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Big Blog 2

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  For starters I wanted to begin this blog, speaking on how I have enjoyed learning the music of different cultures in this class. I have gained a new appreciation and love for music I never would have guessed I’d be listening to, especially not in a music class in college. For my 2nd big blog I chose Ethio-Jazz. I choose Ethio-jazz, as I have a very wide variety in music, and have always gravitated towards and had a love for Jazz music and the two are very similar. I have been wanting to find new jazz music to listen to ever since our discussions in class, and had no idea that there were other genres such as Ethio-jazz that existed in the world. The moment I heard the Ethio-jazz music, I immediately fell in love and felt a feeling of calmness touch my spirit. While we have already discussed a little of jazz and blues music in class, hearing this distinction was when I knew that it was what I wanted to discuss.  Ethio-Jazz is a genre of music very similar to regular jazz, but ...
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Music & Family

 For this assignment I chose my older sister, Nicole. Nicole is almost 28 years old, and has influenced the kind of music I listen to today greatly.  Nicole does not have much of a musical backrgound, but she did play the Piano throughout high school. She described the feeling of playing the piano as “ a great experience.” She enjoyed learning what keys to press and tones they make to create a beautiful sound.   She  is now a big fan of R&B music just like me. Growing up when she wanted to listen to music, she  started out using a CD player. She would have only one or two CD’s of different artists I could listen to. When I think back I can remember her red Nelly Furtardo CD that I would steal and listen to myself.  As technology advanced, she used an mp3 player. A mp3 player was almost like a baby iPod that you could plug headphones into and download music on. As time went by Nicole, remembers receiving her first generation ipod “maybe in...
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African American Spirituals

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      As an African American woman I have always felt slightly out of touch with my history as we only know bits and piece of what truly happened, seeing that the text book teaching of it leaves out many important details. One thing I've recently learned is that during the days of slavery African Americans participated in folksongs known as Negro Spirituals, aka an African American Spiritual.      African American Spirituals are simply the act of singing whatever melody your heart leads you to to the lord. They were often used s forms of communication that those who lacked color could not understand. These songs came about when Slave owners began banning the gathering of slaves. While in the fields salves would sing these spirituals using a call and response form. This meant that majority of these songs were more a-cappella  style with no beat or instrument to accompany them at first. They sang of power and hope with deep lyrics that spoke of ways...
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Women in Music

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 Since the beginning of time women have been told to remain classy. With this being said women have always been expected to sing, as rap was not lady like. Almost every woman that rap in today's age is heavily judged. They are either told that it does not sound good or that they all talk about the same thing and not real issues, when in reality they are rapping about the same thing as today's men. As many artists such as Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and Megan The Stallion have come to the surface, there has been nothing but gossip, judgement and bad mouthing. While many men may say all females just rap about their sexual capabilities and goodness, many of these songs are doing a lot to make women feel positive about themselves as they may feel as though they can relate. When the song lyrics say thing such as “ my a** fat”, or “i’m the baddest”,  it does a lot to boost the confidence of those who are singing the song, especially those who may have a low self of steam. For example, when...
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Music & Rituals

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 Throughout the past year of my life, I have been to more weddings than ever. My Dad, brother, and step-grandmother all got married within a 3-month span, and my sister will be getting married next month. This allowed me to learn of the different types of music played at weddings. At my dad and Step grandmothers wedding, I heard mainly classic 90's R&B. For example, Let's get married by Jagged edge, All my life by K-Ci, and You and I by Avant. This style of music sets the mood/tone for the wedding, bringing nothing but feelings of joy and emotion to both the newlyweds and the crowd.  It was beautiful to see how a simple song could perfectly describe two people's love story and control the mood of the room. When "Let's Get Married" by Jagged edge played at my dad's wedding you could literally feel the love in the air, as cliche as it sounds. As we all witnessed them come together to confess their love for one another while the song played it was obvious...
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ShayShays Music & Me

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 Hello! :) My name is Nashayla. I’m 20 and this is my third year at converse. I am a Student Athlete who studies business and is a part of the Track & Field team here on campus. I am studying business in hopes of owning my own veterinarian practice, whether that may be just for shots, grooming & bathing, pet hotel services, or a technicians site. Since I was a child, I've always felt a strong connection with animals both small and large. I live with my two fur babies, Tucker and Greigh. Although I grew up in Columbia, SC, I now live here in the Spartanburg area, but I’ve also lived many different places such as Fort Mill, California, and Georgia. I decided to join this class because of my love for and diverse taste in music. I often find myself watching videos of people singing, or listening to music most people don’t listen to. I have a small background in music as I was a soprano one throughout middle and high school choir and also sang in the choir at church. My favorite...
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