Essay on Gospel Music - 6236 Words

Gospel Music By 1945, nearly everyone in the African American community had heard gospel music (2). At this time, gospel music was a sacred folk music with origins in field hollers, work songs, slave songs, Baptist lining hymns, and Negro spirituals. These songs that influenced gospel music were adapted and reworked into expressions of praise and thanks of the community. Although the harmonies were similar to those of the blues or hymns in that they shared the same simplicity, the rhythm was much different. The rhythms often times had the music with†¦show more content†¦(2) During the beginning of the Golden Age of Gospel (1945-1955), gospel music reached a near perfection and had a huge, devote audience. The call and response form in particular flourished in the new type of music. The African American gospel song had a unique power and ability to overcome. It was a means of transcending the listeners, singers and entire congregation to a higher spiritual and emotional level. During the post-Civil War years, the congregation style of singing was transformed by the new Pentecostal congregations, also known as Holiness and Sanctified. (5) African American gospel music was a twentieth century phenomenon which evolved through the people that moved from rural communities to urban centers in cities. They left their areas of limited promise and social and economic terror in hopes of starting over. (4) Gospel was s style of repertoire and singing. The music was delivered as a high powered spiritualShow MoreRelatedThomas A. Dorsey and Gospel Music Essay622 Words   |  3 PagesThomas A. Dorsey and Gospel Music Gospel songs combined religious lyrics with melodies and rhythms inspired by early blues and jazz. Many churches rejected this new integration of religious conviction and popular song as devils music that had no place in a house of worship. Thomas A. Dorsey, the Father of Gospel Music described gospel, saying, Its evangelistic, it has a rhythm and carries a message with the feeling and fever that many sacred songs do not have, the gospel is good news.Read MoreThe History of Gospel Music Essay2849 Words   |  12 Pages Music is an important aspect of every society. Music can tell stories, release emotions, build bridges and break down barriers, but above all music is entertaining. There are various forms of music but not many have as rich a history as gospel music. The importance of gospel music has been relevant in American music for more than a century and its importance to society is still relevant to this day (See Appendix A). Gospel music helped slaves escape to freedom and pavedRead MoreGospel music Essay1072 Words   |  5 PagesGospel Music Gospel music began in the cotton fields of the old south. It originates from slaves singing songs of freedom about Jesus and has integrated into today’s music. Gospel music is a standard version of sanctified music that has encouraged Christian beliefs and stimulated the practice of Christian ethical principles, both inside the context of worship services and as music entertainment. Gospel music began with Thomas A. Dorsey, the Father of Gospel Music. Gospel, mean good news, it wasRead MoreThe Influence of Gospel Music Essay2325 Words   |  10 PagesGospel music has been around for a hundred of years. Gospel music is highly emotional evangelical vocal music that originated among African American Christians in the southern United States and was a strong influence in the development of soul music. (Gospel Music) Gospel music quite evolved from the songs slaves sang on plantations notably work songs, and from the Protestant hymns they sang in church. However in the 19th centur y, spiritual hymns transfer into gospel music, which started the goldenRead MoreThe Baroque Style Within Gospel Music Essay2094 Words   |  9 PagesThe Baroque Style within Gospel Music Growing up in a Christian family, a minister as a father, a musician as a mother, Gospel music was the prominent source of musical entertainment in my childhood. As my peers listened to and could tell you about current hip hop, rap, and rb music, I could do the same with Gospel. It wasn’t until high school, when I started my pursuit of music, that I started learning the classical style and developing an appreciation for it. However, in my endeavor, I came toRead MoreThe Power And Influence Of Gospel Music On The American Civil Rights Movement1594 Words   |  7 Pagesof Gospel Music on the American Civil Rights Movement For centuries, Gospel music has influenced and promoted African-American social, moral and ethical values, playing an imperative role in modelling their past and future. Originating from the hardships of slavery and the strength of Christian worship, Gospel music has adapted to musical tastes through the development of a number of sub-genres, while retaining its moral and spiritual framework. Throughout its musical history, Gospel music hasRead MoreSuite E Major ( See Appendix B )1952 Words   |  8 PagesConservatory from 1921 until his death in 1927 (Cipolla, n.d.) Foote began his music studies at the age of 12 and showed a lot of promise. However, the entered Harvard in 1870 to study law, but continued to take music courses. He was so encouraged by his music experiences in Harvard that he changed from law to music as his focus and was the first person in the United States for receive a Masters degree in music from an American University (Cipolla, n.d.). Arthur Foote’s first compositionsRead MoreMusic Genres826 Words   |  4 PagesGospel music has been described as spiritual music to help uplift you and overcoming pain and struggles. At the same time, rhythm and blues tells a story of heart ache, finding love and being very emotional. However, both are emotional nonetheless. Despite some differences on the surface, gospel music and RB are actually lot alike in the sense they constantly reinvent themselves and continue to grow worldwide. Gospel music is very soulful just like RB and can make you feel good and take you toRead MoreThe Legacy Of Soul Music1509 Words   |  7 PagesSoul is a music genre that over five decades or so remains very popular in the music industry. This may be due to the fact that soul has had a huge impact upon other genres. Shuker defines soul as a â€Å"secular version of gospel, soul was the major black musical form of the 1960s and 1970s and remained evident in various hybrid styles since, for e xample, contemporary neo-soul and soul jazz (312). The history of soul music is notable for producing a range of artists who have assisted African-AmericanRead More african american religious music Essay2297 Words   |  10 PagesAfrican American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called â€Å"black music.† African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical