Music And Dances example essay topic

The Arrival of the Spaniards and Their Contributions to Music by the Black American and Native People of Mexico Music and dance is a very important part of everyone's life. We all have our favorite songs, and we all like to dance. Yuma provides us with block parties that target different cultural backgrounds. I had the opportunity to attend a Black History and a Cinco de mayo block party. The difference between the two events were eye-opening.

Music and song from each culture had different expression. Many kinds of music known today as Black American music came from more than one source. They come from the different types of singing and playing that African Americans did as the worked, enjoyed themselves, and worshiped in churches and at outdoor prayer meetings. It is believed that gospel mad spirituals are probably the result of African Americans creating songs that are something like European hymns. When the created new songs, African Americans used elements that came from their own culture. In the sixteenth century, the Spanish and Europeans brought this culture the Black Americans in boats to America.

In America, the African slaves had to work long hours on plantations, but during their free time they all gathered to sing and dance. The music and dances were all new to native people of Mexico and Spaniards. They made their own instruments from memory; they did have time to get their own instruments. Most of them were percussive; the African instruments made by striking or shaking such as the drums, rattles and bells. Music changed even more with the addition of instruments and music. This culture added more melodies and rhythms to the culture in America but not all the music and dance showed the same amount of African and music from the native people of Mexico and their influence.

When the Spaniards came to America, most of them were soldiers and then missionaries; men sent to teach the Bible to Indians. They believe in one God and to sing and dance in praise of that God, to sing and dance in praise of that God. From the Spaniards, the natives of Mexico learned to sing psalms and hymns and act in religious plays held in church. They also brought with them man of their traditional instruments.

They brought the organ, the violin, the harp, the accordion, the trumpet, and many different types of guitars. The natives of Mexico were also taught to play these instruments and also to build them. They change their music and European violins and guitars sounded very different from the Indians' flutes even the rhythms, melodies of Spaniards songs were very different, too. Spaniards brought music, dances, such as the danza's, contradanzas, cuadrillas and valses. These dances came in contact with the native people of Mexico and other mixture of music and dances were born such as the religious or ritual dances, dance dramas or festival dances, and folk dances. One of the most influential folk dance is Jara be Ta patio of Mexico; dancers lined up in couples; performed intricate steps and figures like the ones in Spanish dances such as the contra danza...

The Easter popular musical drama and dance today is El Vena do, the deer dance. In this dance the dancers retell a legend of the deer hunt. These two cultures were influenced by the Spaniards in America. Their music and instruments are different, but they all contribute to the same pot of music in America. although, the African Americans did not have the opportunity to bring instruments to America but by memory they made their own contributions to music and expanded their culture. The Spaniard's influence to the Native people of Mexico through the Spaniards added to the culture more instruments and music for which we now have the opportunity to listen to and will listen to for generations to come..