Me: "What kind of 90's? 90's synth? 90's pop? 90's traditional folk?"
Dad: "I'd go with 90's pop. It really depended on what was playing on the radio."
Me: "What was one of your favorite songs on the radio at the time?"
Dad: "I really enjoyed Gwen Stefani's early band years in No Doubt with their hit 'Spiderweb'."
Me: "Ah! I see you have excellent taste!"
Dad: " I'm glad you like her music too."
Me: "On to the next question; Did you ever play an instrument?"
Dad: "I did play the acoustic guitar once."
Me: "How long/well did you play said instrument?"
Dad: "Ah, well... about a year I'd say, and not very well."
Me: "Aw that's fine. How about this question; what kind of music played around your house growing up?"
Dad: "Surprisingly not much, I would play songs in my bedroom but other than that it was mostly quiet."
Me: "Is there any instrument you wish you knew how to play?"
Dad: "I would have liked to learn either the piano or violin, however the digeridoo would have been interesting!"
Me: "That definitely is similar to my beginning interests in instruments too! On to the next question; what technology did you use to listen to music as a child and into college?"
Dad: "There were mostly radios around when I grew up, and around my teenage years cassettes became popular. Around college I would say CDs were most common."
Me: "Are cassette tapes really as crappy as we're told they were?"
Dad: "Absolutely. Between the rewinding and fast forwarding they were a handful. Especially when you had a favorite song. Oh, and when they malfunctioned you had to dig them out of your player and buy a new one."
Me: "Wow, that sounds terrible. I know I had a few growing up, but thank goodness they went out of style. Next question; did you have any piano in your house growing up?"
Dad: " No, but I did have an electric keyboard that I gave to you to play."
Me: "Aw I remember that! Well, thank you for taking some time out of your day for this, I really enjoyed talking to you!"
Dad: "My pleasure, and just so you know. Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt are the best bands ever."
While gender does not clash with my personal history in music, the environments I have grown up in have been. Being raised in the early 2000's, the mainstream music genres were majority male musicians and singers (with the occasional female support/chorus singer featured in the song for larger audiences, etc.) Although music has recently adapted to be more female-inclusive, many aspects still remain biased and unwelcoming to new female/non-male artists. This ranges from concepts such as "girly genres" associated with pop, the "non-feminine nature of rock and roll", and so forth.
Coming from a background of around 7 years in concert/symphonic ensembles, I have both played and listened to countless genres and instruments (including the flute, piano, violin, ocarina, guitar, ukulele, and percussion line/drum). As such, my personal experience with music takes on a variety of forms including classical and modern/popular music (with the above example representing my classical and popular music sides respectively). One key difference however within these examples lies gender; or rather how it is regarded throughout popular music in comparison to classical. While classical can represent genderless emotion/expression, trendy music almost always reflects a specific gender-based and commonly stereotypical concepts in an attempt to pander (such as women with makeup/relationship issues and men with boredom/physical activity/anger). These beliefs then lead into the beginnings of gender divides within genres (such as pop and rock). It is because of this that I chose the example of Gwen Stefani and Pink singing Gwen's song "Just A Girl", as their history of being musical revolutionaries for their genres/gender represent the common struggles of gender bias in the music industry.
For me and many others, music acts as both an escape and enjoyable pastime, as it allows access into new headspaces and emotions (my brief examples of this being "Tomorrow" by Kevin Penkin and the orchestral arrangement of John Powell's soundtrack for Dreamwork's "How To Train Your Dragon"). By using a full range of instruments including membranophones, idiophones, aerophones, and even choir/opera singers, music can provide multiple soundscapes at varying levels. Even so, classical music itself faces a challenging setback; its reception remains quite isolated to its specific audiences. As such, many dated traditional beliefs such as gender-specific instruments still exist to this day (for example the disapproval of female percussionists and male flutists). As time has progressed these issues have reduced in number, but unfortunately still face new musicians to this day (especially from social perspectives both in and out of performances from the public). Even so, the unity that can be derived from such music can heal and repair gender separation within the music industry, allowing for both increase in self-expression and personal/societal growth on all sides.
While America’s current genres can be widely acclaimed as some of the most popular music of today, their roots can be traced back for centuries. With North America’s colonization featuring a various assortment of fully fledged countries such as Spain, England, and France, their input and effect on colonial beliefs and cultures is clearly heard throughout countless pieces in musical history. It is because of this that American roots music represents a true melting pot of culture; a syncretic blend that unifies all aforementioned traditions into a new and unique style that remains diverse and ever evolving to this day.
