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How Is African American Traditional Music Used In The 1930's

1005 Words5 Pages

Trevor Price

music as a social function is directly found in the speakeasies in the United States during the 1920’s and some of the 1930’s.
Another difference between these two cultures is that European classical music consists of rigid form and is extremely rehearsed/structured. African traditional music contains more of a rhythm and bounce which is combined with improvisation in multiple parts of their songs. Most of jazz music contains improvisation. My favorite song containing improvisation from the jazz genre is called “Blue Train” by John Coltrane. Looking further into time, it is clear that both European traditional and African traditional have combined influence into the style of jazz. For example, later on jazz does have pitched …show more content…

Louis Armstrong is a phenomenal example of improvisation and is also considered one of the best trumpet players that there has ever been. It is very clear that improvisation is a strong suit of Louis Armstrong just by listening to his song “Heebie Jeebies” from 1926. Without the intermingling of European classical music and African traditional music in the early stages of America, jazz would not contain the distinct components that it does to this very day.
Politics/government is a cultural influence that people seem to feel uncomfortable talking about but it is impossible to neglect the fact that politics had a huge impact on the way jazz was shaped. In 1803, the United States purchased a tract of land from the French that spanned from the bayous of Louisiana all along the Mississippi river up to the …show more content…

The History of Jazz. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Hasse, John Edward. “The First Jazz Recording Was Made by a Group of White Guys?”. Smithsonian.com, 24 February 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/was-first-jazz-recording-made-group-white-guys-180962246/ , Accessed 10 February 2018.
Stewart PhD , Jack , et al. “Jazz Origins in New Orleans.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 14 Apr. 2015, www.nps.gov/jazz/learn/historyculture/history_early.htm. Accessed 10 February

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