Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
American Musical Genres: Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and Blues, or R&B, is an American musical genre largely attributed to the African-American community. Originating in the 1940s, the term was first used by record companies to describe recordings "marketed predominantly to urban African-Americans," at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz-based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming increasingly popular (Palmer 5). Though the genre has evolved dramatically since its inception, certain terminology, instruments, and musicians have remained constants in looking at this genre's history, providing reference points and insights into a style of music that has continued to resonate with audiences for decades.
While the term R&B has shifted meaning from decade to decade, sometimes referring to genres ranging from rock music, blues and gospel to soul and funk, and contemporary R&B, rhythm and blues has become a blanket term for style of music as broad and diverse as the artists who encapsulate it. One of the threads that connects these alterations in style through history is the progressive and aggressive approach to music that each noted R&B artist captures in their performances. With lyrics and compositions that are guttural and emotional rather than soft and intellectual, rhythm and blues is a genre that aims to not only be heard, but pack...
Rhythm and blues is a genre that has long acted as a melting pot for other genres, and has been often referred to as a "super-genre" due to its stylistic inclusion of other forms of popular music such as religious, soul, ragtime, jazz, country, gospel, and rock and roll (Lee 12). In understanding the distinctions between these types of musical genres, it becomes clear in listening to rhythm and blues which aspects of the music can be pinpointed to be stylistically influenced by such other genres.
Clearly, such music cannot be made without the use of instruments, and though the instruments used in rhythm and blues vary widely from artist to artist, several have made a predominant mark in the genre's entirety. Author Ryan Jerving notes, "the most common types of instruments used in this type of music are drums, bass, piano, and guitar, with a horn section often featuring saxophones, trumpets and sometimes trombones" (Jerving 650). He further notes that the importance of a horn section within the genre is that which historically separates rhythm and blues from "white rock music" (Jerving 672).
Finally, it is clear that music cannot…
References
Jerving, Ryan. "Early Jazz Literature (And Why You Didn't Know)." American Literary
History. 16.4 (2004): 648-674. Web. Retrieved from: Project MUSE Database.
Lee, Gary and Lee, Patti. Don't Bother Knockin' . . . This Town's A Rockin': A History of Traditional Rhythm and Blues and Early Rock'n'Roll in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo, NY: Blue Sounds Press, 2000. Print.
Palmer, Robert. Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta.
This, along with the older Psalter by Strenhold and Hopkins, was the main influence of the Bay Psalm Book printed during 1640 in Massachusetts. This can be compared with the first musical influences on and compositions by Li Jinhui. The traditional forms were explored thoroughly before new ideas in music were explored. Culturally, the new Americans at the time were deeply religious, following the Puritan tradition on which they based
BLUES Leadbelly told Alan Lomax, "It a man blues sing blues," statement -- a truth blues -- leads a number things worth thinking exploring. For thing, side Leadbelly's statement true: One blues hear blues understand . Blues and the American experience It is a very well-known fact that music is one of the oldest means of expression in human civilization. It represents the way through which some of the deepest feelings
Blues and Ragtime: Paving the Way for Jazz Blues and ragtime helped to pave the way for jazz, one of America's truly unique music genres. Originating in the South, these genres were inspired by the African backgrounds of slaves coupled with the oppression that freed men and women faced after their emancipation. New Orleans became a musical hotbed during the jazz era. It was also during the development and popularization of
Out of about 40 million slaves that were transported from African to the United States, only 15 million of them could survive, however they ended up in pure hell. It was expected of the African-Americans to meet the demands of two ideas, both of which met the needs of the rich white Americans. Thus, where slaves had a disguise to serve their masters and please them, they were just
Both musical genres also marked a thriving underground arts scene among not only African-Americans but also European-Americans. Whites became increasingly interested in and involved with both jazz and blues, and by the 1920s, jazz had especially made waves in Europe. As Kirchner points out, Eastern European folk music and some European classical music in fact shared much in common with American jazz. The acceptance of jazz in Europe came
Most large cities have a symphony orchestra, which may perform a dozen times during a season. Jazz and the blues, however, are usually available most of the time in small venues like bars and clubs, and often during the year at large festivals, such as the Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, California. Jazz is gaining in popularity on the radio too, and most larger cities have at least one