Music is one of the main devices that a culture uses to entertain its people; but does it just stop at entertainment? This is a very prominent question when looking at the history of African American music. African American music has been called “(…) the musical Lingua Franca of the world [because] everyone listens to African American music and relates to it.”(Ramsey). African American music is a style that has always

Ragtime became nationally popular fast because black pianist first really performed their, “Rags,” (Ragtime compositions) at the Chicago World’s Fair (1893). Around the 1910s, Ragtime was being recorded and played on the radio along with the Blues. A reason for Ragtime’s popularity was that it was classical music with an “upbeat” feel; therefore, it appealed to both conservative and new aged music lovers. Another thing that occurred during the 1910s was the formation Ragtime bands and then Ragtime bands accompanying Blues singers. Three major changes happen to Ragtime after it began to be played with the Blues. Firstly, the lead melodic line was switched from the violin to the trumpet. Secondly, the saxophone was now being used in ragtime bands, and thirdly the Ragtime Bands begun to “imitate the human voice and its eerie cacophonies.” (Jones 70).

By the 1920s, Ragtime had branched off into two styles, classical Rag and Jazz. Jazz was a more energetic and upbeat form of Ragtime music; it was a music that anyone and everyone danced to. Jazz made its way from “New Orleans and worked its way up the River [Mississippi] to Chicago” (Jones 71). and after Chicago, Jazz continued east to Harlem. Jazz was a perfect combination of its predecessors because it was “Ragtime carried over Harmony and orchestration… with the same musical sprit and tradition [as Ragtime],” (Locke 160). and it had the “improvised break interval[s] of the Blues.” (Locke 71). It was this combination of Ragtime and Blues, which caused Jazz to be extremely popular in the 1920’s. In the 1930s, Jazz began to split into two styles, one was a conservative style called Swing, while the other had a faster tempo and more energy than Jazz was called Bebop. In the 1950s there was a major shift form instrumental being the most popular music to vocal music becoming the most popular music.

This music did a great deal for the African American community. First, it provided a safer way to express one’s ideas. During this time (1860s-1930s), an African American person could be killed and/or endanger the lives of their family and community if they openly spoke their mind. With music their message could be fully expressed and their oppressors just though they were just singing or just playing their horn. Also during this time, African American resolved the leadership issues of bands in the nation, because they were to first to make “(...) the leader [of the band or the orchestra a] (...) conductor (…).”(Locke 64). A conductor in the bands caused not only the overall organization and musicality of the bands to rise, but also played a role in the overall evolution of Jazz and Ragtime. The music also caused a rise of unity in the African American art world, because the artists “made use of the network or touring shows and theaters to communicate between musicians.” (Shipton 35). The musicians talked about more than just musical techniques, they also discussed current issues and possible solutions for their own personal struggles. In addition, the music was used to remind the African American community of their ongoing battle for equality. Many Blues songs that described sad or painful events and past occurrences of group suffering, were used as reminders so the community would know they still had a long fight ahead for their rights. Lastly, African American music leads to the establishment of various schools, for African Americans, that offered degrees in the arts and the humanities. This era of music was truly a great stepping-stone for the African American people because it helped them “to restore the African [American] culture to positions of respect and use (...) African American art [forms] of time past and current in an attempt to create new cultural forms.” (Floyd 106).

African American music has done so much more for the black people than just offer a form of entertainment. African American music has helped to refine

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