The Music of Black Americans By Eileen Southern - Book Report/Review Example

JOURNALS ON "The Music of black Americans" By Eileen Southern Two Wars and the New Nation Eileen Southern Journal Entry We know considerable amount about the music of west Africa during the slave-trade perioddespite the paucity I such records" (Southern, 72) The enslaved black society were moved to push through for their need of being free from oppression The use of music was much appreciated during this phase of the development as it gave the slaves a better chance of empowering each other to continue their fight for freedom Response This chapter of the reading introduces the different issues of history that bounded the black society. It could be observed that the author in this phase of the reading is heightened in discussing the different events that mainly led to the freedom from the "white masters" that the black generation has naturally wanted all their lives. Through this chapter, the author was able to point out how history naturally shaped the kind of life that the blacks lived during times of slavery and how well they were able to actually survive this phase of change and oppression among themselves. Music has been noted by the author as one primary element that has brought about change and survival among the said individuals. Music was then the basic expression of the black civilization with regards the emotional factors that affected their beings back then. Hence, it could not be denied that it is through this fact that the existence of music that is most related to the thoughts and feelings of the people back then was the major feature of the ancient development of the black music. Through the years of slavery, although there were different wars keeping the entire society of the blacks away from each other, music was the primary element that kept them together and kept them strongly believing that one day, their transgressions would soon end and their hope of being free from oppression would soon be true. Antebelllum Rural Life Eileen Southern Journal Entry #2: * "Perhaps, even more important is the information to be found in the writing of the early European travelers and traders in Africa. Some of these chronicles provide surprisingly rich details of about one or more aspect of African music" (Southern, 142) Rural life was primarily noted through the songs that were sang by the tribes and the groups of slaves during the times of continuously hoping for the right time for freedom. The songs depicted usual activities and made it certain that the said descriptions be consolingly able to support the needs of being understood by the salve-class society. Response The general status of black music during the years of slavery had been featured in this chapter. During the early establishment of the Republic, it has been widely perceived by the Southern Slave States that the main priority of the United State's Government does not include promoting the humanitarian rights of the slaves. They have seen that their concern is generally focused on the economic, legal and sovereignty aspect as they continued to expand territory and conquer more slave state. Thus, the civil rights and privileges of the slaves such as their lands and voting rights are still neglected and continued to diminish with the development of the republic. This in turn caused further secession of more slave states to the republican nation. This action is perceived by the republican government as an act of treason, seizure of national territory and an act of revolt to the government thus only made the civil war to be more likely. Slowly the complication started from actual acts of hostility as the defense of the republican government from the attacks of the slaves and then continued to be further aggravated to war. Thus, this makes the slavery system the main roots and cause of the civil war during the early stages of the republican nation. With these particular situations in concern, it could be noted that the black community has indeed managed to create a possible source of inspiration to go on through producing music that depicted their ways of living back then. Antibellum Rural Life Eileen Southern Journal Entry #3: * "One of the most striking features of African life was the importance given to music and dance, and travelers seldom failed to comment upon this" (Southern, 200) The music depicted the lives of the slaves during their persecuted situations in the hands of their white masters. Response: Due to the situations that the black society had to deal with in the past, it could be noted that the rural living had also gradually changed for the said society. Through the music description used by the people of those times have naturally made it certain that the life in the rural areas were characterized to have a major identification on the process by which the slave class in the society were actually trying to fare for their lives during the years of oppression. This is the reason why the theme of the said songs are primarily aimed in describing how the slaves and the "masters" tried to create a relationship between each other making a great picture as to how the lives of people back then creates a strong implication on how people, both black and white in the American society actually exists today. Indeed, this phase of the reading gives the readers a head start as to how to understand the effects of historical events on the ideas of music that the slaves of the past tried to create the lyrics of their songs with. Yes, whatever lyrics the said songs had, it naturally made the music of the past more implicative on the ways by which the present generation views the importance of history in their lives as well as in their music. Certainly, it is through this phase of the discussion of the author that the importance on the relation between human history and human music had been rather explained clearly. The War Years and Emancipation Eileen Southern Journal Entry #4: * "for almost every activity in the life of the individual or the community, there was an appropriate music. It was an integral part of life from the hour of birth to beyond the grave" (Southern, 216) During the war years, the theme of the slave-class music was gradually changed from talking about regular features of life to becoming highly concerned about the promise of being free again. The support for the union army poured through songs of empowerment and hope. Response: What strengthened the union army's motivation to continue their struggles for freedom from oppression Music was naturally considered by the author of the reading as a major element of communicative connection that the black society back then used to serve as link between them to be able to receive an assurance that every section of the society that they are trying to save are actually in the same course of thinking. More than that, the union army also used music as a connection to their families making them much stronger and directly focused on their job to save their civilization towards freedom. After the War Eileen Southern Journal Entry #5: *Special kinds of music were called for during preparations for war similarly, there were music dedicated to celebrations of victory"(Southern, 260) Everybody was thankful of their freedom, they wanted to give back what they received to their God. Response: To answer the problem of the Civil War and prevent any reoccurrence of it during the early establishment of the United State's republican government, the problem of slavery must be stopped and completely eradicated from the social structure of their nation. However, the process of removing this concept becomes slow because of the many problems hindering its progress. The attempt to rectify this solution has encountered many complications from the different aspect of their nation mainly from the social and economic aspect. After the war, the first groups of slaves to be freed are those that belong to the Confederate-state and this is because of the president's political agenda of preventing any further secession. In addition, the republican government aimed to strengthen the political bond and loyalty of the Confederate group to the Republican nation. On the other hand, other black slaves from southern states becomes harder to be emancipated because of political and social problems such as the contrast to the social structure which perceive the slavery system as an important foundation of their economic and other domestic structure. However though, this problem is gradually addressed thus resulting tot eh significant abolishment of the slavery system to the present republican society of the United States. With the many events that brought about the end of the war years, it could be observed that the development of the black music actually took different faces of progress. With the more complicated approaches to notes and lyrics, the birth of the new age black music had been given careful focus by the society that developed the said elements of social understanding of history. Among the most significant kinds of music that had been developed during this phase of the said historical event is that of the religious music that had been used to make the black society more thankful to the kind of freedom that they have just received from the war that has just ended. The New Century Eileen Southern Journal Entry #7: *The crowd who filled the town during such times included not only chiefs and their followers but also envoys and merchants from other states" (Southern, 314) Everybody was eyeing a new day, a new life and a new beginning. They welcomed their freedom with songs and hymns that did not only serve as mirrors to their emancipation of hope and undoubted belief of further progression towards the future. Response: As the new century emerges to welcome the new and free black society, the music of the said community emerges to becoming more nationalistic in form. The contemporary idealisms during this particular era were made to help the black society that they now have a better identity, they now have the kind of reputation that gives them the chance to be a member of a free society. With the birth of nationalistic idealisms in the black music, it could be noted that the realization of the importance of music in the development of the black society is certainly essential in making a great impact in the understanding that they need to acquire to become more thankful as well as aware for the continuance of their freedom towards the future. Precursors of Jazz Eileen Southern Journal Entry #8 * "but a large part of the music making Africa too part on a less formal, highly socialized level that brought together members of the community in either selective groups or as a whole to share in common experiences" (Southern, 315) The indication of freedom gave the black music a chance to flourish even further. Response: Jazz is a form of music that was born in the United States in the twentieth century. It makes much use of dissonance, accounting for its "blues" sound. In keeping with other popular kinds of music, such as "swing" and "boogie-woogie," it has a highly syncopated rhythm. Syncopation may be viewed as a form of rhythmic distortion. Thus ordinarily in a piece of music written in 4/4 time, the first and third beat are stressed, receive the emphasis, such as One, two, three, four. But in syncopation the strong beat is anticipated or delayed, thus creating a novel effect. This rhythmic device is nothing new, being employed by composers of serious music from the time of Bach onward. But in jazz it is featured, made the rule rather than the exception. While early in the twentieth century jazz was played in strict tempo, that is, four beats to the bar or measure, the passing of years has brought rhythmic sophistication. Trained musicians have begun to play jazz to other meters, namely, in 3/4 time, the meter used in the waltz, or in 5/4 time, as in David Brubeck's "Take Five." Then there has been the injection of more complex harmonies into jazz, many musicians making use of the chordal ideas of Debussy's revolutionary music, as well as drawing on the harmonic contrivances of Bartk and Hindemith, outstanding composers of serious music of this century. On the other hand, jazz has influenced composers of serious music, they having borrowed from its instrumentation, its harmonic devices and rhythmic styles and its blues. The Jazz Age Eileen Southern Journal Entry #9 * "Finally, there was recreational music, both formal and informal." (Southern, 402) As back music flourished, the birth of a more sophisticated version of the music came to existence in support to the JAZZ age of the said phase of development. Response: What makes jazz a distinctive art form is not so much its dissonance or its syncopation as the element of improvisation. Yet here, too, improvisation in the form of a theme with variations has long been an art form. But in jazz it is not worked out ahead of time as in 'serious' music; it is all done impromptu, spontaneously. The