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blues continuum

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write an article on blues continuum Paper must be at least 2750 words. Please, no plagiarized work! Baraka’s position revolves around the idea that music of the people is inseparably connected to its history, therefore, one of the grounding principles of his philosophical approach is to use music for “imparting African American history” (Schultz, 2013, p.153). as the lion’s share of original black music genres arose from the Afro-American experience of being oppressed. And the whole range of musical forms derived from that experience was intended to reflect the life of those who were considered different. As Shapiro puts it, African-American jazz and blues forms based on authentic African vocal norms and rhythms were aimed at addressing the life of a community, sensing their difference, and struggling for solidarity (Shapiro, 2004, p.90). Blues, in particular, is a significant expression of Afro-American hardships connected to life in American white society. Although nowadays this genuine Negro genre is perceived predominantly as a romantic genre, its roots drive it rather far from romance: blues is a product that has evolved “out of African-American sorrow songs” (Beşe, 2011, p.228).Considering the vast cultural and social background of blues, this genre can be considered something more than just the style of playing or singing’ instead, it would be rather reasonable to think about blues as of the frame of mind or a kind of disposition. The ability to communicate the musician’s state of mind has been the principal extramusical property of blues. Beginning with the 16th century, the expression “blue devils” meant the state of mind characterized by melancholy or depression. therefore, performing blues music meant being in a certain mood.Moreover, blues has stricken roots in American culture so deeply that it is hard to deny its influence on the great variety of the succeeding genres and music forms. Therefore, Baraka in his work (1999) speaks about the notion of the blues continuum.
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