Kerocak History

“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

Country music as a whole has developed from hillbilly boogie, to honky tonk, to what we commonly hear on the radio today as Nashville sound, or country pop. The honky tonk

The roots of modern american rock and roll music, are firmly planted in Africa. As the native Africans were torn apart from their family’s and brought to the new world their lives were immediately and drastically changed forever. Finding themselves immersed in a completely new environment with a foreign culture, they thankfully persevered and carried on with their own traditions and most importantly to this paper, musical ones. Most American slaves originated from Western and Central Africa. The West Africans carried a musical tradition rich with long melody lines, complicated rhythms (poly rhythmics) and stringed instruments CITATION. The West Africans music was also strongly integrated into their everyday lives. Songs were preformed for religious ceremonies and dances and music was often a

“Hillbilly music,” “the high, lonesome sound,” and “old-time string band music,” have all been used to describe bluegrass, though none of these terms is quite

The origins of country music date back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. It emerged mainly in the southern part of the united states and at first, was very similar to the folk music that had come from Europe and Africa. Ballads and dance tunes were among the most prominent type of country songs at the beginning. Later on, the simple musical form and harmonies of the blues also greatly influenced the development of the country genre. Country music, formerly known as hillbilly music, is usually made up of string instruments like banjos, guitars, and fiddles. Historically, country music was associated with western music, hillbillies, cowboys, and white working class Americans. Today however, the genre is much more broad and increasingly growing in popularity.

American Music is a melting pot of different cultures, emotions, experiences, and therefore genres. It is incredible to see how as music evolves and changes with the time, so does The United States. We are a mixed bag as a country, accepting all different cultures and backgrounds. This has led to many breakthroughs and innovations in music throughout history. We are all influenced by our experiences in life and this is no different in the evolution of music in American History. The Blues was created from African American Slave songs, with lyrics that narrate the hardships of the human experience at the time. These rhythms and forms carried over and eventually created what is now Rock and Roll. Over the next five weeks, we will explore and discover five key genres and artists who are known to specialize in that genre as a way to reconnect with our history and explore the possibilities for innovation in music in the future.

When looking at country music from the early 20th century, to what it is today there has been some change but most of the concepts have stayed the same. Much of the country from the early times had music about religion, or hardships that were being faced. This is the same as in the present, there are many songs about turning to religion to find hope. There are also the instruments that are used, the bajo, and other stereotypical country instruments are still used to today. This sound that they have, and that these instruments make are what really categorize the music as country. The sound of country has been modified but the underlying sounds have stayed the same, and the messages that are being sung about have been consistent throughout time. This shows that country is very much like its older counterpart with a few modern changes that are made.

As you are driving down the road of the countryside of the American South, you see the dry fields of grass spread for miles. You turn on the radio and all you hear is country music or the blues. This is the culture and music of the South. The South has two types of music, country music of the whites and the blues of the blacks. Due to the isolation and conservatism of the South, the South had their own forms of rural music.

Country music as a whole is a controversial genre; however, the past 5 years of its development have seen the integration of drum machines, rock style guitar melodies, and the addition of a wide variety of computer synthesizers and algorithmic composition. Both old and new

Country music has a unique sets of instruments used to display a country feel. Country music uses same chord patterns throughout the song. Country music uses Guitars, Violins, Pianos, Banjos, Bass, and Drums. Country music uses soft sounds and light strokes of the chord instruments. The way Country music uses instruments is a soft approach, it uses simple and soft harmonies along with soft beats to make a southern feel.

Country music is originated in Southern United States. “In 1998 the United States Congress passed a resolution recognizing Bristol, Tennessee, as the "Birthplace of County Music

In researching classic country there are many themes that can be found in the performances. The most common theme is almost every classic country artist had an acoustic guitar. They would use this guitar as essentially the main melody for their songs which they would then add vocals on top of. Then every once and a while other string instruments or drums would be added to the songs. However, there was never any electronic instruments added to classic country music (Aaron Lewis). Another theme in classic country performances are the outfits the artists wear. Almost every artist I researched had on a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, jeans, and a flannel jacket (Aaron Lewis). This hillbilly style look is one of classic countries most signature identities. Along with the look of the artists the farming/country land feel has become very integrated in the music itself. The classic country arts constantly sing about life on a farm, the mountains around them, or their truck that they drive (Aaron Lewis). In simpler terms country music tends to approach more social, cultural and regional issues than other music. This is one of the reasons country became so popular initially is because it is so personal. In addition to these themes the venues also share certain characteristics. In classic country the focus is more on the lyrics and telling a story. Therefore, in the performances there is very little lighting effects and added stage props. Usually all a stage will consist of is the artist on

Recently there has been a new found interest in music history along with its cultures but the revival or interest in American Indian music is nowhere to be found. One issue with popularization or revival of American Indian music is its unique use of timbre which most western music lack, along with the variations on sound, American Indian music is best understood from the context of their culture, past, religion, and spiritual beliefs. When listening to music today there is a correlation with pitch of the singer’s voice along with the instruments complementing these sounds. In many of the cultural song of the Indians it could be hard for someone in modern day to find a correlation with the pitch and the instruments because at times it seems

Indian Music is basically a ‘classical’ tradition having an old but highly developed theoretical base and is also linked to folk and regional styles. Due to

and the extent to which tradition is acceptable varies within societies, based particularly on the importance of tradition in music, a societal perception of time, and the junction of maintaining tradition yet still managing to progress.