How Did Louis Armstrong Used To Create A Sense Of Individuality?

In the early 1900’s, white people composed, performed, and listened to music. The black population created a democratic art form called Jazz which allowed them to compose and write their own music. Two artists, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, challenged tradition and expanded jazz music by encouraging individuality and by integrating black culture into their compositions. Louis Armstrong pushed the boundaries of musicality by emphasizing individualistic expression and integrating black culture into his music. Armstrong served as a voice for the black community. Rather than communicate his ideas through song lyrics, he utilized his raspy vocal timbre and large trumpet range to express his emotions to his audiences in a new, unique way. By introducing familiar

In the song Black, Brown, and Beige, there are hints of Western orchestration that are either interrupted or combined with a jazz melody. By switching from swung rhythms to straight rhythms, Ellington emphasizes the incompatibility between traditional and nontraditional music while also composing both styles together to create a whole new style. Throughout the song, a straight, rhythmic bass line is combined with a swung melody. Creating new sounds on traditional instruments, such as pitch bending and flutter tonguing, Ellington further produces emotions that are more intense. He also inserts a gospel groove to the music to represent the African American culture. For instance, in a traditional song that is in common time, the accent lies on the first and third beat of each measure, as demonstrated in the beginning and end of Black, Brown, and Beige. Conversely, in the song’s mid-section, Ellington then emphasizes the even beats to create an upbeat gospel feeling. This shift in style gives the song a more spiritual and lively experience and transports the listener to a traditional Baptist church