Music has beena partof human life forever. Music allows everyone to express their emotions or help them cope with everyday difficulties. Instruments are a huge part of music, and every instrument can cause a certain feeling to grow or shrink. Along with different instruments grew different genres, and those genres grew bigger and bigger.
For example, during the 19thcenturyJazz and Blues wasborn and struck modern music tremendously. Jazz and Blues were extremely popular among the African- American communities, until the 20thcentury where Jazz and Blues had been absorbed and used in many other styles. However, Jazz and Blues does still live today making it a, “modern music”, but their influence is still major andnoticeable inour music today. The Blues growth led to one of our favorite genres Rock and Roll, whichbroke throughin the 1950s.
Even thoughit was difficult to tell them apart at the time since theykind of had the same rhythms early on. Rock and Rolllater evolved and turned into something much louder, and seeking attention from younger listeners. Rock and Roll today still has traces of Blues and if we listen hard enough we can still hear it. Blues lyrics and hip hop lyrics both showsomeone’spersonal troubles and feelings for every situation. For example, Louis Jordan’s hit “Saturday Night Fish Fry” can be tied to our hip hop lyrics.
Along with Jazz and Blues improvised instrumental solos that’s just like rap’s freestyle. ‘Soul, Funk, and Disco, is a combination that forms our Rhythm and Blues (R;B) today. During the 1970s disco rose, and 1980s New Jack Swing style destroyed R;B’s typical sound so now it sounds nothing like the Blues. However the vocals are still quite similar, for exampleBeyonceKnowles and Fantasia use the same rhythms and tones just like Etta James, a blues singer. In conclusion, many musicians specializing in Jazz accompany our modernsingers all of the time. For example, Tarigh Akoni, is a guitarist trained inJazz thathas performed with ChristinaAguilera, and the Backstreet Boys.
Jazz allows us to enjoy our “modern music” in multiple ways, and create some of our own genres. Jazz and Blues gives us freedom to express who we are and what type of emotions we want to feel.
