Jacob Voisin Dr. Darryl Jones MUED 414 11/16/2021 Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir: Chapter 3 Outline Practical Performance Practice in the African American Slave Song Originated in West Africa, where many of the slaves brought to the New World came from A.) West African Music 1.) The “heathen savage” concept of West African civilization is the result of slave owners’ inability to understand the culture and their need to justify the enslavement of their people. 2.) Music was an integral and functional part of African life a.) Call-and-response singing b.) Complex rhythmic patterns and uses a lot of percussion c.) Dance d.) Orally passing down history and lore e.) Strong beats on two and four f.) Melody built on four or seven step scales B.) Evolution of the Spiritual 1.) Came about in response to the hardships of slave life 2.) Shows the relationship between song and the Holy Spirit; possesses a lyrical quality and express a wide range of emotions, such as elation, hope, and sorrow. 3.) Incorporated the characteristics of West African music melded with sounds of the New World C.) Slave Song Categories 1.) Religious spirituals: preaching and teaching; those that make very direct reference to the message of Christianity, i.e. King Jesus Is A-Listenin, My God is So High 2.) Freedom spirituals: talk about earthly freedom; make reference to Moses and the people of Israel in the sense of deliverance i.e Great Day, Go Down Moses 3.) Escaped or “coded” spirituals: make reference to planning for escape, i.e. Keep Your Lamps, Wade in the Water, Steal Away 4.) Shout and holler: used for instruction, Ezekiel Saw the Wheel 5.) Work songs: used while working in the fields, John Henry, Goin Up to Glory D.) Issues of Performance Practice There is no one correct way of performing this form, but one must always keep its integrity. There are three key issues: 1.) Dialect and the use of it, three schools of thought a.) Use of standard English b.) Hybrid c.) Use of dialect: i.) Phonetic decay: i.e. Keep your lamps trimmed and burnin’ (vs. burning) ii.) Consonants: some consonants the exist in English did not exist in the slaves’ native language, for example voiced ‘th’ substituted with ‘d’ iii.) Diphthongs: elimination of diphthongs iv.) Schwa: more prevalent use of the schwa v.) Clipping words: i.e. “witness” to “wi’ness” 2.) Tempo and rhythm a.) Always even eight notes; not jazz or swing 2a.) Understanding inflections and attitudes of the spiritual a.) Use the inflections of their speech b.) You’re telling a story. i.) Context? ii.) How is it expressed 3.) Timbre/ vocal color a.) Color is attached to interpretation; must have integrity. One cannot treat a spiritual with Western Renaissance performance practice b.) Musical choices should be informed through research and much consideration c.) Music must be performed with respect and dignity