Essay about A Short History Of The Blues - 2242 Words

The late 19th century marked a great deal of change in the United States as well as the rest of the world. World war one had begun and reeked great havoc on the entire world. Nikola Tesla and the fathers of communications had made major scientific breakthroughs in the communications field and modern radio programming was right around the corner. Slavery had been abolished for over thirty years but segregation was still an enormous factor amongst the African-American people in the U.S. One of the most segregated states in the entire country, Mississippi, was on the brink of one of the most influential forms of modern music that the world had ever seen or heard: the blues. What the blues did for music is reflective in almost every†¦show more content†¦A man sitting across from him is playing the guitar in a way that Handy has never seen. As Robert Santelli explains in his article A Century of the Blues, â€Å"He doesn’t finger the strings normally, instead, he pres ses a pocketknife against them, sliding it up and down to create a slinky sound†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (12). This technique, called slide guitar, would later become a staple of the most beautiful sounds of the pioneers of blues music. But not only is Handy amazed with the triumphant sound of the guitar, he is also mesmerized by the heart pounding words and eerie sound of the vocals coming from this dreadful looking specimen. This is the earliest known observation of the blues in the history of the world but not quite the birth of it. Santelli clarifies, â€Å"What Handy did on that railroad platform in Mississippi a century ago was witness the blues, not give birth to it† (13). Sadly enough, the birthplace of the blues is fairly uncertain. As Santelli makes clear, â€Å"ethnomusicologists didn’t become interested in the blues until later. Thus missing prime opportunities to document the origins of the music and to record its pioneers† (14). Even still there is enough e vidence to assume that the birthplace of the blues was somewhere in midst of the Mississippi Delta. Music is always a work in progress. When the slave ships arrived in the new world in the early seventeenth century they brought with them a culture of people who used music as aShow MoreRelatedBlues and Jazz Influence Paper1698 Words   |  7 Pages The Influence of 1920 Blues and Jazz on Modern Music Mark Carter The Influence of 1920 Blues and Jazz on Modern Music This paper is will try to show how the music that started with singing of old songs by the slaves to influences the music that the world listens to today. Shaping the music of Rock and Roll, Country and Western, and Easy Listening that influences every aspect of society’s everyday life are Blues and Jazz. In an interview many years ago on television, heard by thisRead MoreThe Blues : A Very Short Introduction Essay1689 Words   |  7 Pagesmusic enthusiasts or even music novices such as myself think of the blues, thoughts of hardship, adversity, and regret rush to mind. An individual loses his or her job, they get the blues. A close relative passes away, you feel the blues. Indeed, blues music is all too often associated with trials and tribulations. Yet, the blues itself seemingly encompasses much more than simply a sense of misery and unhappiness. Rather, the blues more so embodies overcoming hardship, moving past adversity, hopingRead MoreThe Poetry Of Lang ston Hughes1727 Words   |  7 Pagesan important influential part in the Harlem Renaissance, his poetry and other literary works helped pave way to a new wave of African American culture and literature. Hughes had a wide variety of works, he was much more than just a poet; he was a short-story writer, novelist, and playwright (Brucker). He was also very involved in the Black Arts Movement, and had works published in â€Å"The Crisis† the official journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People the (NAACP). TillRead MoreSpunk Play Review1400 Words   |  6 PagesGilded Six Bits.† Zora Neale Hurston strived to portray the reality of life as an African American in the early 1900s through native dialect in her short stories and novels. Her most notable production, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a prime example of her effort to illustrate the life of the everyday Negro in search of a better life. Each of the short stories portrays a different, yet comparable view on African American culture in separate areas of the United States. Director Hilda Willis depictsRead MoreThe Blue Tang Fish : The Red Of The Wild And The Reef Ecosystem Will Die1729 Words   |  7 PagesIs it ethical to possess and continue to capture blue tangs from the wild to meet the increased demand for blue tangs partly due to the release of Finding Dory? Melissa Whelpton, Vivian Witzke, Serena Perras Background The Paracanthurus hepatus, commonly referred to as the blue tang, hippo tang, regal tang, blue surgeonfish, and Dory. The blue tang fish made its debut on the big screen in Disney’s Finding Nemo in 2003. After Finding Nemo was released, clownfish saw a 40% increase in demand asRead MoreEssay on James Langston Hughes891 Words   |  4 Pagescareer. His father paid his tuition to Columbia University on the grounds he study engineering. After a short time, Langston dropped out of the program with a B+ average, all the while he continued writing poetry. His first published poem was also one of his most famous, quot;The Negro Speaks of Riversquot;, and it appeared in Brownies Book. Later, his poems, short plays, essays, and short stories appeared in the NAACP publication Crisis Magazine and in Opportunity Magazine and other publicationsRead MoreSummary Of The Fall Of The House Of Usher 1173 Words   |  5 Pagesauthors, use the many mysterious encounters he faced as an asset for his short stories. A major influence was his time in Charleston, South Carolina, where he learned of the many superstitions and rituals of both the blacks and the whites of the area. His interests in horrific rituals like premature burials and zombication (which mainly involves voodoo, familiar to the Lowcountry Gullah culture) helped him to write horrific short stories, like â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher.† Poe’s gory and eerie settingRead MoreMusic Is Exceptionally Powerful And Meaningful To People1353 Words   |  6 Pagespowerful and meaningful to people worldwide as it serves as an expression of emotion. Authors of various literary works integrate music into their stories. In Baldwin s short story, Sonny s Blues, jazz music is an important part of the story that explores the life of one of the main characters, Sonny. During the time this short story was written, Charlie Parker, an influential jazz musician that is briefly acknowledged in the story, had an immense following. Charlie Parker (along with Louis Armstrong)Read MoreHow Color And The Affects It Has On The Human Brain982 Words   |  4 Pagesthe packaging to be appealing, and subconsciously playing into the plans of the companies. The history and study of color has presented a plethora of information regarding the important role color plays in everyday life. The scientific reasoning behind color psychology has yet to be specified due to the wide variety of factors that could affect the results, such as personal preference, personal history, and environmental conditions. Although marketers might not consider such specific details of colorRead MoreWhat it Means to be Black and Free in Charles Chestnutt’s The Wife of His Youth811 Words   |  3 Pagesconsideration should be based on the history, background, the black experience, and the challenges of the struggles that Africans and African Americans faced to be what we are today. It is also important that we recogni ze the aims and characteristics that helped shaped black history and gave attention to certain rights of women and men. One short story in particular that really interested me was Charles Chestnutt’s â€Å"The Wife of His Youth† (pg. 624). This short story was published in 1988 and displays