The Evolution of African-American Music

 Black History Month:

We've entered the month of October which means we should be celebrating and focusing on Black History more (we should be focusing and celebrating it throughout the year but we should be paying particular attention to it). Through Black History Month, we should be celebrating Black people, achievements, talents, successes and their rights both from the past as well as taking time to think about our attitudes and actions today and the way we can move forward as a society to create a peaceful world in the future - hopefully a future that isn't far away! So in order to contribute to Black History Month, I will be posting a number of blog posts surrounding Black History Month. This will include facts and information surrounding African-American Music, Black composers and artists who have been neglected or ignored throughout history, Black achievements in Music and so much more.

The Evolution of African-American Music

Early African-American Music:

The earliest forms of African-American Music can be dated back to the slave trading. Slaves brought their knowledge of West African Musical Instruments like drums, zithers, xylophones and the banjo into their new location. Tribal dances from West Africa became “step” dances and tribal melodies became song styles like the “shout” and the “echo”. 

The cultures from which they were torn from and the conditions that they were forced into contributed immensely to the sound of African American music. Slaves’ lives were highly restricted in particular the limit on literacy and property ownership therefore music was passed down orally as most did not know how to write it down. This led to early records of African American music to show that the songs frequently changed. Music for slaves was a solace, a community builder and a voice for hope. See below for a Youtube video of a documentary which goes into more detail as well as playing clips of some of the songs that would have been sung.

Later Songs from Slavery:

Slaves in the South began to use music to ease the drudgery of their lives as well as to send messages to other people. Christianisation began the Spirituals - and Gospel Music is still very important to the African American community today. Spirituals would allow slaves to think about the New World where they would be free from toil and strife

“Message Songs” were also common - they were designed to send a message to other slaves without the “massa” (master) catching on. Examples of Message Songs include “The Blue Tail Fly” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd”.

Birth of the Blues:

The end of the Civil War meant freedom for the slaves but the cotton glut after Reconstruction left most of the South desperately poor. This led to the creation of a new form of music - The Blues. The depression and poverty that swept the country allowed this new form of music to prosper with people singing about their troubles and hardships. 

The first reported Blues show was in 1916 in Jacksonville where Ma Rainey performed. Rainey and Bessie Smith were to become the forerunners of the Blues Style. It soon began to spread with it being passed down the Mississippi River. And eventually, male Blues singers began to make their mark and be known for this new style. They used simple melodies and plaintive songs with famous male Blues singers including Muddy Waters.

Heavenly Harmony - the Barbershop Quartet:

Barbershop Quartets provided America with a more upbeat sound. James Weldon Johnson believed that the Barbershop Quartet began in Jacksonville with every shop having its own chorus. They often had exuberant tunes sung in four part harmony and a cappella. “Echo songs” were also common. 

Barbershop Quartets consisted mostly of Black African-Americans because virtually all barbers were black. It was a job that was open to African-Americans who didn’t want to work in the fields. Minstrel shows picked up the melodies and Norman Rockwell popularised the image of white barbershop quartets.

Jazz:

During WW1, Jazz began to spread around the world. It initially began in New Orleans as the instrumental equivalent of the barbershop quartet. Smooth harmonies and teamwork were the main features of New Orleans Jazz. The new style was played coast-to-coast and was exported to Europe with American soldiers.

Jazz began to expand with the creation of new variations and themes. In Kansas City, Charlie Parker introduced brass to the style of Jazz as well as swing rhythms. The first Jazz soloist appeared in Chicago and in New York, Jazz swing rhythms were increased to include full scale orchestras, ushering in the Swing Era. The Cotton Club became a chic destination for Jazz music in Harlem where many bands sprung up and began to play.

R&B:

The Great Migration saw many African-Americans moving to northern cities. Unfortunately, the North was not the desired, peaceful land that many thought as it still contained poverty, unemployment and racism for African-Americans. A new sound emerged in Detroit where the Swing Era started to use a faster beat, more bass and fewer instruments. This new sound was known as Rhythm & Blues aka R&B.

This was created by a small record Company called Motown who signed groups like the Supremes and the Chi-Lites as well as solo starts like Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald. 

Rap and Hip Hop:

The most recent genre to evolve from African-American music is Rap and Hip Hop. It emerged in the 1980s where problems in urban living had reached its climax. There was poverty, crime, drugs and violence that threatened the African-American life. Rap and Hip Hop was a lament against urban poverty (a similar purpose behind the Blues music - a lament against rural poverty). Rap and Hip Hop quickly spread everywhere.

Early rap skipped instruments entirely, using just lyrics and bass beat. It became most popular when it morphed into hip-hop and began to use some instruments again. Some Hip Hop is raw and vulgar reflecting the hard life on the streets however many artists have now moved more mainstream. 

                                          

That was just a brief summary of the key stages in the evolution of African-American music. Obviously much like their history and music, it is so much more complicated and so many more aspects that I haven’t looked at in this post. I do urge you to go away from this post with a reflective mindset and hopefully with the intention or inspiration to research more into African-American music and the brilliantly talented artists that were born into this section of music. I will be spending more time on Music and Musicians of a Black heritage throughout this month in celebration of Black History Month to help celebrate and advocate their lives, achievements, successes and their rights. Remember that we’re all part of one society and one family and we should all have respect and love for each other, no matter their heritage, ethnicity, religion or sex. After all, we are all just humans.