1 / 12

The Musical Culture of Black Americans

Overview. Probably more than any other ethnic group, Black Americans have impacted our society with their culture and their music. From work songs, to blues, jazz, gospel, rock and rap, Black musicians have seasoned the melting pot of the United States with music that touches the heart and soul of a

louise
Download Presentation

The Musical Culture of Black Americans

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

    1. The Musical Culture of Black Americans

    2. Overview Probably more than any other ethnic group, Black Americans have impacted our society with their culture and their music. From work songs, to blues, jazz, gospel, rock and rap, Black musicians have seasoned the melting pot of the United States with music that touches the heart and soul of all people.

    3. Work Songs This genre began with black slaves. Generally, the songs were call and response and sung while the workers were toiling in fields. Therefore, it is mostly unaccompanied and its composers are unknown. Roots are the African Work Song. This genre led to the Blues.

    4. Blues and Jazz The work song led to the blues, which is generally a 12 measure form with AAB lyrical format. The topic is usually about how bad things are. Blues are usually accompanied by one or more instruments and often have improvised instrumental verses. Bessie Smith, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King are several well known Blues artists

    5. Blues and Jazz - Continued Jazz is thought to have started in New Orleans around 1890. This early Dixieland music had a two beat, similar to the march. However, by the 1920s its meter evolved into four. Chicago, New York and Kansas City became centers for jazz development. Big Band music dominated the 1940s. The fifties saw cool and beat jazz develop, which were more intimate styles. The sixties gave birth to fusion, which was a combination of rock and jazz. Jazz, like the early work song, was an expression of the black condition of the day.

    6. Black Gospel: The birthplace of Rock Slaves were initially not allowed to practice any religion as they were considered to be without souls. As Afro-Americans were allowed to convert to Christianity, the same call and response style that dominated the work song became praise to God. It is characterized as emotional with a wide vocal range. Major artists associated with gospel music include Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland, and the Soul Stirrers. Gospel eventually led to the birth of Rock and Roll.

    7. Black Popular Music Rock music was first performed by black musicians in the early 1950s. These early artists are said to have had a major influence on many other musicians, including The Beatles and Elvis Presley. Some major black popular musicians are Run DMC, Prince, and Michael Jackson. Several other Afro-American genres have developed since then, including Soul (1960s), Funk (1970s), Rap (1970s), and Hip Hop (1980s).

    8. Assignment and Assessment Read through all the content slides and complete the task on each one. You may also want to check the credits and websites pages for more content information. Go to this link and download a copy of the assessment. It is in Word format. Print out the assessment and turn it in to the instructor by the due date.

    9. Content and Technology Standards Historical and Cultural Context Understanding the Historical Contributions and cultural Dimensions of Music Role of Music: 3.1: Identify the sources of musical genres of the United States, trace the evolution of those genres, and cite well-known musicians associated with them.

    10. Other Websites for further Research Rounder Records Archives of African-American Music and Culture Jazz History and Black Music African-American Sheet Music from Browne University See also the credits on the next page

    11. Credits Negro Work Songs and Calls Black History Month 2003 Rhino Records Center for Black Music Research Kelley Hutzley, Music Specialist, Academy for Academic Excellence, Apple Valley CA

More Related