Knowra African American music African American music African American music encompasses musical traditions created and shaped by Black communities in the United States, drawing on African diasporic practices and changing American social conditions.
African musical traditions : The diverse musical practices of African peoples, including interlocking rhythms, call-and-response, and participatory performance. Diasporic musical practices helped shape the rhythms, participation, and expression of Black American music.
Blue note : A pitch, often lowered relative to a major scale, used for expressive effect in blues and related music. Blue notes help explain the expressive inflections heard across many Black American styles.
Slavery in the United States : A system of forced labor and hereditary bondage that enslaved millions of people of African descent in the United States. Enslavement shaped the conditions in which spirituals, work songs, and other traditions developed.
Jazz : A music originating in African American communities, marked by improvisation, distinctive rhythms, and evolving styles. Jazz developed from Black musical traditions and became a globally influential art form.
Rock and roll : A popular music genre that emerged in the United States in the 1950s from rhythm and blues, country, and other traditions. Its development drew heavily on Black musical styles, performers, and recordings.
Spirituals : Religious songs developed by enslaved African Americans, combining Christian themes with African American musical expression. Spirituals preserve an early, influential tradition of Black sacred song.
Syncopation : The emphasis of unexpected beats or subdivisions, creating rhythmic displacement. Syncopation gives many genres their distinctive rhythmic tension and drive.
Haitian Revolution : A revolution from 1791 to 1804 that ended French colonial rule and established Haiti as an independent state. Migration from Saint-Domingue helped bring Caribbean musical influences to early New Orleans.
Gospel music : A form of Christian music rooted in African American worship and shaped by expressive vocals and ensemble performance. Gospel carries sacred traditions into churches, recordings, and popular performance.
Disco : A dance-oriented popular music genre that rose in the 1970s, shaped by Black, Latino, and queer club cultures. Black musicians and dance-floor traditions helped define disco's sound and social spaces.
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