American Music

On a topic as broad as American music and culture, one cannot begin to provide such a large historical overview by including every detail, for they are endless. To begin it is more important to understand what is meant by the term American music. American music and culture refers to those styles and traditions whose origins took place, if not within national borders, within the North American continent. In considering musical traditions, it is necessary to recognize when something practiced in one region could very well have originated in another. This distinction is always difficult to make, especially considering the notion of tradition. Tradition inherently refers to those patterns of behavior handed down from one person to another, although in this process the patterns are indelibly altered. When considering music it is important to understand that its traditional heritage is inextricably tied with element of change, that nothing is static. Also, musical traditions are closely related with social identities, and in understanding the nature of these identities one can better understand the nature of their respective musics. The idea of social identities is open to interpretation as well, though more commonly they can be thought of according to distinctions of ethnicity, geography, religion, language, gender, and also sexuality.

The first inhabitants of North America were Native Americans. Their legacy has been handed down through oral traditions. Nothing describes music better than music itself though. I have chosen to include a listening example titled “Black Foot War or Grass Dance Song” that can be found on the CD accompanying the Prentice Hall textbook Excursions in World Music.

The arrival of European colonialism in North America in the 17^th century brought along with settlers and African slaves musical traditions this region had never heard of before. Though a legacy of European classical conservatories and instrumentation undoubtedly made the journey, something that could be distinguished as undoubtedly American had yet to develop. African slaves occupyed an entirely separate space in society yet had nothing material to show for it. Enduring persecution and eternal servitude, Africans brought with them the idea of polyrhythms and the call and response song form. Exposed to Christian choir music and long hard hours of manual labor in the fields, work songs became passionate and changed the field holler into what is commonly referred to as gospel. Here I include from the Excursions in World Music CD an example of this new type of singing with “Amazing Grace”.

Finally, the genre I view as an ideal example of something that is truly American is Jazz. With the development of blues music and a unique sense of rhythm pioneered by African Americans, the merging of these traditions with western harmony and instrumentation inevitably resulted in something that could be found nowhere else. With the influence of military bands, the transfer from vocal blues music to instrumental music occurred during the American Civil War. With western instruments and this new bluesy style of harmony there emerged the jazz band, an ensemble fit to rival its European symphonic predecessors. Thanks to the emergence of the recording technology engineered by the American inventor Thomas Edison we can still hear encapsulated within the historical era of their inception the way original jazz bands sounded. And who better to listen than the world renowned jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The example I have chosen to include here is the early recording he made with his Dixieland jazz band titled “West End Blues”.

Week 8

When examining the regional styles characteristic of African traditional music, one can in most cases find that certain characteristics of musical sound often reflect an image or identity its performers are attempting to convey. For example, in West Africa, the music of drum ensembles found in the Ewe tribes of Ghana has the characteristics of: call and response forms, interlocking rhythmic parts, a prevalence of ostinato-like patterns, and a polyrhythmic texture created by dense musical organization. This heavy emphasis on the strict regimentation of individual parts, the interdependence and collaboration of participating ensemble members, and the idea of responding to the call of a privileged leader creates in the mind of the listener the idea that somehow among these performers there exists a functional hierarchy. And of course this idea of a functional hierarchy holds true to lives of the larger Anlo-Ewe people, who reside in a society reminiscent of feudal chiefdoms. For even when it comes to musical culture, still the formation of ensembles, organization of events, who participates, and even what instruments are played must have the consent of the ruling chief.

One popular artist of recent interest to me has been the grungy alternative-rock band Nirvana. When I listen to songs like “Heart Shaped Box”, over heavy distortion, pounding volume, and crashing drums I hear clever minor harmonies and the lingering of a melody. The clarity of the lead melody’s sorrowful yet hauntingly memorable melody cutting straight through the band’s entire sound is really what grabs me as I listen idly to the album In Utero. And then I hear the quiet singing accompanying solo acoustic guitar on the song Polly. As the band’s front man Kurt Cobain plays he tells the story of a young, female rape victim. While enduring terrible physical pain, this young girl intelligently feigns affection for her abductor, and in causing the abductor to let his guard down she ultimately ensures her safe escape from the horrible situation. Such daring yet innovative lyrics in combination with superb musicianship give Nirvana just the grungy yet distinct type of image they are trying to convey. This sad, angry, ragged aesthetic, telling as it was of a popular grunge aesthetic sweeping the nation, even more so was a reflection of Cobain’s mental unrest. One week after escaping a rehabilitation clinic, Cobain’s body was found alone in his upstairs greenhouse. He committed suicide with a shotgun to his head.

Exploding into pop mainstream with their album Nevermind, released 1991, the band Nirvana brought an enormous following of young listeners commonly referred to by the media with the term “Generation-X”. Although their appeal strictly speaking can only be explained by listeners individually, the depressing, mysterious, sexually explicit, yet bitterly true lyrics written and sung by the band’s front man Kurt Cobain are as difficult to ignore as they are exhilarating. Over a decade past the band’s abrupt end, Nirvana’s music retains its legendary fame and can still be heard across the airwaves.