Wald, Escaping The delta

The emergence of  the Blues that stretch beyond the borders of the south. Motivate Blues players to travel to northern cities to express a genre of music that might seem unfamiliar to people living in the north. Blues artist such as Johnson  is  a central figure in the production of blues. Johnson music was a complete different idea in composure and style of music. A complete turnover  from the continue twisting that has always been in style. Euguine Powell testimony on Blues, captivated my attention on how creation of other genres affects his livelihood. Blues has been diminished in the delta due to financial issues. Musical artist are know looking forward to moving somewhere, where the money is much better. Music and dancing was not a " a casual pastime for residents that lived in the Delta" this caused blues to move out of the delta region.

Deep Blues

The Deep Blues originated from the southern part of the United States. It has been considered a revolutionized version of American country music. The genre of blues was non-classified during slavery, meaning it was not recognized as the blues we know today. Many African Americans saw this music as working music, music that goes along with manual labor. Blues came from the contribution of African slaves that brought their distinctive linguistic tone and style.  Africans from the Senegambia region lack the resources to create wooden instruments such as drums. So they relied on Berbers to contribute string instruments, such as the fiddle. This brought a mixture of Middle Eastern style of music.

What I found interesting is that their is no separation between the audience and the people who are producing the music. Many village people tend to join in on the making of the music.  The idea of using their bodies to create sounds that correlate with the beat is quite fascinating.  African music seem more participative versus European music.

The five themes in caribbean music

What are the five themes that can be concluded from hearing Caribbean music? The first theme that is popular in Caribbean music is  being diverse. The Caribbean is divided among different ethnicities and languages. Caribbean islands such as  Martinique and Guadeloupe, two small islands. Characterize their music to be different, even though both countries composed the genre of calypso. The ending of colonialism led to a fragmentation in traditions and styles of the Caribbean nations.  Also what was quite interesting is that countries that are closer in proximity or even share a border are distant.
The next theme is race and ethnicity. Music from Caribbean countries, like Jamaica; Compose music, to follow the idea of racial tension. During colonial times, blacks were place in a category that is labeled as a second class citizen. living in Jamaica back in the late 1800s through the early 1900s; the idea of having lighter shade of skin and straight hair was mostly accepted in the Jamaican society. many dancehall artist praised the idea of being a BROWNING(fair skin individual) Many Jamaicans up to this day, continually bleach their skin to be put in category of acceptance. although dancehall music is an integration of styles and culture, being black is downplayed in a society that is majority African descendent.
The third theme is the Caribbean international network.  New York  city has become the prime destination for many Caribbean nationals. As you walk along church avenue in Brooklyn, the sidewalks are blasted with dialects and rhythms from the various Caribbean nations. food and music can be linked to a specific country. For example, reggae and curry chicken; Jamaica most likely.
Fourth theme is music and politics. Relative poverty and corrupted government led to the creation of music in the Caribbean. The purpose is a message to be passed along to the listeners, to aware the people of political issues.
The fifth theme is the connection between sex and sexism. The main topic of most Caribbean music is relationships. Many men and women convey their feelings and sexual desires in the lyrics of song that are composed in the Caribbean. Reggae music, specifically Dancehall, can seem raunchy and degrading to women.

Thinking about Fieldwork

What is field work? field work is a study of culture through people. Field work is special to ethnomusicologist because, it gives them insightful knowledge that cannot be researched. We are ethnomusicologist, we observe culture through stories and documentaries; outside a workplace setting. For example, a speaker comes to your local neighborhood; he talks about the Mexican-American culture in today's society. The Speaker speaks with a native accent; we immediately connect to his message. This is because we understand culture through accents and traditions.  As ethnomusicologist, the study of music through interpretation; can be developed by answering questions, that solve for the what, where, when, and how. Surveys and questionnaires can help correlate evidence to a general public. When Presenting a project about a particular field of study, please be sure to included experiences that can help exemplify the topic.