Final Exam — Musical Web

Anthony Reid
Jul 27, 2017 · 4 min read

During the semester, we have reviewed many songs and their impact on culture in history. Even though there are many different genres and styles of music, the class has given me a new outlook when listening to music, as I know more of the context and history behind the sounds. For this post, I will be going into depth with a couple of the listening logs I have done and apply what I know now, especially to past logs to see how they are connected.

Paul Robeson’s “Jacob’s ladder” was one of the most iconic African slave songs and was based on the biblical story. The second time coming back to this song, I understand how this song was the basis of black gospel music, referring back to the chapter on history of popular secular music. I also noticed out of all the songs I have made a listening log about, Robeson’s vocals show the biggest range out of any. A song that “Jacob’s ladder” could be connected to would have to be “Quittin’ time song” by Samuel Brooks. The song originates in the same way that “Jacob’s ladder” as an old slave song that tries to motivate those who sing along. The songs both have slow, drawn out melodies in their lyrics and feature the call-and-response method to get audiences involved. These songs are both what you can consider Field Hollers, which are songs used during slave conditions and during the share cropping era.

“Sheep, Sheep, Don’t You Know the Road” by Bessie Jones is another song I reviewed and has similar origins to the the field songs I talked about in the last paragraph. As I listen again, I see that this song was just a precursor to how off-beat clapping and rhythms would become popular in future genres. From blues to rock and roll to hip-hop, this musical element is used to enhance the beat of the songs that make you tap your feet automatically, giving a sense of knowing the song even if it is your first time listening. Like “Jacob’s ladder” and “Quittin’ time song”, the elements of spirituality and call-and-response singing are a prominent part of the piece. The song also has traces of blues within it due to the similar rhythms and hymns with also the similarities within the lyric content.

“Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and his comets was the first big hit in the rock and roll era. The 12-bar blues song is really telling because it was one of the first of it’s kind as well. Listening back to it now, I can really understand the importance of back beats in music. I also understand more that there is not much of a difference between rhythm and blues and early rock and roll, but only the fact of who each name was marketed to. Watching the musical films in class shed more light about how segregated we were back then and how African Americans and other people of color fought to be equal (just like the two genre of music in actuality were). A song that we talked about in the course that is connected to “Rock Around the Clock” can easily be the original and inspiration to it, “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Wynonie Harris. They both touch on mischievous play, centered around the word “rock”. “Rock Around the Clock” also incorporates saxophones, heavy drums, bass and electric guitars to gain the jazzy feel and the institution of backbeats to recall the old blues form of “Good Rockin’ Tonight”.

“Walk this Way” by the combo of Run-D.M.C and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry bridged the gap between rock and hip hop music. As I listen to the song again, I do hear how modern hip hop has developed from this early collaboration clearer now. Modern hip hop is not necessarily all about rapping anymore, because some artist focus more on the production of the sound of the music and using instrumentals and samples to enhance and convey their messages. A song that can be connected is “Rock around the clock” as well. Both are considered rock and roll cornerstones and both infuse emphatic bass and electric guitars for their instrumentals. It is really interesting to see how the cover of rapping instead of singing can change a rock and roll style beat.

The “Imperial March” by John Williams is one of the most iconic pieces of music in film history. When listening to the music again, I realized that there are many more leitmotif melodies for characters in a various amount of movies. From Superman to Moana in Disney to even Jaws, main characters of hero/villain centered films all sort of have “theme songs” added to them to give a character an extra element to their personality. A song that is connected to this piece is another film music example, “The Murder” from the movie Psycho, scored by Bernard Herrmann. This music shared repeated melodic fragments that are chilling and signify the entrance to the characters associate with the music (Darth Vader in Star Wars and Norman Bates in Psycho). The blaring of many brass instruments in both scores of music signifies the power that both characters have and coincidentally, the evil both of them possess.

All the music I have reviewed share a similar quality: The ability to use genres and elements of past music to help create the unique style they possess. As hip hop and rock and roll became a popular duo, you have to see the origins of blues and jazz incorporated within. When you hear gospel and American heritage songs, you have to reflect on how protest songs and foreign cultural songs drove the need and ability to create such pieces. Music itself now cannot be simply tied down to a specific time of place, because you have to take in to account all the pioneers and innovators that allowed that process to occur. Going through the class and connecting the musical elements I have learned has changed the way I look at music forever.

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