offshoot of blues. They are essentially the same thing. In the PBS special, "Rhythm, Country and Blues," country is referred to as "white man's blues." * 2 Listen to...
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...Cultural Imperialism and the Attenuation of Ethnic Barriers Six soldiers, as immortalized in Rosenthal’s famous photo of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima in 1945, are seen working together to lift, not a flag, but a ‘G Clef’. The Good Rats’ 1981 album, Great American Music, featured this painting by Pasqual D'Angelo as its album cover. The band’s name, prominently displayed across the top in bulky, stenciled letters, gives this image a militaristic appearance, a characteristic that can have different meanings to different audiences. To many Americans, the military represents the unification of American strength and spirit to better defend its freedom. To others, the military is viewed as the oppressive arm of the Americans’ will to dominate and conquer. Could this be a depiction of American military dominance and cultural imperialism? Or is it a testament to the unifying power of music – crossing racial and ethnic barriers to bind people of all cultures under one flag? Throughout this paper we will examine the painting, the band and the history behind it all to discover the message intended for us. The parallels between this image and the photo it emulates are made evident, not just by its stenciled letters, or even the soldiers themselves – but the painting’s background and overlay. Consisting of a faded, yellowish tint, the painting closely resembles the original photo of Iwo Jima. Yet, while the fading is nearly identical to that of the original photo, the yellow tinting is...
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...“Is Australian Popular Music of the 20th Century a mere imitation of American Popular Music of the 20th Century?” Validate your viewpoint by referencing specific music styles, characteristic features of music styles (instrumentation, performance style, rhythm, melody, intervals/scales/blue notes, harmony, texture, and form), bands, vocalists and specific songs. The 20th century has provided music that was the soundtrack for a generation. During this period there was a rise of pop music and its demand. American bands and artists were monopolizing the market, pumping out band after band. Record labels that were prominent at the time were Atlantic, EMI and Warner Bro’s records. The rise of the Billboard charts and magazine also played a significant role in the success of pop music. Australia was also producing bands that were ranking very high on the charts with smash hits. This phenomenon of pop music and pop culture has defiantly defined the generations that it came from. By analyzing and discussing the popular music of the 20th century, we can see that Australia is not just a mere imitation of American popular music. Musical Roots The cultural music of Australia can be traced beck through to the Aborigines. They practiced music not as an art form or means of entertainment but rather as a spiritual ritual or a method of story telling. Their influence on Australian mainstream music can be heard today through their instruments the didgeridoo and the clap sticks. In the...
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...Baptiste MWF 2-3p Native American Music: A Root of Contemporary Music Yet Explored What is Native American Music? As our class brainstormed ideas for research, I already knew what topic I wanted to explore. Having been a musician, closely involved with music my entire life, I directed my focus toward Native American music. Before I began to develop any sort of directed, narrowed research questions, I asked myself first, “What is Native American music?” Regarding various definitions of the so-called “genre,” I discovered that Native American music shouldn’t be typified into any genre or defined style of music. It was the perspective toward music that was unique to Native peoples, and this perspective is key in understanding the Native American influence on later creations of music. Definition and Philosophy Native peoples tend to view their music in a distinctly different way from Euro-Americans. To Natives, music is thought; music appeared to be particularly inclusive into Native Americans’ way of life, and is unique in its origin, meaning, and efficacy. To ask “what is Native American music?” would be a question foreign to Native Americans, especially during the time that Native American music was first discovered. One aspect of music specific to indigenous peoples is its place in daily life. In fact, “its place in human affairs are much more significant to Indians than its mode of construction or technical character.” (Native American Music, 1980, p. 12) Unlike the Euro-American...
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...The earliest roots of country music are based in the folk songs from the British Isles. As these people settled in the South, where they were more isolated than their Northern counterparts, they continued to preserve the music of their home. However, it was significantly adapted to the social and ethnic influences of the other people in the south including African Americans, Mexican Americans, and immigrants from Poland, Germany, France, and other countries. For example, the cowboy song, “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” was based upon the English song “Ocean Burial” and was adapted during cattle drives during the late 1800s. Country music as we know it originated in the late 1910s with Appalachian fiddle players. However, it didn’t gain...
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...the history of music the smooth sounds of jazz and reggae has influenced listeners all over the country for many years. Although some prefer to listen to Hip Hop and R & B the genuine sounds of Jazz and Reggae is some of the most delightful music to listen to. Jazz and Reggae has been two of the most popular and unique musical categories with similar styles but different in their own way. When these particular styles of music was introduced they made great impressions in the music industry. In the early 1800’s jazz was born in the city of New Orleans where it was performed in festivals such as the Mardi gras also at funerals. In 1940 they began to broadcast the music over the radio when the music was played people found themselves dancing, clapping, and singing to the musical sounds being played. Jazz is considered to be a mixture of blues and marching band music when it first started out it was played by african americans and creole. When jazz hit the music charts and became more popular the europeon and african culture got together and presented a new sound for jazz to make it even more exciting. It has continued to be performed in the streets of new Orleans, night clubs, dancehalls, and concerts throughout the countries up until this present time jazz is still popular more than ever. The roots of reggae music originated in Jamaica in the 1960’s introduced in dancehall clubs where people danced to the low beats and rhythm of this particular type music. People of all...
