Controversial Movements In Music Essay

During the Civil Rights era, African Americans changed the way people looked at music by ending the segregation in the music world and by making a well-known “soundtrack” and influence during the Civil Rights Movement.

Jazz as we know it has existed for over a century, with its roots stemming from the low-tech history of the slave fields, and European classical music. Throughout the 20th century, however, new advancements in technology would change music forever, and Jazz is no exception. As technology advanced, so too did complex compositions of the artists, and even our definition of music as a whole.

African American music is divided into many subgroups that led to another style, which allowed empowerment. Such styles as spiritual, blues, jazz, r&b, and hip hop created an incredible history.

     The music called Jazz was born sometime around 1895 in New Orleans. It combined elements of Ragtime, marching band music and Blues. What made Jazz such a different perspective of traditional music was its act of improvising. There was a widespread use of improvisation often by more than one player at a time. Songwriters would write the music down on a piece of paper, and then the Jazz musicians would try their best to play the music. Usually in a Jazz piece, musicians would use the song as a starting point to improvise around. Jazz musicians would play a familiar song to the audience, and by the time they were done with the piece they would stir up a totally different feeling away from the

Music has always been seen as a way of entertainment. Throughout many eras musicians have kept their ways to their traditions. From instrumentation to the composition itself. Throughout the ages, music has mostly been a set in stone factor. But since the 20th century things have begun to change. Musicians are breaking away from the traditions of the past and reaching new areas of music. Technology is developing to creating new sounds and instruments can change how to be played and used. That musical styles have been developed and the compositions have altered with devices that can record and playback music in your own home

The most popular new genre of music was Jazz. Jazz was created by African Americans by putting music and poetry together. Even though African Americans sit at the start of this new craze, overall, they tended to be treated the same as they were before they developed this form of music. Jazz affected both the fashion industry and literature in the 20’s. This was the first time in history that a minorities culture was preferred over the mainstream culture.

Throughout time, jazz music has always been a very popular genre of music, especially in the early 1900’s. It was famous towards African Americans mostly and had many incredible artists. Artists such as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and the famous Louis Armstrong are some of the fan favorites. Their smooth, peaceful melodies kept people of all races listening to the beat. Although jazz music is not as popular as it used to be, the artist’s legacy will always be strong.

The development of Jazz was influenced by Ragtime. Ragtime became popular between 1897 through 1917. Ragtime was a fad that swept through the United States of America as the new type of music. Syncopation makes Ragtime very different from all the other genres at that period of time. It involves a variety of interruptions of the regular flow of the rhythm. Ragtime brought the beginning of the development of new music in the United States of America.

For the musicians of the 20th century were very influential when it came to racial inequalities in society. They shinned a light on racism, how people took advantage of those of a different skin color. Jazz musicians have possessed many qualities of an ideal citizen. This is because most of them were expected to fail because of the color of their skin but they always push back. It is proof that these jazz musicians have had an impact on society, if they didn’t we would not be talking about them today. Some of the most influential jazz musician of the time were Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong. Some of these qualities are respect, responsibility, honesty and most importantly courage. These musicians hold

Jazz music has been a part of America for many centuries. It has influenced many time periods and ways of life in America. "'Tin Pan Alley was a real alley on East Fourteenth Street near Third (in New York), but it was never just a place. Tin Pan Alley has come to be known for an era of songwriting when many musical ideas mixed together to form American popular music. Tin Pan Alley brought together many styles: blues, jazz, musical scores, and ragtime"' (Burton Lane qtd. In "Tin Pan Alley"). What are the various jazz styles? Not only has jazz affected people and time periods, but it has also affected places. The popularity of jazz in America is attributed to the various styles, which are indicative of

Throughout the history of this country, the music of African-Americans has remained a strong influence upon our society and culture. Beginning with the music carried over from Africa with the slaves, up until now, with the new styles created by urban youth today, African-Americans have retained certain elements within their music which makes it unique from any other musical form. Some of the musical forms which were created from, and/or were strongly influenced by afro-centric musical characteristics are: Hymnals, Gospel, Spirituals, Ragtime, the blues, and R&B. While many of these musical forms are still popular today amongst Blacks and Non-Blacks, jazz and hip-hop are arguably the two most widespread and

Jazz, jazz, jazz. A form of music that although we may be aware of, may not be the style of expression that we are most familiar with. Many an artist has been impacted by the musical stylings of Art Tatum and Dizzy Gillespie but did you know that their contributions would not be possible had it not been for the sounds that permeated throughout the ghettos and sharecropped farms of post-slavery America. Initially identified as the songs of burden sung by a working class that never really found their place in society, the artform did not go mainstream until it was imitated by white acts with the financial backing of companies that allowed them to gain ground on the fledgling radio technologies of the era (Schober &Spiro, 2014).

The mystery of Jazz and its powerful impact on the music community can be explained largely by the context of it’s creation. Jazz was born in the United States, and because of this, many have referred to Jazz as “America’s music.” Like America, Jazz has a balance between structure and spontaneity. It capitalizes on the fluidity of the musicians, having several different instruments with independent spirits, coming together as one to form a great piece of music. Unlike other styles of music, Jazz has a certain way about it that makes it stand-alone in the world of genres. It improvises, moves, and transforms itself in a moment’s notice based on the musician’s intuition. Just as America harbors democracy, so too does a jazz ensemble, showing both the responsibility to a larger group, yet still allowing room for individual freedom. It all comes down to how well others can respect the overall framework and structure of the jingle.

A great example in American history of how music has influenced a culture would be the rise of folk music during the 20th century. Among other things The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing and the largely unpopular war in Vietnam was well underway

Fundamental changes in musical styles are often brought on by the changes in the environment in which the music evolves from. Both the Classical and Romantic eras of music offer influential aspects of music. In order for significant and noticeable changes to occur in music, the society surrounding it must also change. Significant social and political movements often bring on these stylistic changes in music. These changes can range from the way personality is expressed in music to the actual orchestration of the music. Without these changes though, culture would not be what we know it as today.