Reggae Music-Final

What is Jamaican Reggae?

A musical genre developed by Jamaicans of African ancestry in the late 1960's. The genre is known for its propulsive percussion, hypnotic bass lines, and steady, up-stroke rhythm guitar. Most reggae songs feature lyrics in Jamaican English, Jamaican Patois, or Iyaric dialects. As a signature form of Jamaican music, reggae is closely tied to the Rastafarian religion and social movement that traces its roots to 1930s Jamaica.

What Does Reggae Music Sound Like?

Reggae music combines the intensity of soul music, the light touch of ska, and the spiritual center of Jamaican mento. The music is famed for the rhythmic patterns heard in percussion, bass lines, and rhythm guitar parts. The three principle reggae rhythms are:

• Steppers: Similar to the American "four on the floor" feel, this beat features a steady quarter-note pulse on the bass drum, often doubled by the bass guitar. "Red, Gold, and Green" by Burning Spear is a strong example of the steppers beat.
• Rockers: The rockers beat also emphasizes four quarter notes per bar, but it offers more space for syncopation. The rockers beat is closely associated with the rhythm section of Sly and Robbie, who helped develop the famous "rub-a-dub" sound. "Sponji Reggae" by Black Uhuru is another strong example of the rockers beat, thanks to its 4/4 pulse combined with offbeat syncopations.
• One drop: The one-drop beat features a steady sixteenth-note pulse (like American funk music) with a backbeat accent from the kick drum and snare drum. It takes its name from the song "One Drop" by Bob Marley & The Wailers.

A

The Rise of Bob Marley/Beginning of Reggae:

Bob Marley & The Wailers, formed in 1963 and was initially known for its ska and dancehall hits, inspired by contemporary bands like The Skatalites A. Bob Marley wrote the song Stir It Up in 1967 for his wife, Rita Marley. It describes a man requesting that his woman help him in lighting a flame of passion between them. This song contains all of the classic elements of reggae music – the funky guitar; the conga drums; the crisp keyboards; and the stately, steady-rocking beat B.

Through this song, Bob Marley gained popularity all throughout the world.

I Shot The Sheriff was Bob Marley's big break; this song had introduced many people to reggae in general B. After this song was released, reggae became popular all around the world.

After this, other reggae stars of the 1970s include Jimmy Cliff and the American Johnny Nash A.

I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash 

Into the 1980's and 90's, dancehall is now in the picture. Taking place in majority Jamaican nightclubs, reggae music slowly transitioned to dancehall music (a kind of reggae music) D. 

Murder She Wrote by Chaka Demus & Pliers is a very popular dancehall dong created in 1992. Rather than relying on instruments like they did during the 70s roots reggae era, they embraced technology to create electronic drums-based rhythm. Along with its sound, “Murder She Wrote” also introduced a new song structure. Similar to rap/R&B collaborations, the juxtaposition of Demus’ rugged “toasting” (lyrical chanting in the vein of rapping) and Pliers’ melodic vocals on the hook helped the song take flight. Their new, buzzing “Bam Bam” rhythm became one of the most popular dancehall rhythm. This sonic fusion, sparked a dancehall trend that paired with streetwise verses with sweet sing-song hooks E.

and It Wasn't Me by Shaggy and Rik Rok, 2000

Today, we have contemporary reggae fusion subgenres which include reggaeton, seggae, two-tone, samba reggae, and reggaestep. Some of these genres are even more popular in cities like New York, Miami, and London than they are in Kingston A.

Koffee is current significant Reggae artist in Jamaica. One of her most popular songs is "Toast", which you may have heard on the pop-radio once or twice. This song is filled with "positive-vibes-ONLY", which is a main theme with reggae in general. In her song, "Toast", you can hear the mixture of the roots of reggae (positive and encouraging message) and the hype, "new", beat of dancehall.

Works Cited:

A- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/reggae-music-guide#a-brief-history-of-reggae-music

B- https://timscoverstory.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/stir-it-up-bob-marley-and-the-wailing-wailers-johnny-nash-the-grateful-dead/#:~:text=Bob%20Marley%20wrote%20the%20song,flame%20of%20passion%20between%20them.

C- https://www.britannica.com/art/reggae

D- https://www.britannica.com/art/dancehall-music

E- https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/chaka-demus-pliers-murder-she-wrote-feature/

American Roots Music - African-American Spirituals

 Just last year in her blogpost, Sister Mary Morajeyo Okewola said "As an African, dance is as much a part of my life as eating, drinking and working, but it is also an important part of our worship" (https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/spirituality/column/role-dance-african-culture). Sister Mary went on to express in greater details, the role music plays in even the very mundane in the life of a West African. Reading her blog certainly helps in understanding how the onset of the African American Spirituals came about on the shores.  The Negro Spirituals, as they are also called, was naturally developed out of the situation that the West Africans found themselves in, when they were enslaved in America.

