African American contributions to American Culture The History of Music

Formal Choir Arrangements African American Influence- Almost all American musical forms were invented by or greatly influenced by African American musical traditions and styles. Religious Music Arranged Gospel Music Traditional Gospel Popular Gospel Jubilee Arrangements Formal Choir Arrangements Freedom Songs Protest Music Folk Spirituals

Secular Music Work Songs, Field Call, Play Songs Blues Cake Walk Rhythm and Blues Funk Disco House and Techno Rap and Hip Hop Soul Boogie Woogie Blues Urban Blues Rock and Roll Rock Play Songs Cake Walk Vaudeville Ragtime New Orleans Jazz Soul Jazz Free Jazz Big Band/Swing Band Syncopated Brass bands

Cakewalk A “cakewalk” or prize dance was something that developed on plantations during slavery. Couples would dance together, exaggerating and imitating the way white couples danced, and have competitions. The white slave owners thought it was cute and offered cakes and pies as prizes. The sayings, “That takes the cake!” and “Easy as Cake!” come from the prizes given.

Cakewalk The funny part was that the owners probably didn’t catch on to the fact that they were being made fun of… After the Civil War, big cakewalk contests would be given, a dozen or more couples competing, with fancy cakes as the prize. Then the minstrel shows began doing them on their tours. (whites in blackface, of course.) “The cakewalk was so ingrained in American popular culture and entertainment that beginning in 1892, local cakewalk championships were being held in New York's Madison Square Garden, which hosted a national championship in 1897. The dance had been exported to Europe a few years earlier when it was performed in 1889 at the Paris World's Fair.” https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/23/256566647/the-extraordinary-story-of-why- a-cakewalk-wasnt-always-easy

Cakewalk The music for the cakewalk was a syncopated rhythm which became the basis for ragtime and New Orleans Big Band music.

Work Songs, Field Call Work songs are the oldest for of African influenced music we have in the US. They were to help keep people going, stave off boredom, and keep people coordinated. Examples- “Roll Jordan Roll” “Hoe Emma Hoe”

Your assignment Working with a group of a few others, you are going to present to us about one of the other forms of music, with attention to; What are the identifiable characteristics of the style How the style changes over time Who are some really important musicians from the style What are some songs that are examples of the style Tell us why the song/piece is important Play us a part of the song (clean versions please) Make a youtube playlist of your song examples that is public At least six examples

PowerPoint rules Every slide should have an image. Every slide must be in your own words Every slide must make sense as a whole. No slide should be a list of unrelated items, people, or events. Each slide should be about one song/piece or artist Each slide should have no more than 8-10 lines The font must be large, at least 18 size, and the font style should be easy to read. The design should be attractive- no florescent or neon backgrounds or text that is hard for the reader or audience to view. No PowerPoint presentation should use words or ideas that you do not understand or cannot explain. Slides should summarize information. Spelling and grammar must be correct. Slides must be factually correct.