AT

Article #1 for African Americans in Music

The article highlights several core African music characteristics that persisted and evolved in African-American culture:

  1. Participatory and Communal Activity: Music-making is fundamentally a social event that unites the community for shared experiences, with audience involvement being crucial for performance success.

  2. Conceptual Continuity: Rather than a static list of traits, African retentions are seen as living conceptual approaches to music-making, focusing on how things are done.

  3. Emphasis on Sound Quality and Timbre: African-American music prioritizes timbre, texture, and shading. The human voice serves as a model for instrumental sound, leading to voice-derived timbres and instrumentalists imitating vocal sounds through various techniques.

  4. Mechanics of Delivery: This includes improvisation and ornamentation, allowing for personal expression within a shared framework. Key components are Time (e.g., extending notes, repeating phrases), Text, and Pitch (e.g., melodic embellishments like bends, slides, melismas).

  5. Call-and-Response: This is a signature structural mechanism, where a stable chorus provides a foundation for solo improvisation, creating rhythmic tension and textual variation.

  6. Rhythmic Complexity: Characterized by syncopation and multi-linear rhythm, leading to polyrhythms (simultaneous independent rhythmic patterns) that heighten intensity.

  7. Multimedia Performance Paradigm: African ceremonies often integrate music, dance, visual arts, and ritual drama. Dress and physical movement are significant elements in conveying emotions and enhancing engagement.