"Corn ditties" as they were first called, were the slaves' response to the slaveholders' refusal to allow dancing and the playing of drums within the church. In the late 1700s, rural slaves would stay after worship services in order to get back to what come naturally; singing and dancing. Almost all of the Africans that were enslaved and brought to the Americans were West Africans.

The corn ditties were closely linked to the slaves' lives. Some were songs that the slaves sung while working, and others were the spirituals. Those were inspired by the Gospel. The video inserted above is one of Bessie Jones' songs. She learned her songs from her grandfather who was a slave that was born in Africa. The rhythm from the stomping of the feet and the beats from the clapping of the hands that mimicked the drums that were now absent from the lives of the enslaved West Africans, was the only best solution to the maintaining what is second nature to them, music and dancing, to get through the injustices they faced.

Turn into a reference properly- (https://sonichits.com/video/Bessie_Jones/Sheep_Sheep_Don't_You_Know_the_Road)

Stopped here:

other sites I used or plan to use (need to turn them into a proper reference too):

1. https://www.negrospirituals.com/history.htm

2. https://spirituals-database.com/the-negro-spiritual/

Music is language:

 Music, like any other language that transcends generations, has always been a way to express cultural beliefs and practices, but has also experienced changes over time. It becomes very clear that music is language when we look at powwow-like gatherings of old that, according to Britannica, "existed in most native communities long before the advent of European settlement".  (https://www.britannica.com/topic/powwow) At these more 'ancient' gatherings, music was used to communicate success in matters such as war, religious ceremonies, or in the forging of new alliances. It is very interesting to note however, that just like the changes one can observe in a language, the use of music began to take on new purposes and by extension, new forms. These are observable in the intertribal powwows that began to allow for the inclusion of "people from diverse indigenous nations" (https://www.britannica.com/topic/powwow) to interact in events with the same communication tool-music.  One modern day example of such adjustment can be seen in this Intertribal Powwow from 4/21/2013. The outfits, movements and the 'dancers' are quite diverse.

Whether we like it or not, languages are always changing. We see the inclusion of new words to the dictionary from time to time, which starts off as small changes, but ends up being significant after a while. Some people do not welcome new changes and adjustments to language, especially when these are first introduced.  As I think about this, and the fact that music is a language, I wondered if  the same thing happens when traditional music is changed for any reason.  From information shared with me by my Nigerian father, I have come to know that music and dance are important in daily Nigerian life. I wondered if tribal dances, like in my father's tribe - Esan, have seen great changes over the years. 

To begin my search I read the blogpost of Sister Mary Morajeyo Okewola, "The role of dance in African Culture". (https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/spirituality/column/role-dance-african-culture) She is a retired teacher and a nun. Sister Mary pointed out that in order to ensure the "accuracy of the movements that will preserve the integrity of culture, each clan in Nigeria has someone devoted to design and pass along the clan's customary moves. Because there are unique moves in each clan's culture, this "dance ace" guarantees that everybody knows what the moves are and how they are to be danced. These instructions are passed down through generations and some have never been adjusted". I wanted to see an example of a gathering with music and dance from my father's tribe, so I found this one called "Esan land dance group":

I then spoke with my father to confirm how traditional the music and dance are in this 2017 video. I also wanted to know, if there were any changes, how the elders would view such changes. He confirmed what Sis Mary said: he told me that the dance seen in the above video is the Asonogun Dance that is one of the oldest, traditional dances that exists only in his tribe. The music involves the use of local instruments like "agogo" and cymbals and the voice melodies of singers who chant in chorus and repetitive chants. He also admitted however, that the music has evolved ever so slightly, but that that elders of the tribe scoff at new rhythms and dance moves when observed.

This leads me to a third question: Is it the change of the instrument over time that would have contributed to any slight change in the music, or are the changes from other influences? This made me wonder what the "agogo", used in Edo State, Nigeria, looks like and the variations of it. I discovered that it's an instrument used around the world, and there may be slight variations to them, depending on how they are made.

https://images.app.goo.gl/Sb8w8Um7fmiKfqADA

https://images.app.goo.gl/EtvA2xaZmEmEPtM6A

Music & Rituals

     JAMAICAN FUNERALS

My Musical Culture

MY MUSICAL CULTURE