Gospel music Essay

Southern music known today as country music became popular in the 1920’s. This was music that was based on folk music of cowboys in the southeast (Collins English Dictionary, 2003). In most of the early music the artist played stringed instruments like fiddles, guitars, banjos and some were even playing harmonicas. When this type of music started some people called it

Spirituals, a religious folk song of American origin, particularly associated with African-American Protestants of the southern United States. The African-American spiritual, characterized by syncopation, polyrhythmic structure, and the pentatonic scale of five whole tones, is, above all, a deeply emotional song. Spirituals are really the most characteristic product of the race genius as yet in America. But the very elements which make them uniquely expressive of the Negro make them at the same time deeply representative of the soil that produced them. Spirituals were long thought to be the only original folk music of the United States, and research into its origin centered mainly on the nature and extent of its African

“When first entering in America, British folk music was distinguished by three-chord tunes, sparse instrumentation (with some fiddlers), mostly male performers, improvisation, the singers’ sporadic shouts (Scottish “yips”), Christian themes served up in hundreds of hymns, and a secular collection of songs that told stories, generally about love and lost love, using metaphor and symbol to tell those stories” (Allen 101). By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, British music changed and became Americanized. Vocal harmonizing slowly evolved, and fiddlers were accompanied by those who played banjo, an African American opening. “Tambourines and “bones” (tapping out rhythms using pork rib bones) were a minstrel show contribution” (Allen 102). When African Americans were forced into slavery and brought to North America in the 1600s, they brought their own musical traditions and sounds. Slaves who were on the Mississippi River Valley delta soil developed what will later be introduced as blues music. On the plantations, slaves greatly changed British American hymn singing. They took non-religious British American songs and turned it into their own forms of music that followed their culture and taste of music. Blues emerged in the early twentieth century at the same time country music became settled from its folk roots. Blues music talked about the indifferences African American slaves were going through at that time. “The blues voiced human

Negro spirituals was a “genre” of music introduced by African American slaves in response to their lives and treatment by the white race. It gave many slaves the voice of opposition that they never had and allowed them to subliminally speak against their masters without fear of consequences. Said to have originated from slaves who were “Unable to read the Bible for themselves and skeptical of their masters’ interpretation of it…” (Raboteau). These songs were “… the message of the Christian gospel… translated… into

Music is an important aspect of every society. Music can tell stories, release emotions, build bridges and break down barriers, but above all music is entertaining. There are various forms of music but not many have as rich a history as gospel music. The importance of gospel music has been relevant in American music for more than a century and its importance to society is still relevant to this day (See Appendix A). Gospel music helped slaves escape to freedom and paved the way for other styles of music. It promotes a spirit of hope and provided an outlet to worship God. So how exactly has Gospel music impacted today’s society?

Blues began in the south and slowly made its way into the great cities of the North. As

In the pine belt Country Music is King while Gospel is best loved. Music and the South just go together. Wherever you go in the Southern part of the United States, like Georgia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, or Mississippi you will hear music on the radio, on the front porch, in restaurants and cafes, and on the street corners. We love a good tune. Italian’s love music too. There in Italy you hear opera and accordion music. Accordion are a big part of Zydeco music. In other words, the Italians and Southerners have lots of things in

Gospel music emerged during the twentieth century following the Great Migration of African American towards the north. Influenced by blues gospel music is a religious genre. Gospel music is used during religious practices, ceremonial purposes, pleasure and entertainment. During the Great Migration, two denominations followed by African Americans, Black Baptist and Methodists. The congregations were small and they utilized storefronts for worship. Smaller congregations allowed them to connect with their pastor and have better understanding of the sermon provided. Others preferred larger congregations that used an emotive style of worship known as the shouting churches, they were highly energized. (Burnim & Maultsby, 2015)

The Social Gospel started in the early twentieth century as an intellectual movement. The purpose was to live out The Lord's Prayer during our day to day lives. Social Gospel applied Christian ethics to social problems like the issues of social justice. A group of liberal Protestant progressives started the movement because they weren't satisfied with social problems around them and they did not feel enough was being done to solve the problems. Social problems associated with rapid industrialization, urbanization, and increasing immigration of the Gilded Age were the primary concern.

African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called “black music.” African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.

Gospel music is an elegant form of worship. It has been used to speak out against oppression and to advocate for freedom and equality for all. Gospel Music is exemplary of music being used to change the world. Gospel music and the various artists associated with it have had a monumental impact on the face of our

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

Religious songs were also another group. They were sung accompanied by clapping of hands and foot stamping. Slaves had their own ways of praying and worshipping in their native land which assisted them to be introduced to Christianity. Africans used to sing songs, give testimonies and worship to their gods and deities; a culture which they could not forsake. These songs were classified as work, jubilee and social. Work songs sung while working in the field to give the black community hope and freedom. Social songs contained social messages and the jubilee songs were sung in the church.

For centuries, Gospel music has influenced and promoted African-American social, moral and ethical values, playing an imperative role in modelling their past and future. Originating from the hardships of slavery and the strength of Christian worship, Gospel music has adapted to musical tastes through the development of a number of sub-genres, while retaining its moral and spiritual framework. Throughout its musical history, Gospel music has had a profound and predominant influence on its devotees and followers. During the turbulent years of the American Civil Rights Movement, Gospel music played a vital role in building the foundations of stability and

Gospel music has been around for a hundred of years. Gospel music is highly emotional evangelical vocal music that originated among African American Christians in the southern United States and was a strong influence in the development of soul music. (Gospel Music) Gospel music quite evolved from the songs slaves sang on plantations notably work songs, and from the Protestant hymns they sang in church. However in the 19th century, spiritual hymns transfer into gospel music, which started the golden age of gospel music began turning in a new direction. Gospel music also influences different type music styles that people have today. People are change by the music of gospel music and find inspiration to go through life.