African American music

African-American music is an umbrella term covering a diverse range of musics and musical genres largely developed by African Americans. Their origins are in musical forms that arose out of the historical condition of slavery that characterized the lives of African Americans prior to the American Civil War.

The modern genres of blues and ragtime were developed during the late 19th century by fusing European musical styles (characterized by diatonic harmony within the framework of equal temperament) with those of African origin which employed the natural harmonic series and blue notes. The exceptions are hip hop, house and techno, which were formed in the late 20th century from earlier forms of African-American music such as funk and soul. Modern day music is heavily influenced by previous and present African-American music genres.

Following the Civil War, black Americans, through employment as musicians playing European music in military bands, developed a new style of music called ragtime which gradually evolved into jazz. In developing this latter musical form, African Americans contributed knowledge of the sophisticated polyrhythmic structure of the dance and folk music of peoples across western and sub-Saharan Africa. These musical forms had a wide-ranging influence on the development of music within the United States and around the world during the 20th century.

The earliest jazz and blues recordings were made in the 1920s. African-American musicians developed related styles such as Rhythm and Blues in the 1940s. In the 1960s, soul performers had a major influence on white US and UK singers. In the mid-1960s, black musicians developed funk and they were many of the leading figures in late 1960s and 1970s genre of jazz-rock fusion. In the 1970s and 1980s, black artists developed hip hop and in the 1980s introduced the disco-infused dance style known as house music. In the 2000s, hip hop attained significant mainstream popularity. Modern day music is heavily influenced by previous and present African-American music genres.

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