A Uniquely American Musical Form, Essay Example

Jazz music is a uniquely American musical form that combines influences from widely different cultural and historical backgrounds. It utilizes the basic elements of Western musical traditions that originated in Europe, such as melody, harmony and, repetitive meter (though jazz music does not always use strict time keeping), but combines these influences with the cultural traditions and musical heritage of the slaves that were brought to North America and other parts of the West through the African slave trade. The music carried to the United States by African slaves was not written and notated the way that traditional classical music was written, but instead was part of an oral tradition of music and storytelling that allowed for improvisation. The powerful rhythms of jazz music are also rooted in the drumming and rhythmic traditions of African slaves. The call-and-response singing and chanting of African slaves who worked in cotton fields and other tasks greatly influenced the way that jazz musicians play with each other, as the often improvise musical parts that respond to what the other players are doing. Without the influence of African musical traditions brought over through the slave trade, jazz music could never have been born. The term “jazz” actually covers a wide variety of different types of music, from big band music that is very structured to free jazz that is almost entirely improvised. The musicians who first developed the jazz style of music used the musical; concepts of Western music, and even many of the same instruments (such as piano and wind instruments) and combined it with the cultural and musical traditions of their ancestors to create a new musical genre.

As I was reading your response I considered the fact that I like to write my discussion post first before reading any other posts, because it is always interesting to me to see which things I wrote that other people also wrote about. We both discussed several of the same elements that make up jazz music, specifically the way that Western musical ideas and concepts about melody were blended together with African American traditions of call-and response and improvisation. It is clear that jazz music is a product of the combination of all these different influences, and it could only have happened in America, where slavery was such a significant part of the country’s social and economic history for so many centuries. You also took the time to discuss some of the composers that were important to the history of jazz (including the Western composers that influenced the creation of jazz) which helped to complete your discussion.

As I mentioned in my other response, it is always interesting to me to see which ideas and concepts other people discuss in the posts. Like you, I also discussed the significance of rhythm in jazz music, but you extended that discussion to include the concept of syncopation, which is a strong point. We also both mentioned the fact that some of the most important instruments in Western music also became central to jazz music.  We do not agree about the significance of the slave trade to jazz music, though, but it is not necessary that everyone agrees on the same things. From what I have read and heard, it appears to me that the cultural and musical traditions of slaves brought here from Africa were a huge part of what made jazz music possible, and that it was the way that the salves and their descendants blended Western music with their own traditions that gave birth to this unique musical genre.