African-American Slave Music

Words: 614
Pages: 3
Open Document
Why do we like music? Historically, music has followed the human race like a loyal companion. Evidence of music has been found from prehistoric ages (a 41,000 year-old bone flute, for example) and continues to be unearthed. People like music for several reasons, including appeal to the auditory cortex of the brain, profit, and rhythm to stimulate body movements and dance. Personally, I listen to music mostly to appeal to my current mood. In songs, I look for songs with lyrics and music pertaining to my emotions at the current point in time. Similar to my own, American history and culture has proven a draw to storytelling and entertainment in music, as seen in minstrel shows, African-American slave music, and book musicals. Minstrel shows emerged in the early 1800s as an outlet to make fun of blacks through “comedy,” dancing, and blackface. Through acts of humiliation, white Americans used music to poke fun at a race they considered lesser to themselves. …show more content…
Although there is not much written record of slave songs, we do know that there were two common types of music within the slave community: spiritual and work songs. Spiritual songs used religious allusions and imagery to symbolize the potential of freedom on the horizon and instill hope into those who sing the songs. Work songs, on the other hand, used a steady beat and rhythm to make the work more bearable. I use music in a similar manner. While doing homework, I will turn on music in the background to keep me focused and to make time go by quicker (as I write this essay, I am listening to Tim Legend’s “Hope, feat. BR/\VE). Along with the similarity in work songs, I use songs with messages within the lyrics to give me motivation and inspiration in times when I need it. The purposes of work and spiritual songs within the slave communities of early America are still seen in popular culture
Show More

Related Documents: African-American Slave Music

African American Music Influence

So what had an influence on “African American music”? Well for starters, we can definitely say African music had an influence on African American music. What I mean by that is many African tribes had their own style and form of music. Once they were brought to America and had to interact with different tribes, some they knew of, some they were meeting for the first time, they had to learn how to adapt to their surroundings and the people they were surrounded by. Although some of them were from different…

Words 385 - Pages 2

American Civil War and Slave Music Essay

The music of slavery refutes two common assumptions: first, that the Middle Passage stripped slaves of their African traditions; and second, that slaves were so powerless that they had little influence on American culture at large. African American music under slavery retained many African elements. There was a striking continuity in instrumentation. Enslaved Africans either carried African instruments with them or reconstructed them in the New World. These included percussive, string, and wind…

Words 934 - Pages 4

African-American Influence On African American Music

INTRODUCTION African-Americans have had a notable influence on American music. Since the days the slave trade began African slaves brought over, to this New World, their customs and tradition of music. They used music to give themselves some sort of cultural and ethnical identity in the New World. They also brought a rich African heritage, including songs. Adapted to reflect the experiences of life of hard labor on plantations, these slave work songs, laments, and shouts of protest evolve into…

Words 1159 - Pages 5

Rock And Roll The Child Of The Blues Rhetorical Devices

such as the drums and banjo came from African origin and even after slaves who were brought directly from Africa were gone, their children still remembered the traditions their family showed and taught them and they passed it down to their children. African Americans in the seventeen and eighteenth centuries began using these instruments, while singing and dancing mostly on Sundays but also during holidays. During the “Great Awakening” African American slaves began implementing these instruments into…

Words 275 - Pages 2

Christianity In The Life And Narrative Of Frederick Douglass

African American response to American conditions such as the influence of christianity mostly from their masters. Those slave songs are divided into three types: work, religious, and recreational songs. First, work songs were performed during labor for two functions: for the benefit of the slaves, but also their overseer. When slaves were working on a challenging project such as carrying a heavy load, singing provided a rhythm that helped them to collaborate their movements. The activity also helped…

Words 680 - Pages 3

Essay on African American Culture in a Modern American Dominant Sociology

African American Culture in a Modern American Dominant Sociology Intro to Sociology September 3, 2010 Janice Caparro African American culture in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African American culture is rooted in the historical experience of the African American people. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential…

Words 2817 - Pages 12

Black Oppression Research Paper

Mark Quiroz My research paper is on Black Oppression. In this paper I will talk about the history of African Americans and how they were treated. The history of music and a timeline of music on how it has changed over the course of time. I will explain why music is bad and a cause for black oppression and why it is good I’ll tell you my opinion on what I think of the black oppression and music connection. Oppression: is a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented…

Words 467 - Pages 2

How Did Slavery Influence American Culture

is very known that slaves were incredibly mistreated but also influenced the American culture greatly. Slaves did a lot of manual human labor. They did both unskilled and skilled labor. This was mainly separated into field work and house work. Women were usually cooks, maids, and nannies. They also did “minor” tasks such as sewing. Men were usually waiters or butlers. People who did skilled work usually worked outdoors. They were farmers, blacksmiths, and harvested crops. Slaves also chopped wood…

Words 589 - Pages 3

Analysis Of Langston Hughes The Trumpet Player

Hughes, "The Trumpet Player" Title and Author Langston Hughes is the author of the poem “Trumpet Player” among other poems that weaves in the contemporary ideas relating to racial issues, past memories, and jazz music. Essentially, the themes of his poems are centered on African Americans, and his works made him an important figure during the era of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s (Alexander and Ferris 55). Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 01, 1902. His first work of…

Words 1143 - Pages 5

Black American Culture Essay example

Black American Culture Marilyn Blunt Cultural Anthropology Mrs. Tristan Marble September 10, 2008 Inmy research paper I will be defining African American Culture and I also will be discussing things such as slavery, family relations, hairstyles, art forms, food, heath issues, symbolism, traditional beliefs and also why this topic is relevant to today culture and how this information can benefit…

Words 1768 - Pages 8