Big Blog 1: History of Soul Music

The definition of soul music is

: music that originated in African American gospel singing, is closely related to rhythm and blues, and is characterized by intensity of feeling and vocal embellishments

 First off, the genre of soul music did not originate in America but a hand full of years ago. The 1950s and 60s were the first years this type of music was introduced. In America, this type of music dominated the charts of R&B in America in the 60s and even migrated to also climb the charts of pop music in the United States, Britan and many other places. Soul is one of the most interesting genres because it combines so many elements of so many other genres such as: jazz, African American gospel, rhythm and blues. Soul music uses different techniques and characteristics of tone, rhythm and blues, call and response, repetition and instrumentation. 

According to an article from Live About, "The term, Soul, was adopted to describe Black popular music as it evolved from the 1950s into the socially conscious 1960s, around the southern states of the US. Soul music could be described as being development from Gospel, R‘n’B styles of music. Soul developed into Funk at the end of the 1960’s." It was born in Memphis and the southern US where all of the performers were from. Some performers consisted of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and James Brown. Some people consider these individuals as the beginnings of Soul music as a genre. Later, white artist adoped the sound like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, but took away the gospel message, leaving the musical techniques, instrumentation and feeling. 

There are tons of instruments that are incorporated in the making of this music. On the other hand, this genre could be sung unaccompanied by any instruments. There are idiophones, membranophone, chordophones, etc. These instruments can consist of vocals, backing vocals (male and female), electric guitar, Piano, electric piano, bass, electric organ, keyboards, percussion instruments, drum kit, horn section (trumpet, saxophones, and trombone), and the string section. 

Soul has a sound that can be pointed out very easily. This could be done by listening to the instruments being played or the style of words being sung. This style of music ironically sounds loose, but in reality, remains tight and rhythmically precise. 

Aretha Franklin "Natural Woman"

One thing about this genre that interested me the most was the elegance of it. The unique ability one can show off to make a song their own and show their vocal abilities. I am more interested in the vocal attributes of a song and artist and the meaning of the words they are singing. Soul does just that by incorporating meaning and emotion through words with a slight instrumental melody background. Also, Soul could be described as a gospel call and response. And growing up in church, I resonate to the feeling the song gives you. The use of gospel-music devices such as call and response separate Soul from R&B. Soul also uses more emphasis on vocalists and including religious themes. Soul uses a wide variety of emotions that creates a range of tones from gentle, smooth, raspy, and harsh. 

Being from the south I normally only acclimated myself with Country music, but through this class I have realized that the South has a rich history that extends way past country. While doing my research, the past couple blogs have made me more open minded to the different genres and definitely helped me add more songs to my Apple Music Playlists. Seeing how similar Soul can be to R&B was very interesting. Also learning how different aspects of the music can alter a persons mood or feelings was very very cool. Soul has a way of opening up someone and getting them out of their comfort zone. It is one of the only genres that makes a person forget about their surroundings and basically comes out of their body to express themselves. Previously, I thought country music was the only type of music that mainly used words to get a point across or to tell a story, but because soul music is derived from so many other genres and styles of music, it appeals to a lot of people. 

Citations

Nero, Mark Edward. “Origins and Influence of Soul Music.” LiveAbout, LiveAbout, 26 Feb. 2018, https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-soul-music-2851218.

“Soul Music Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul%20music?msclkid=87c94842ad0b11ecb77125f10cdd2d34.