Music 517: African American Musical Traditions

Warren Steel
232 Music Building
915-5183/915-7268
mudws@olemiss.edu

A survey of styles arising from Black American culture: the African background, spirituals, blues, gospel music, and their influence on U.S. and world music. (3 credits)

The origin and development of African American music will be examined from its roots in African societies to the present. Live performances, films and recorded music will be studied as well as written sources. African American music is part of an oral culture and an understanding of folk traditions is essential to its study. Emphasis will be placed upon the structure and function of musical forms as they exist in the black community. We will explore how these forms have been shaped by the experiences of slavery and of rural and urban life. The course will emphasize the black traditional performer as a community leader who creates and manipulates musical forms that function in society. Blues and gospel artists will be invited to perform in class and discuss their music.

Requirements

Attendance and participation in class discussion.
Reading assignments, from required books and elsewhere.
Listening assignments from Blackboard.
Short project (book review), due Feb. 25
Final project, due Apr. 29
Midterm exam, Mar. 4
Final exam.

Required texts

Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., The Power of Black Music
Dena J. Epstein, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals
Jeff Todd Titon, Early Downhome Blues

Reference works

Hart, Eagles & Howorth, The Blues: A Bibliographic Guide
Samuel A. Floyd, Black Music in the U.S.: An Annotated Bibliography
Irene V. Jackson, Afro-American Religious Music
D.-R. De Lerma, Bibliography of Black Music
Eileen Southern, Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians
Sheldon Harris, Blues Who's Who
J. Godrich and R. M. W. Dixon, Blues and Gospel Records 1902-1942
M. Leadbetter and N. Slaven, Blues Records 1943-1966

Study and listening guides

Set 1: African Traditions
Set 2: Afro-American Music in Latin America
Set 3: Afro-American Music of the Slavery Period
Set 4: Saints and Songsters: Late 19c. Developments
Set 5: Early Downhome Blues (Titon CD)
Set 6: Classic Gospel
Set 7: Postwar Rhythm and Blues to Rock and Roll
Supplementary readings for book reviews
Guidelines for reviews of scholarly literature

A few basic starting points

Ole Miss Blues Archive
Center for the Study of Southern Culture
African American Studies department
Living Blues magazine
Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale
Robert Johnson Blues Foundation, Crystal Springs/Hazlehurst
Mississippi John Hurt Museum, Avalon, Mississippi
Highway 61 Radio (Scott Barretta)
Traditional Mississippi fifer Othar Turner (Bill Steber)
Center for Black Music Research, Chicago
Negro Spirituals home page
"Negro Spirituals," by T.W. Higginson (1867)
"The Sorrow Songs" by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903)
The Spirituals Project
Pre-War Blues MP3 blog
Benn Loxo du taccu (African music blog)
Big Road Blues blog (Peter Patnaik)
Squeeze My Lemon blues vlog (Ron Moorby)
The Blue Highway (Curtis Hewston)
Folkstreams, streaming video on American roots cultures
Blues playlist (YouTube)
Dr. Steel's YouTube playlists (see Blues, Aerophones, Chordophones, etc.)
Blues links (DMOZ)