Reading Response 11/10

American Negro music stems from the Africans who were enslaved in the south. The music before/associated with American Negro music would be jazz which is similar to its musical predecessor called the Blues. The Blues stems from a multitude of things, one being slaves. Those who were enslaved tended to draw inspiration from not only the struggle the experienced while working but also the native beats and rhythms from West Africa. Not only was the sound unique but the words per each song were quite unique. Those who sang the songs of the south were doing their best to learn a new language. In doing so, they struggled with certain words so they did their best to pronounce them but often pronounced them a little differently. Not to mention their vocabulary was growing because they were learning new words from their masters. It was tough to speak because a lot of these slaves had a thick accent because the languages they were learning were completely different than what they were used to speaking. Certain words came out differently because the accents of the singers were so thick. Another unique aspect of Jazz is that it involves more than just one singer. What I mean by that is that normally a singer will make a statement (lyrically) or will ask a question in which other singers (or the audience) will respond or support to the statement. The reason American Negro Music is so unique is the fact that it is very improvisational. If you've ever listened to jazz or the blues, the music really seems to flow and almost seem casual or laid back. This allowed for whites to claim that the singers of these songs weren't as talented because they didn't follow the musical scale per se. I personally think that's what makes Jazz and the Blues the best kind of music there is. It's so laid and just such a unique sound that really stands apart from any other kind of music.

Religion was something was basically forced upon Africans when they came to this country. They weren't allowed to practice their native religions so they had no choice. It also helped put slaves on the same level as their owners because they both practiced the same religion. Slave owners soon caught on to this and attempted to get their slaves to convert to being Quakers or Protestant. But a decent amount of them ended up turning to Southern Protestant. The church offered slaves another way to practice their music. Choir music changed tremendously because slaves were more rhythmic when they sang it. The overall conditions slaves faced both physically and socially, allowed them to change the way music would be seen forever.