African Music Influence

The tune of African music, the sound, and how they made their music and soon transformed into the music heard today and modern genres of music developed. When the enslavement of Africans was allowed in America, modern music was influenced by African music during that time. As more and more Africans were brought to the United States to be sold as slaves, many of them brought their beliefs and cultures with them. When many Americans heard and listened to traditional African music, they created their own styles of music now know as pop, rock, jazz, and of American genres of music. A man from Pennsylvania named William Franklin Goodling reported, “African American music has influenced all aspects of our society in the form of dance, fashion, language, art, literature, cinema, media and advertisements. All in all African American music has made a positive impact on and a broad appeal to diverse groups both nationally and internationally” (Goodling, William. House Resolution 509 speech). Very few people understand how America was highly impacted

Supporting Goodling’s speech, Murphy Browne adds, “Imagine how much poorer the world would be without the melodies and lyrics of Africans like Bob Marley and the Wailers. Africans, whether from the continent or the Diaspora, have greatly influenced world music for generations” (Browne, Murphy. “African rhythms have influenced world music for generations”). Browne is correct. If many African lyrics and music did not exist, modern music would not be as efficient and great as it is today. In addition to Goodling and Browne, Mark Lincoln writes, “So many of our modern icons have incorporated African instrumentation, ideas and ideals into their music …” (Lincoln, Mark. “The Powerful Influence of African Culture on Modern Music”). Lincoln’s saying is true because modern music has many similar characteristics to traditional African music. Many modern genres of music have African music roots and are very