With the arrival of new cultures, instruments such as the guitar and fiddle/violin were brought over into North America, along with a vast multitude of singing, dancing, instrumental, and percussive practices/styles. Over the course of colonization and independence, many low-class workers such as indentured servants and slaves found themselves working long hours together over the course of many years, sharing what little free time they had in the form of a vast cultural exchange and development. These interactions along with the preexisting cultures brought ashore formed what is now regarded as the blues; a genre of work music that received critical acclaim in a variety of social circles due to its relatable messages and captivating tunes. Through this fame, many musicians arose to create their own styles of music, eventually leading to the countless genres of American music known today.
One such genre to arise from famous predecessors such as the rock and soul styles is funk; a music type that features strong rhythms and excitable tones to invigorate and incite its audiences. This excitement usually was expressed both on and off stage through dancing and other forms of choreography during the performance. One such scene of this raw energy can be felt during a monumental experience during Hollywood's James Brown concert in 1983, in which both Prince and Michael Jackson join singer and “Godfather of Soul/funk” James Brown on stage for a live performance.
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This clip not only features two of the most famous funk/pop singers to date, but one of the progenitors of the funk genre himself. Born in Barnwell, South Carolina on May 3 1933, James Brown’s funk career lasted 50 years, with gospel singing and blues as his musical background. While he may have died at age 73, his music went on to inspire many up and coming artists such as Michael Jackson, Dr. Dre, Ludacris, MC Hammer, Prince, Ice-T, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lil Wayne, Lenny Kravitz, 50 cent, Stevie Wonder, and countless others (all of which attended his funeral in Augusta, Georgia on December 29, 2006).
Although the artists that took inspiration from funk were a diverse group, the instruments and techniques used to create it were extremely common and are still in a multitude of various popular genres. Similarly to the blues, an A/A/B pattern can be heard behind some lyrics and/or chords. In other cases however, funk differs in its nonexistent harmonic changes; focusing on staying “in the moment” rather than plotting out or formalizing notes, etc. One specific and major difference in funk from the other genres was James Brown’s signature “on the one” rhythm; a playing/singing method that added emphasis on the first downbeat of every measure. Temporal asynchronies dubbed “micro-timings” were also used in the creation of funk music, providing audiences with the notorious groove that became essential to the genre’s auditory themes. Instruments such as the guitar, keyboard, drums, and background singers are often featured within funk albums. Even with similar instruments, the syncopated harmonies and addictive drumming patterns combined with the intense singer/crowd energy allowed for the funk genre to sweep the nation (especially during the 60’s to 80’s), and remains as one of the most famous music genres to this day.
While James Brown is regarded as one of the fathers of funk, several other bands were involved in spreading the good vibes. Over the course of the 60’s, bands such as Sly and the Family Stone founded new forms of funk such as psychedelic funk to ever further develop the popularity of the genre. Although funk primarily focused on good times through song and dance, the core messages behind the bands eventually became one of social commentary and personal freedom/expression. Many funk musicians came from troubled backgrounds, and in the hopes of releasing past pains and creating good times used their newfound platforms to raise awareness of topical issues (such as addiction and drug abuse for the lead singer of Sly and the Family Stone Sylvester Stewart).
Funk peaked during the 70’s to 80’s, with artists such as Rick James and Earth, Wind, and Fire releasing “Super Freak” and “September” respectively. It was also during this time that other genre musicians (such as Motown’s Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson) started incorporating funk traits into their music (using the practices behind funk as a baseline for many of their songs afterwards). One example of this is Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”; a song that utilized the heavy bass and powerful downbeats of funk to provide a strong beat (topping multiple charts upon release and becoming yet another hit single of his).
After funk established itself as a classic American genre, many musicians in turn began to create their own derivative genres from its roots (as was tradition since the creation of blues). One such genre was 1970’s disco, as well as new forms of jazz, punk, hip-hop, and rock in the 80’s. While funk eventually gave way to new-age popular music, it remains one of the most impactful genres to this day in America's musical history, paving the way for future artists and genres alike.
Works Cited
Bettison, Oscar. “I Wanna Take You Higher”: The Stylistic Development and Cultural Dissemination of Post-Psychedelic Funk Music, Princeton University, Ann Arbor, 2009. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/i-wanna-take-you-higher-stylistic-development/docview/231557428/se-2?accountid=10259.
“Early American Music.” George Washington's Mount Vernon, www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/colonial-music-institute/essays/early-american-music/.
“History.” The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center, 6 Nov. 2019, www.thefunkcenter.org/history/.
Kilchenmann, Lorenz, and Olivier Senn. “Microtiming in Swing and Funk Affects the Body Movement Behavior of Music Expert Listeners.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 6, 2015, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01232.
MasterClass. “Funk Music Guide: Understanding Funk Music - 2021.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 5 Mar. 2021, www.masterclass.com/articles/funk-music-guide#a-brief-history-of-funk-music.
“Music History of the United States.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_history_of_the_United_States#Soul_and_funk.