jazz musician, therefore, depends upon his knowledge of the harmonic structure of the original theme and a highly developed ear in order to produce spontaneously his improvisations. But some have gone too far, just as mentioned earlier in connection with serious contemporary music. There has come into existence that which is known as "Free Jazz." Here there are no rules, no acceptance of anything traditional, a rejection of the chordal system that has marked beautiful music of the past. This has resulted in a sort of rebellion against all known musical theory and harmony. The result Not only are the musically uneducated repulsed by the disorganized screeches emanating from wind instruments and other hit-and-miss attempts at something worth while, but many serious jazz musicians cannot accept these new extremes in the interest of music. It definitely is not 'the organization of sound toward beauty.' Prominent is the Negro influence, represented in the Negro spiritual, in "blues" and in jazz music with their sharply defined syncopation or stress of the after-beat, and a certain kind of harmony employing what is known as the flatted-seventh chords. American Negro music has its main inspiration from Africa. The Harlem Renaissance Eileen Southern Journal Entry #10 * "Every village has its own musicians, singers and instrumentalists, who provide music for formal activities of the community" (Southern, 452) The ghettoization of the society came to a bright development of the black music that depicted more of the culture of the black community thus giving the said type of rhythmic art a more in-depth identity Response: Harlem renaissance naturally refers to the making of Harlem as an official place for the black society. The Ghettoization of the said area in New York has basically made a great change in the sense of assuring that the black society have a specific place in the country that would assure them of the kind of freedom that they need to realize. The Harlem Renaissance serves as the point of social assurance that the black society needed to realize the freedom that they gained. It is from this particular moment that the music of the black society has actually taken a greater sense of development for the sake of assuring the entire black community of the kind of supposed democracy that they already have. Renaissance period as it was, this phase of the social development of the black community takes a greater sense of their present situation as members of a free community. The Mid-Century Decades Eileen Southern Journal Entry #11: * "Whether royal or independent musicians, they were expected to be virtuoso performers and to know the traditional history and literature of the people." (Southern, 513) Towards further development, the black music now becomes a more appreciated art not only by the black society but also by other individuals within the human society. Response: The very idealistic and positive nature of a society that is desired and dreamed by many is that it is to be founded in accordance to the values of equality and liberty. This is the utopian model of the society in terms of humanitarian aspect, wherein each individual living in this kind of state has the same social, legal and constitutional rights and privileges with the other. Unequal concepts such as that of the sovereignty or lordship of anyone other a certain social group or structure is not applicable in nations founded in the ideas of liberty. Each and everyone have the same rights to claim and access their basic needs for survival in to the extent that it does not violate the rights of others. However, the establishment of this kind of nation manifested certain complications as significantly perceived in the development of the society. Though certain nations implemented the concepts of equality in liberty in the formulation of their social and legal structure, they continued their use of the slavery system. This is mainly because of the aid of the slavery system to their economy and the domestic aspect of their social structure. Slavery has been created in the as the foundation of the economic aspect of the society in every stage of their production process. Slaves are widely used in the plantations and farms as workers and laborers. In the domestic level, slaves are tasked the basic jobs and responsibilities of maintaining the household. In addition, many industries employ the labor of the slaves to do the most basic tasks in each field. Because of this, the slavery system becomes a vital part of the society manifesting as the foundation of their nation's structure in many significant aspect. Abolishment of the said system will diminish the society as a whole since the nation cannot replace the part of the slaves in the system. This is the reason why a society significantly requires the slavery structure in establishing their society as this social class manifest as the main foundation of their nation. In terms of music, this phase of the history of the black people paved way to a better understanding on how the elements of music could actually make a greater assurance that the society understands the kind of status that they have and thus be able to care for the said status more effectively. Considerably, making these elements work for the said music has brought about the kind of realization among the said community. Singers, Instrumentalist and Composers Eileen Southern Journal Entry #12: * "Master musicians were highly esteemed by the people" (Southern, 561) The birth of developmental black music also gave way to the birth of black music artists who were able to give life and even more appreciated beauty to the said type of music, which is now well renowned worldwide. Response: As the years of development progresses through the music improvement of the black society, it could be observed that the songs and the songwriters today take more contemporary themes that are aimed in making a great impact on the kind of messages that Jazz and blues music naturally give out to its target audiences today. Undeniably, it is through these different elemental factors of creating modern music that both Jazz and blues takes a different faade to meet the needs and the demands for music that the present black youth society could actually relate to at present. Hence, as a result, the entire world today is now able to relate to the said kind of music. Reference: Eileen Southern. (1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History. W. W. Norton & Company; 3 edition. Read More