MUH3025 Three Streams

Three Streams

The African-American musical tradition originates from the colonial era when the enslaved Africans brought their rich musical heritage to the Americas. This powerful flow generated many famous genres including blues, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. The three different characteristics that can be noted in this tradition's unique musical style are: the predominance of the voices, the large degree of rhythmical movements, and the tendency to repeat certain motifs.

The first is the call-and-response pattern, an interactive exchange where a lead voice utters a musical phrase that the ensemble answers by echoing or embellishing upon. This communal back-and-forth illustrates the participatory nature of African music (Uitti, 2023). The spiritual Wade in the Water is a perfect example of this technique, where a leader says a line like Wade in the water and the children respond as the chorus.

Another feature is the massive use of syncopated rhythms highlighting the off-beats, thus creating a propulsive, driving rhythmic feel which is different from the European traditions (THEDEMOSTOP, 2024). This rhythmic accentuation was a result of the complexity of African drumming patterns. James Brown's iconic bassline in the funk classic Sex Machine is a good example of this trait, it emphasizes the up-beats

The third characteristic is improvisation, that is, the spontaneous musical creation within the established structural framework. The basis of this art was in the ancient griots of Africa improvising vocals, melodies, and rhythms, this art let artists to express themselves freely (Edmund & Keller, 2019). The instrumental parts of John Coltrane's jazz standard Giant Steps are a proof of his great improvising ability he solos marvelously over the chord changes.

These musical signs of call-and-response, syncopated rhythms, and improvisation are the main reasons why the African-American tradition is the most influential in numerous modern genres. Musicians always refer to this pool of influences to produce boundary-pushing works that expand musical possibility.

References

Edmund , D. C., & Keller, E. C. (2019). Guiding Principles for Improvisation in the General Music Classroom - NAfME. Https://Nafme.org/. https://nafme.org/blog/guiding-principles-improvisation-general-music-classroom/

THEDEMOSTOP. (2024, February 15). What is Syncopation in Music: Meaning, Types, Steps & Examples. What Is Syncopation in Music: Meaning, Types, Steps & Examples. https://thedemostop.com/blogs/music-education/music-educations/what-is-syncopation-in-music/

Uitti, J. (2023, February 3). Behind the Meaning of the Classic Gospel Song “Wade In The Water.” American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-of-the-classic-gospel-song-wade-in-the-water/