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African Origins and Acculturation in the New World Chapter 3 Slaves and their community • Slaves mainly came from the Western Region of Africa • Village-based culture – individuals work towards a common good. Music is a communal activity and all participate on some level. • WORK SONG – music performed while conducting a task • FIELD HOLLERS – related to above, sung solo and echoed by others or passed along; cries for water or food and to explain events, religious devotions, and for motivation. Music for Activity • Music is always linked to an activity – Births – Deaths – Weddings – Rites of passage – Religious Celebration/Agricultural events – Music in ceremonies is to invoke Deities – appease spirits to ward off bad luck & illness. Music for Dance • West African music is used primarily for dance and/or body movement. • Master drummers are also master dancers • Drum students take dance lessons • Music is seamless and very repetitive • It can be hypnotic – creating a trance-like state for medicinal and healing purposes. • Non-participants would be bored. TYPES OF DRUMS *Types of Drums http://www.ehow.com/about_5447619_africa n-drums.html#page=0 *DJembe – rope tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands *How to play djembe drum. 6 sounds • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rlfZ68 GTAs AFRICAN DRUM ENSEMBLES • 4-6 players • The rhythmic concept is very complex • There is a steady basic pulse that the other rhythmic elements play off • Multilinear rhythm – composite effect of different linear lines CALL AND RESPONSE • The fundamental form of African music • Leader performs a portion of music and the group performs a response • Not unique to West African music; it is found in many musical cultures around the world, even today. • Beetlejuice dinner scene • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3j9jpBez8g • Zulu Battle chants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODM1RJe4FvQ • Whoopin’ Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymP9p-Iv2x4 Call and Response/Work Songs examples from book • Kneebone (from book) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGtaX-mqqM • Arwhoolie (from book) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPrZYsD6sc • Hammer, Ring (from book) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0cfII O3CPQ COMING TO A NEW WORLD • The extent to which African slaves were able to keep their folkways depended on their location and the ethnic background of their owners. • African Americans living off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia retained more than those in constant contact with whites and other cultures. LATIN – CATHOLICS (French and Spanish) • More tolerant of African traditions. Slaves were allowed to continue as long as their duties were done. • Slaves were taken to church. Music was taught by a practice called LINING OUT – a line at a time. Blacks and whites learned hymns together. • STROPHIC - music is the same for each verse, ie. hymns BRITISH-PROTESTANTS • Felt responsible for slaves body and soul. • African traditions were thought of as heathen and savage. • Drums were forbidden so the slaves improvised using anything they could find, including stomping, and bearing their thighs and chest THE DIVIDE • When the sentiment turned against slavery, the south wanted to keep it in place. Blacks were cast out of churches. So they formed their own! • African musical practices flowered. – Black spirituals – Highly rhythmic, repetitive and chant-like music that involved dance or movement. Call and response and the gruffness of the “dirtied” voice remained as in the origins. • African took scales, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and sounds of European musical practice and later altered them to fall in line with their own musical traditions. • From musical theater to rock and roll, stylistic traits of African-American music have shown an influence. SYNCOPATION • Emphasizes notes that don’t align with the pulse; accenting the weak beats (2and4) instead of the stong beats (1and3) • MOTOR RHTHYM –presentation of a steday rhythmic pulseat a consistent tempo, provides the base for syncopation and swing • How music works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZJPnAer7EM • Stomp – brooms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ7aYQtIldg IMPROVISATION • Spontaneous creation of a performer by reacting to the musical environment situation of the moment. • Paraphrasing – taking an existing meoldy and changing it • Mid 1920s – on = creating new melodies based on the chords in the background • Mid 1950s – on = creating new melodies NOT based on the chords. Not required to fit the chords. Marsalis on Music • #1 http://youtu.be/O4RDCPW9ixc?list=PLi01QrDf5Cvv-HAmyF1MTyZ2wN_1r0mY • #2 http://youtu.be/wRNH1JC7vv4?list=PLi01QrDf5Cvv-HAmyF1MTyZ2wN_1r0mY Improv., continued • Improvisation existed in European music such as Bach and Mozart. • African-American music gave a high priority to improv skills. The musician became the performer and composer at the same time. • One improviation is performed, it’s gone, done. It can never be re-created the same so it’s fragile and elusive. COLORING A SOUND • As in the growl of the voice, instrument sounds can be “dirtied” by making them have a rattle or a buzz. • MBIRA – handheld box with meatl tines, playd with the thumbs and forefingers. It is usually a clean, clear sound. http://youtu.be/tIPORpN27CY • http://youtu.be/9r3rCUg3L98 • Can be “dirtied” by adding bottlecaps to produce a buzzing sound. BLUE NOTES • In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of a major scale for expressive purposes. • Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the pitches with emotive blue-notes. Blue notes are often found in traditional African work songs. • Blue notes (in blue): b3, (♯4)/b5, b7 • Like the blues in general, the blue notes can mean many things. One quality that they all have in common, however, is that they are flatter than one would expect. • African Blues http://youtu.be/aZTai3DxMXM • Bending Guitar Notes http://youtu.be/UOnzDKvn7YI TIMBRE • Tone production • Europeans expected pure, clear, and consistent notes • African-Americans expected individuality. Nasal sounds, growls, and horseness were encouraged. SWING • Relaxed rhythmic feeling imposed over a rhythmic drive. • Softer entrances, instead of Ta, use Da • Felt in a subdivision of the beat of 3 instead of 2. • Soon and Very Soon http://youtu.be/QxTDCSDYSpA