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...Music Notes: Midterm One Introduction Studying Rock: * Fan mentality: reject other forms of music * Gold Records: 500,000 copies * Platinum Records: 1 million copies Themes: * Social, political, and cultural issues * Issues of race, class, and gender * The development of the music business * The development of technology The Popularity Arc: * Mainstream popularity is the ‘peak’ * Genres tend to develop underground and aren’t written about historically during these years (subcultures) Musical Form: * The way different sections in a song are organized Rhythm: the way music sounds are organized in time; beat is the pulse Meter: organization of rhythm and beats into music * Simple; one & two & three (2 parts) * Compound; one & uh two & uh three (3 parts) * Duple (2 beats per measure) * Triple (3 beats per measure) * Quadruple (4 beats per measure) Timbre (colour): voice is: warm, smooth, rich * Chest voice, falsetto, crooner (male who sings with background jazz music) The 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s * Upheaval in politics, reflected in music * Baby boomers Chapter 1: Roots to 1955 Before Rock and Roll (Main stream music, rhythm and blues, country & western) Part 1: The World of Mainstream Pop Leading up to 1955 National vs. Regional Changes * Emergence of technology took music from a regional scope to a national level * Radio (1920’s) directed at white middle class ...
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...The History of the Blues * In my Assignment I will be mostly taking about the ways that the blues has influenced culture. So what did the blues influence…? Everything. The blues influenced nearly every genre of music that came after it. Jazz in all of its various styles and flavors. From just a basic 12bars you get everything that you need in order to play great music. It’s not like without the blues we would not have any current music actually it’s a lot like that. The influence of blues can even be seen in the classical music of the later Romantic period as well as in various aspects of Contemporary classical music. Literally every style of music that’s come out in the past eighty or more years has once or a few times borrowed something from the blues. To think the whole world would of changed if there was not the blues, or slavery for that matter. To think we would not even have big band music or loud electric guitars, or a guy going yo yo into a microphone. * When you think of the blues, you think about misfortune, betrayal and regret. You lose your job, you get the blues. Your mate falls out of love with you, you get the blues. Your dog dies, you get the blues. * While blues lyrics often deal with personal adversity, the music itself goes far beyond self-pity. The blues is also about overcoming hard luck, saying what you feel, ridding yourself of frustration, letting your hair down, and simply having fun. The best blues is visceral, cathartic, and starkly...
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...DOCUMENT RECORDS (established 1998) has uniquely sourced, re-mastered , digitised and re-issued the vast majority of Afro-American acoustic blues, jazz, spirituals and gospel recordings (1900-1945) from the original 78 recordings. This astonishing project encompasses over 25,000 different tracks was made possible by the support of collectors, academics and ethnomusicologists. DOCUMENT’S 8000 series is sourcing , digitising and re-issue much of the "old timey" pre-war country catalogue to make it permanently accessible for all. In addition DOCUMENT has acquired the exclusive rights to over 360 hours of previously unreleased material produced by the Edison Company (1914-1929). The vast repertoires includes Jazz, Blues, Country, Dance Bands, Vaudeville, Opera, Classical and speeches by popular orators and politicians of the time. Document 5000 Series Document 5000 SeriesThe BIG one. At 679 CDs and growing this is one of the biggest slices of Afro-American music history that you will find anywhere. The complete recorded works of hundreds of blues, gospel, spiritual, boogie-woogie, songster artist; from the late 1800s onwards. Many, many recordings not available elsewhere these are the roots of soul, modern gospel, R&B, rap, black urban vocal music and rock. MISSISSIPPI FIDDLE TUNES and Songs from the 1930s Mississippi Fiddle Tunes and Songs from the 1930s147 Recordings (3 CDs) collected by Herbert Halpert for the Library of Congress in 1939. ...
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... Three styles of music that contributed to what Jazz is today would be Work Songs, Country Blues, and City Blues. They have similar aspects that have built on one another making them familiar yet has enhanced them. They also have many differences that give them their unique sound. These styles have inspired artist to contribute to Jazz with their own flair. Their culture and back ground is what makes the music have the sole to reach the audience in ways they can relate. They have seen and felt the same tribulations the artist portrays. Work songs through their hypnotic rhythms were effectively used to have the workers keep pace. These work songs helped to coordinate single thrusts or pulls, yet the vocals were kept simple as to allow the laborers to concentrate on the work. The singer would use heavy rhythmic accents and the workers would join in with shouts at regular intervals throughout the song. This technique was called the call-response, the shouts or grunts signaled the moment of coordinated effort in their work. The structure of a work song was simpler than the 12 measure blues progression. When accompanied by instruments, it was usually a guitar accompaniment that was deceptively complex. The work song usually told a simple yet familiar story. The blues is single-handedly the root of jazz. Without the blues there would be no jazz as we know it today. About the same time the work song was in use, country blues was gaining significance in the South. Early blues songs were sung...
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...Blue Sky Mine analysis The combination of exciting and aggressive vocals, repeated and slick melodies of the lead guitar; composed to encourage the motion of the air guitar and an enthusiastic 2-4 drum beat giving the songs a steady beat to tap along with, makes rock an unique and awesome genre. Rock combines characteristics of blues, country, folk, jazz, funk and classical music into one of the most thriving forms of Australian music. However, rock truly started during 1980’s, where composers experimented with their songs, creating a unique sound to the rest of the world. Furthermore, no one does this as well as the band Midnight Oil and their song Blue Sky Mine. Blue Sky Mine was composed my Midnight Oil to reveal the damaging effects...
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