Week 9 Posting

If I were an ethnomusicologist giving a lecture on American music in a foreign country, I would find that job to be a formidable task. It is difficult to classify the music of the United States as being homogeneous, or to gather all of its disparate genres under one category or description. Instead, American music is a reflection of America's diversity in all aspects, as well as being a representation of the country's social history.

If I were to give a lecture on this subject, I would choose to introduce my audience to American music by posing a question - what are their conceptions of American music? What is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of American music? Based on their answers, which would probably include mention of pop stars like Britney Spears and Beyonce, I would proceed to explain that American music as we know it today has its roots in the melting pot of the 17th century, when European colonists arrived in North America with African slaves, coming into contact with Native American tribes. At this time, each of these distinct people groups all brought their own musical traditions and instruments to America, drawing influence from one another to create a variety of American genres of music.

However, while acknowledging the diverse contribution of many ethnic groups toward the American music we hear today, I would focus my lecture on the music of African Americans, because their music covers so many aspects of American music, and there is simply so much to talk about, it would be relatively easy to fill two hours with an overview of African American music.

African American music, through blues, jazz, and gospel music, has made quite an impact on the development of other genres of American music. The development of a distinct category of African American music began when slaves brought from West Africa mixed their native music with Western European music.

At this point, I would discuss the different distinctive aspects of African music and European music and how African American music incorporates aspects of both styles to create a new sound. African American music is characterized by call-and-response, emphasis on particular vocal effects, emphasis on rhythm, dense texture, and complex harmony.

This is particularly noticeable in the development of spirituals and blues. Spirituals were first sung by slaves, who combined the lyrics and melodies of Christian hymns with African rhythms and singing styles, emphasizing the Biblical themes of freedom and the Israelites' Exodus out of Egypt. The blues genre combines traditional African work songs with intermittent shouts and yells, interweaving an aspect of African call-and-response. Blues emerged later in American history, in the 20th century, but it is an indispensable aspect of African-influenced American music. During this portion of the lecture, I would play some listening examples here, perhaps one spiritual ("There Is a Balm in Gilead") and one blues piece ("St. Louis Blues").

Next, I would discuss African American influence on popular music during the mid 20th century. In the earlier part of the 20^th century, into the 1920s, jazz music developed in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz is another example of hybridity of African music styles with Western traditions, combining elements of blues notes and spirituals with European military band music. The popularity of jazz music gave rise to swing music, a pop-based style of jazz appreciated by white audiences and dancers. I would play an example from this period by Duke Ellington, an influential jazz musician.

The 1940s was a period in which rock 'n roll developed, with artists like Little Richard coming to the fore. In the late 1950s, soul music evolved out of the gospel music genre, with artists like Ben E. King becoming popular with his famous song "Stand By Me." Also, the late 1950s and 1960s marked the birth of the Motown era. The "Motown Sound" was characterized by the use of a tambourine, a strong bass line, and call-and-response, reminiscent of traditional African music and African American gospel music. It was during this time that African American music gained increasing popularity among the general American audience. Many of these groups were composed of a homogeneous group of men or women, such as The Temptations or Diana Ross and the Supremes, but there were also solo artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. I would provide a listening example of a song by the Supremes and then discuss the defining characteristics of this period of music, as exemplified by this song.

Next, I would discuss the development of hip hop, R&B (rhythm and blues), and rap during the late 20^th century. This is the period in which most of my audience would probably be most familiar, so I would not need to dwell on this musical period for too long. It was during this time that African American music gained greater appreciation and popularity from other racial groups in America. During the 1980s, a distinct brand of pop-soul music was popularized by artists such as Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. Their contributions can still be noted in the singing style of today’s contemporary pop musicians. It was also during this time that MTV and the music video gave musicians significantly more access to their audiences, so to emphasize the technological aspect of the dissemination of popular music, I would show a video clip of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

To conclude my lecture, I would reiterate my main point of hybridity in African American music, reviewing the characteristics of African music and Western European traditions that have combined in different portions and distinct ways over the history of Africans in America. I would remind my audience that music around the world is on a continuum and that the music of each ethnic group or nation is rarely completely unique, but has had some influence from another region of the world. America is a prime example of “melting pot” culture, particularly exemplified in African American music.