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Chapter 4: North America/Black America. Music from Africa Work Songs & Field Hollers Spirituals Ragtime Blues Jazz Gospel. Work Songs & Field Hollers.
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Chapter 4: North America/Black America • Music from Africa • Work Songs & Field Hollers • Spirituals • Ragtime • Blues • Jazz • Gospel
Work Songs & Field Hollers • Work Song = accompanies work and makes time pass more pleasantly; usually multiple singers; regular pulse/beat that goes with work. (ex.: “Rosie”) • Field Holler = sung by solo worker; free or flexible rhythm; no accompaniment; one of the ancestors to the blues. (ex.: sung by Baby Doo Caston)
Ho Boys, Cancha Line ‘Em • Chain-gang Work Song • Strophic (repetitive) • Primary motor rhythm is strong and straight (work), syncopation makes the melody lift and rise above the work. • Call-and-response between song leader and group - with direct repetition of sung line by the group.
Ho Boys, Cancha Line ‘Em Intro: Ho, boys, is you right? I done got right (repeat) Verse 1: If I could I surely would Stand on that rock where Moses stood (response) Chorus: Ho boys, cancha line ‘em? Ho boys, cancha line ‘em? Ho boys, cancha line ‘em? See Eloise go linin' rail.
Verse 2: July the red bug, July the fly If August ain’t a hot month, I sure hope to die (response) Chorus: Ho boys, well they can’t wait Ho boys, well they ain't time Ho boys, well they can’t wait See Eloise go linin' rail.
Verse 3: I got a woman on Jennielee Square If you wanna die easy, let me catch you there (response) Chorus: Ho boys, cancha line ‘em? Ho boys, cancha line ‘em? Ho boys, cancha line ‘em? See Eloise go linin' rail. go linin' rail. go linin' rail.
Selected Characteristics of African-American Music • Blue Notes • Blues Scale • Motor Rhythm • Syncopation (define this) • Swing • Improvisation
Work Songs & Field Hollers • Purpose • Themes • Tradition • Musical characteristics • Differences
Work Songs (cont.) • Field Holler • sung by Baby Doo Caston (CD I:24) • Work Song • “Rosie” (CD II:1)
Religious Music • Amazing Grace (CD I:22 and 23) • Compare and contrast • Apply characteristics listed above • Influence on other music • Spirituals (Dr. Payne)
The Blues • Originated in the Deep South • Mississippi Delta Blues (Charley Patton, Robert Johnson) • Active throughout South, slightly different in each region. • A Feeling (“I’ve got the blues, but that’s ok”) • A Form (12-bar blues, Quatrain-Refrain) • Influenced Jazz, Rock n’Roll, and Country
Strophic? • same music repeated, different words. • Ex. 1: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, etc. (most songs heard on radio today) • Ex. 2: Succession of “verses” or “choruses” (Hymns, Ballad Songs, and the 12-bar Blues form)
Blues Form • Combined the spiritual, field holler & work song, and the 3-line ballad (as sung by songsters). • 3-Line Vocal Stanza (or “strophe”): • 2nd Line repeats 1st, 3rd line rhymes with above. • Example: I’m gonna lay down my head on some lonesome railroad line. I’m gonna lay down my head on some lonesome railroad line. And let that 5:15 train pacify my mind.
Line 1(4 measures) Line 2(4 measures) Line 3(4 measures) Voice Fill Voice Fill Voice Fill Diagram of Blues Form (12-bar Blues) I (2) I (2) IV (2) I (2) V (2) I (2) Tonic Subdominant Tonic Dominant Tonic Line 1(4 measures) I (2) - I’m gonna lay down my head on some lonesome railroad line. I (2) - instrumental fill Line 2(4 measures) IV (2) - I’m gonna lay down my head on some lonesome railroad line. I (2) - instrumental fill Line 3(4 measures) V (2) - And let that 5:15 train pacify my mind. I (2) - instrumental fill
Examples from Textbook • Lazy Bill Lucas • Poor Boy Blues (CD II: 2) -- 12-Bar Blues • She Got Me Walkin’ (CD II: 3) -- 12-Bar & Quatrain-Refrain (stop-time) Form • Otis Rush • Ain’t Enough Comin’ In (CD II:8) -- 12-Bar Blues with Bridge
How do these compare? • “I Need $100” (II:4) • “Kokomo Blues” (II:5) • From Dark Till Dawn” (II:6) • “You Don’t Love Me” (II:7)
Discussion Points • Do the blues help you -- personally? • Is some blues music better than others? • Do you get bored with some blues music? • Does marketing diminish the blues?
Spirituals • African-American songs, usually with a religious text. • Originally monophonic and a cappella, these songs are antecedents of the blues. • Spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith, sung by slaves on southern plantations. • Examples: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Were You There; Woke Up This Morning; Follow the Drinking Gourd; Go Tell it on the Mountain
Assignment 4 Compose the lyrics for at least 2 stanzas (strophes) of a 12-Bar Blues. This should result in six total lines of text. The proper rhyme scheme for the ends of the lines should be used (as shown in text examples).