In the chapter reading from Blues People, by Amiri Baraka he writes
about the origins of Blues and Jazz. He also writes about their struggles and
how this produced a different genre of music. I found it particularly
interesting that Jazz, something so upbeat and fun could derive from something
so much more such as the blues. The
blues technically came from sad songs slaves would sing while working on the
fields. The masters altered many of these songs, because they didn’t want the
slaves practicing any type of religion. They were pretty much stripping them
away from their own culture because they were afraid that it would lead to
rebellion. So they had to change some of the words in their songs, incorporate
different languages and stop using instruments such as drums. The whites thought that they would use the
drums to revolt. So the slaves had to use different types of things to create
beats for their songs. Many of the lyrics in the blues are used to tell stories
and are used to teach the younger generation. Baraka writes about all of these
facts that have lead to the creation of the blues from songs that were
initially African-American slave songs. Religion is also something that is
mentioned in this reading. Most of the Negros were Christians but they weren’t
allowed to practice their religion. Some of them were killed when they even spoke
about spirits and devils. After slavery the slaves didn’t really have a place
of their own in the “white world.” It was a hard struggle, with hate groups
such as the KKK. These conditions brought on more songs that included “shouts,
hollers..” So in other words, the songs would usually describe their current situation.
Music is a way of expression and that is just what the African Americans tried
to do. Although they were opposed and had to make many changes, they were able
to create music that expressed who they were. They were able to create
spiritual songs and church songs to keep their traditions alive in new generations.
The fact that we still listen to some of these songs and understand them shows
just that.
1 comment:
Before reading this article I was unaware that drums were used for communication which is quite exciting. It made sense to me the reasons why the masters prohibited the drums, due to their fear of rebellion. After all, drums do cause a very hype environment and makes everyone go amok. The Blues and jazz have been marked by a tragic history of suffering and oppression.
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